Trailer of the Day: World War Z

Yikes! What a mess!

When I see this trailer it brings up some conflicting feelings. The book World War Z is one of the finest horror novels ever written and probably the best book about zombies ever written (Pariah by Bob Fingerman comes close), and whenever I see that name I get a little chill. Knowing this trailer exists makes me excited, however the content of the trailer...

In the book the narrator is sent on a fact finding mission by the U.N. in which he is to go around the world and interview survivors of the now finished world zombie apocalypse. With this setup the book is then comprised of firsthand accounts from survivors and how they (and the world) survived "world war z".

The strength of the book really lies in the personal side of a zombie scenario. Much like The Walking Dead, the story is so moving and frighting because it bring a big, worldwide event down to a very relateable level..  So with that said I'm going to have to talk about it as an adaptation first and then a stand alone movie.

So watching this trailer the first thing I thought is that, even though it already looks like it diverges from the book, it could still be a halfway decent adaptation. Maybe Brad Pitt's character meets some of the characters from the book or experiences some of the things described in the book.

Then the fast zombies show up.

Look, I don't have any problem with fast zombies. I thought the new Dawn of the Dead was very good but scary in a different way then the original. 28 Days Later is one of the few movies that gave me nightmares. This, however, is based on a story where fast zombies don't transfer over very well. With out giving any spoilers away, most of the scenarios in the novel can't really happen with zombies this fast.

I realize that it might be too much to ask for an exact, word-for-word Hollywood transfer, but come on. Why even buy the rights if the final project looks nothing like it's source? Did they pay all that royalty money for a cool name?

Anyway, taken out of context of the book the movie doesn't even look that good! Bad CG and explosions does not make a great movie. Who directed this, Micheal Bay?

Zombies are scary because they're personal. Zombies aren't just another monster, they're you, they're your friends, people you loved, and they're trying to kill you in the most horrible of ways. And if you get bit it's a slow death leading something even worse. Somehow a wave of bodies does not convey the creeping fear that makes zombies so scary.They could have replaced zombies with a wave of angry hobbits or Twilight style vampires and it would have been the same thing. It looks like they've taken everything that makes zombies unique and scary out of this movie.

So that's my take on this, if anyone cares. Who knows? Maybe this was just a bad choice of footage for the trailer. Maybe when the movie comes out they'll have cleaned up the special effects some. However, if this does end up being just another bad, generic horror movie, the saddest part will be that we will never get another chance at seeing Max Brook's haunting masterpiece in movie form again.

Trailer of the Day: Zombie 2

It looks like I unintentionally took the summer off, but now I'm back, WITH ZOMBIES!!!

Ahhhhhhh, the infamous Zombie 2. In case you're not "in the know" there technically is no Zombie 1. Lucio Fulci decided to cash in on the success of Dawn of the Dead (which was known in Italy as Zombie) by making a sequel or prequel or something. Although, I don't remember the zombies from Dawn of the Dead being this disgusting...

For such a mayhem and gore packed movie this trailer makes it look like the most boring thing this side of sliced bread. Of course, that's actually pretty representative of 80's Italian horror. One minute your falling asleep and the next your all like "HOLY SHIT THERES A ZOMBIE FIGHTING A SHARK!!!1!!1".

Trailer of the Day: Night of the Seagulls a.k.a. The Blind Dead 4

Now we've come to the fourth and final installment of the Blind Dead movies. I've heard numerous people say that this one is the best of the bunch, but I disagree. Not that it was bad, mind you, it just wasn't the best. Where "tombs" was slow and creeping and "return" was more action packed, this film seems like it wanted to do a little of both but doesn't really succeed either way. I would put this one at third best but only because the first two were so good. There is a wide margin between this and "The Ghost Galleon".

My only big issue with this movie is the terrible lighting. All of these movies have several scenes that are set during the night but clearly filmed during the day. In the first three this was either kept to a minimum or shot in as little light as possible (dusk or dawn), but this one has scenes that are supposed to be in the middle of the night and it looks like it was a bright afternoon! What the hell! Maybe the budget was lower or something, but it feels like they just got lazy.

Oh yeah, and the trailer is pretty boring too, worst of the four, with no unintentionally funny moments to be found.

(Also what's with the title? Night of the Seagulls? Really?!? Least menacing title since Night of the Lepus!)

Trailer of the Day: The Ghost Galleon a.k.a. The Blind Dead 3

Not much to this one....except for the awesomely descriptive words that keep popping up throughout the trailer!
"Brutality!"
"Blind Fear!"
"Rage!"

As much as I love the Blind Dead, I've never actually watched this one the whole way through. Maybe I'll give it another shot someday, but it is definitely the weakest of the bunch.

Trailer of the Day: Return of the Evil Dead a.k.a Blind Dead 2

Oh boy! Where to start with this one? It's so ridiculous! They say the name of the movie about 4-5 times(which was pretty typical back in the day) and the narrator's lines are hilarious!

"Terror once again treks it's legendary course, making your flesh creep with pleasure!"
"We suggest you bring at least one large partner to hold you tightly."
"The lifeless horsemen will make this theatre into a living horror!"
Classic!

The movie itself is actually pretty good, not as good as the first mind you, but still decent. What it lacks it creepy atmosphere it makes up for with mayhem! It's nice to see people fighting back against the monsters for once.

Trailer of the Day: Tombs of the Blind Dead

As far as atmosphere and slow creeping terror goes, not many movies even come close to the Blind Dead movies (with tombs being the best). Unfortunately this trailer doesn't really convey any much atmosphere or terror. Tombs just looks kind of...cheesy. Trust me, it isn't.

Review: Deadgirl

Sooooooooo months ago my roommate comes downstairs and says "Have you heard about this new where some kids rape a zombie?". Me, being the horror loving fanatic that I am, responded "Of course I’ve been hearing about this for months now, and I don't think that’s exactly what it's about....". Fast forward several months later, I finally get a chance to watch Deadgirl and it turns out that, yes that IS exactly what its about.