Tag: zombies

Birth of the Living Dead [AKA Year of the Living Dead] (2013, dir. Rob Kuhns)

The making and impact of George A Romero’s 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. Genial documentary, focused on an interview with Romero himself plus genre stalwarts such as Larry Fessenden, making some straightforward though nevertheless valid points about the film’s counterculture origins and its social commentary, as well as on its genre status.

The Dead Don’t Die (2019, dir. Jim Jarmusch)

Zombies take over a small US town. Deadpan comedy-horror with a few meta touches. Not all of it works, and the approach is wry rather than outright funny, but there are some good ideas and images, and everyone involved seems to be having fun.

Little Monsters (2019, dir. Abe Forsythe)

A loser musician and a kindergarten teacher defend a class visiting a petting zoo from zombies. Sprightly horror-comedy which balances humour, romance, gross-out violence and crassness in expert measure. Loads of fun, some heart, some songs, and a selection of great gags. Recommended.

Death Trench [AKA Trench 11] (2017, dir. Leo Scherman)

In the last moments of WWI, a team go behind German lines to investigate a mysterious compound where chemical weapons may be being developed. Okay addition to the period military zombie subgenre: the 1918 setting is a bonus. The usual infighting, mad doctor, odd alliances plus marauding infested shenanigans ensue.

Peelers (2016, dir. Sevé Schelenz)

A strip-club owner has to defend her business and her co-workers against zombies. Awkward horror-comedy that delivers in terms of gore, but manages to mishandle what should be a gleefully tasteless B–movie; the result is too-often tacky and nastily exploitative.

George A Romero’s Land of the Dead [AKA Land of the Dead] (2005, dir. George A Romero)

A gated community is threatened by an organising army of zombies. The slickest and most mainstream of Romero’s six zombie flicks, Land has some storytelling issues but also verve in its inventiveness and its writer-director’s trademark social commentary.

Cargo (2018, dir. Yolanda Ramke & Ben Howling)

A race against time to get a baby to safety following her father’s zombie virus infection. Quirky z-movie, both effective in places and slightly undone by its episodic nature. Good performances and a keen sense of place anchor the drama.

Hungerford (2014, dir. Drew Casson)

A group of teens witness an alien invasion. Ambitious zero-budget semi-professional found-footage zombie/alien invasion mash-up with good moments but an inability to sustain coherence through iffy script and acting. Followed by The Darkest Dawn.

Resident Evil: The Last Chapter (2016, dir. Paul WS Anderson)

Alice returns to Raccoon City to face down Dr Isaacs, lured by the promise of a vaccine to the T-Virus. The sixth instalment of this midlist franchise is surprisingly feisty, with bags of action and some good lines. For fans only, maybe, but they won’t be disappointed.