A bumper year for Creatures of the Night. Zombies have really gone International, with entries from the U. S., UK, Germany, Cuba, Ireland, Israel, Spain and Russia. The year started off with I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and will conclude with the upcoming Christmas release of ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: REDEMPTION. Some are in 3D, reaching right out to getcha, most are regular D.
Of course, Zombie lovers come in all styles and tastes. You might not like what others are screaming about — but love the dud of the year. Do any of this year’s crop match George Romero’s classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or the DAWN OF THE DEAD? Your decision, old friend.
This thing is clear: Zombies have risen again! Who’s gonna keep ‘em down?
Here’s the Dancer’s Top Ten Picks and a Bonus:
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10. THE 4TH REICH
After D Day in 1944, American, British and Canadian troops were engaging all available German troops and armour in heavy battles. The goal was the capture of Berlin.
But the falling Nazis still had plans — a 4th Reich, the New World Order.
Hitler has ordered his beloved scientist, Dr. Joseph Mengele, the Angel of Death, to create a new super army of invincible soldiers. A force of the Superior Race that could never be defeated. His experiments and research at the death camps of Auschwitz, Belsen and Birkenau would create unspeakable evil.
An elite team of soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division, under the command of the battle hardened Captain Bathurst, set out on an ever darkening quest to liberate Europe. Fighting their way through the French countryside, villages and war ravaged towns. They encounter strange battles and events until they reach an abandoned research facility where the true horror begins.
The film’s director is Shaun Robert Smith.
Not based on the Task Force Games board game of the same name.
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9. ZMD: ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION
The military recruits zombies in a secret government weapons program that has them sent into war zones.
ZMD is the story of a new government weapons program that drops zombies, designed to be photosensitive and dissolve by a set time, into war zones at night to destroy the enemy population. But after one fails to self-destruct in the Middle East, a team of black ops soldiers enter hostile territory to stop a growing zombie army.
This version of ZMD is written by Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain, who recently penned Outlander and co-wrote Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans.
Based on Red 5 comic-book by Kevin Grevioux, who is responsible for the Underworld franchise, among others. Rights to the graphic novel were picked up in July 2008.
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8. WAR OF THE DEAD
A platoon of American and Finnish soldiers is driven deep into a Russian forest where its Captain discovers a terrifying secret.
March 1942. Captain Martin Stone (Andrew Tiernan – 300 and The Pianist) leads an American unit on a mission to destroy an enemy bunker, joining forces with an elite platoon of Finnish soldiers: Captain Niemi (Jouko Ahola – Kingdom of Heaven) and Lieutenant Laasko (Mikko Leppilampi). The troops are torn apart by the same enemy soldiers they had killed a few minutes earlier in an ambush. The living dead? Satan’s warriors? Or SS experiments gone wrong?
Filmed in Lithuania and directed by Marko Makilaaks.
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7. PORTRAIT OF A ZOMBIE
PORTRAIT is an independent zombie movie that tells the tale of an American film crew making a documentary about an Irish working class family who continue to look after a family member once he’s become a zombie. A different take on the genre, to be sure. Maybe the first Sentimental Zombie flick — or a harkening back to the Universal days of Frankenstein and Boris Karloff? No wait — turns out there’s more zombies — an invasion of Dublin. Might be hard economic times on the Emerald Isle, but not another Irish Famine — not for zombies.
PORTRAIT OF A ZOMBIE is written and directed by Bing Baily. It stars Patrick Murphy and Geraldine McAlinden.
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6. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: ORIGINS 3D
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: ORIGINS 3D is classic zombie horror remade with the latest technogadgetry.
A group of survivors trapped in a New York apartment fight to stay alive against an army of zombies. Usual story — lots of special effects in a style De Soto called “American style anime.” The movie was filmed with a new proprietary real-time effects system nicknamed “the beast”, which allowed the director to film the CG animations as though he were on a live set.
De Soto brings the chaos and fear of real world disasters to the big screen by taking the zombies out of the rural mid-western town and into the densely populated city of New York. In De Soto’s reenvisioning, subtitled Origins, there is more focus on the back stories to the characters, with emphasis on the hopes, dreams, and loved ones lost amidst the chaos of the zombie apocalypse.
Directed by Zebediah De Soto. With Danielle Harris, Tom Sizemore, Tony Todd, Alona Tal.
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5. JUAN OF THE DEAD
According to Director/Screenwriter Alejandro Brugues, JUAN OF THE DEAD “is a zombie comedy, a term made popular in recent years because they are both genres that fit easily together thanks to a point they have in common: subtext.”
Dude doesn’t get it: all zombie movies are comedy movies, just a very dark dark dark comedy.
In modern Cuba, people start turning violent and attacking one another. At first, our forty year hero, Juan, is convinced it’s just another stage of the Revolution. Official media are refering to the attacks as isolate incidents provocked by dissidents paid for by the American government. Little by little Juan and his friends start to realize that these atteckers are not normal human beings and that to kill them is becoming very, very difficult.
They’re not vampires, they’re not possesed, but they’re deffinetely not dissidents. A simple bite turns the victim into another violent killer Creature and the only way to dispose of them is destroying their brains.
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4. DEADHEADS
In DEADHEADS — the movie, not the rock fans – two unexpectedly coherent zombies, Mike (Michael McKiddy) and Brent (Ross Kidder), awake amidst a zombie attack and decide to take a road trip to find the one’s lost love, unaware they are being chased by the agents of a ruthless company with it’s own agenda. The result is the ultimate Buddy Movie for zombie addicts. Or is it a Romantic comedy? Funnier tham JUAN.
Written and directed by Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce.
Soundtrack includes “Message from Angela,” which is written and performed by The Ivy Walls.
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3. THE GATEKEEPER
In THE GATEKEEPER, Lou (played by Ron Perlman), is an aging cemetery worker who helps a young man working the nightshift overcome his insecurities by killing the undead.
Here are all the elements of a classic Hollywood coming-of-age story: the familiar school setting, the best friend, a love interest and her jock boyfriend. Right out of Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy. Only Mickey never met a creature that wanted to eat his brains…
Besides Perlman, also stars Lea Thompson (Back To The Future), Jana Kramer and Matt O’Leary. Written and directed by Isaac Meisenheimer.
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2. A FEW BRAINS MORE
In the 2008 movie FISTFUL OF BRAINS, the climatic battle exploded in the Old West town of Shadow Hawk. The sheriff’s daughter Lily led the fight to save the town and its people. A FEW BRAINS MORE picks up the story of zombie Lily and Jack in the 1970′s, as they battle Dead Eye and his hippie hordes.
Directed by Christine Parker, who cowrote the screenplay with Bill Mulligan. A FEW BRAINS MORE stars Emlee Vassilos, Michael Ray Williams, Zachary Edgerton and Edward Warner.
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1. THE GOON
A hit before we see it? It is if ya love the Goon! THE GOON is an animated feature film based on the cult comic from Dark Horse Entertainment, created by Eric Powell in 1999. In the Dark Horse comic, the Goon is a muscle-bound strongarm with a 1930′s Depression Era look who works for a mobster called Labrazio.
The Goon, and his friend/sidekick Franky, often get mixed up in supernatural battles. Their nemisis is the Nameless Zombie Priest and his numerous evil Zombie Gangs! The Goon calls zombies “Slackjaws.” It’s set in a world a lot like ours, but with even more Zombies — uh, Slackjaws.
“Nothin’ but misery” promises the Goon if he doesn’t like ya.
THE GOON is a full length CGI movie produced by David Fincher (of FIGHT CLUB fame), with CGI by Blur Animation. Clancy Brown is the voice of The Goon. And Paul Giamatta voices Franky. Directed by Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller. Movie script by Eric Powel.
Eric Powel is a writer and artist who has contributed work on such comics titles as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Hellboy: Weird Tales, Star Wars Tales, The Incredible Hulk, Black Panther, The Avengers, The Hood, MAD Magazine, Devil Dinosaur, Swamp Thing, the Avengers, She-Hulk, the Simpsons, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Action Comics, and Creepy.
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Upcoming Zombie Movie with the Most Promise: THE HARVARD ZOMBIE MASSACRE
Finally! Intelligent zombies! After eating all those brains… When Harvard University is overrun by the undead, America’s most brilliant minds must fend off America’s most brilliant zombies. The result is a comedy-horror that might actually work. Screenplay by Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez. Brought to us by Parallel Zide and producer Warren Zide of AMERICAN PIE fame. The Executive Producer is Ryan Lewis.
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Zombie Movie 2012: Fans of the Resident Evil Video Games will scream in delight to know that RESIDENT EVIL 5 — THE MOVIE will be released in 2012. The storyline will follow that of the survival horror video game by Capcom. Cinemablend announced that Milla Jovovich, star of RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, promised that the EVIL 5 movie will be heavily influenced by fans and developed using an interactive process with the fanbase.
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George Romero once said, “I like the zombies being us. Zombies are the blue-collar monsters.” This is probably one of the most interesting things about zombies — the possibility that once the outbreak occurs, everyone can become a flesh-eating, mindless ghoul, even your favorite aunt…
Want to learn ALL About Zombies? Go to “Zombies Forever: Zombie Games, Zombie Movies, Zombie Makeup – Black Ops Wars” CLICK HERE: COME TO ZOMBIE PLACE
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Ever since WORLD WAR Z, with Brad Pitt, began filming in Old Scotland, early reviews have been mixed. Does the script stumble THAT far from the novel?
Entertainment: Movies
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