I've been researching zombie movies. What are your favorites?
Mine, in order, would be Dead Alive, Evil Dead 2, and The Beyond. But these are also more funny/campy. I actually haven't seen any of Romero's trilogy, aside from the first one. I went to pick up Dawn Of The Dead the other day and couldn't find it anywhere (guess I'll just blind buy it online).
'28 Days Later' could very well be a new classic.
What else?
Braindead,...-. oh yeah, forgot everyone outside of here and New Zealand calls it Dead Alive.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) feels like a zombie movie too, and it's pretty great.
Braindead
Night of the living dead
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Wasn't Leatherface a zombie?)
btw....Invasion of the Bodysnatchers was crappy!
'Evil Dead 2' probably tops my list. Such an insane, twisted, 'what the fuck am I watching' type of film (hence its popularity). Can't wait for 28 Days Later, the horror genre could use a really good, intense zombie flick at the moment (and it's worked).
Quote from: Sigur RósTexas Chainsaw Massacre (Wasn't Leatherface a zombie?)
...no.
Dead Alive for sure and I'm gonna be superflamed for this but I liked Resident Evil. It's my guiltiest pleasure.
Quote from: oakmanc234really good, intense zombie flick at the moment (and it's worked).
It's already out on dvd.
Quote from: Sigur RósQuote from: PInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) feels like a zombie movie too, and it's pretty great.
btw....Invasion of the Bodysnatchers was crappy!
no it wasn't, it was beautiful. your thinking of some 90s version
Quote from: Phil MarloweQuote from: Sigur RósQuote from: PInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) feels like a zombie movie too, and it's pretty great.
btw....Invasion of the Bodysnatchers was crappy!
no it wasn't, it was beautiful. your thinking of some 90s version
A 90's version was never made. I AM THINKING OF THE 78 VERSION!!!!
The one with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum!
The 78 version is a remake of the 50's classic :wink:
there is a 50s, a 70s and a 90s version.
get yourself together mambo brother!!!
Quote from: Phil Marlowethere is a 50s, a 70s and a 90s version.
get yourself together mambo brother!!!
You are thinkin' of Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992)! Amateur! Would someone please tell 'Phil' that I'm the one who's rite!
romero all the way
i guess shivers "could" be considered a zombie flick, sorta
There was indeed a 90s version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, directed I belive by Abel Ferrera. I've seen the seventies version, and it has some darn good stuff in it.
Quote from: GhostboyThere was indeed a 90s version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, directed I belive by Abel Ferrera. I've seen the seventies version, and it has some darn good stuff in it.
oh
But the 90's version was just called:
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Quote from: MacGuffinBut the 90's version was just called:
[/img]
And it wasn't a remake, rite?
28 Days Later sure is awesome (I ended up seeing it through alternative means)
I've always liked the original Night of the Living Dead
Dead Alive/Braindead is hilarious
(and I liked Resident Evil too)
Resident Evil kicks major booty. It's such an awesome movie, I own the DVD and it's probably one of the most watched movies in my collection. The commentary is funny as hell, check that out.
I love the Evil Dead series and I love Night of the Living Dead (never seen any of the other Romeros). I also can't wait for 28 Days Later, I've been waiting to see it since I visited England and it had just left theaters (DAMN!).
Michael Jackson's Thriller video is pretty cool.
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Yes!
-Plan 9 From Outer Space (1958)
-Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
-Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
-The Evil Dead (1981)
-Day Of The Dead (1985)
-Re-Animator (1985)
-Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)
-Bride Of Re-Animator
-Braindead aka Dead Alive (1992)
-Army Of Darkness (1993)
-28 Days Later (2003)
I LOVE Zombie movies. Who doesn't?
Dead Alive
Evil Dead II
Fulci's Zombie
Dawn of the Dead
I even dig the occasional Return of the Living Dead movie (I hear Tobe Hooper will be directing the next couple sequels)
I've written a couple (unmade) and played a zombie in a friend of mine's.
source: Cinescape
Principal photography on DAWN OF THE DEAD has begun. Universal Pictures issued a press release today stating that Zack Snyder's picture has begun shooting in and around the city of Toronto, Canada. The movie is scheduled for release sometime in 2004.
Universal described the remake's storyline as follows:
"In DAWN OF THE DEAD, an unexplained plague has decimated the world's population and yet...the dead aren't dying. They've become zombies, stalking endlessly in a constant quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living.
"A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor shopping mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as one of the last bastions of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource (both within and without) in their against-all-odds fight to remain alive and human."
Universal also beefed up the known list of crewmembers working on the film, which now includes director of photography Matt Leonetti (2 FAST 2 FURIOUS), production designer Andrew Neskoromny (THE CORE), costume designer Denise Cronenberg (SPIDER), prosthetics make-up designer David Anderson (both MEN IN BLACK films) and editor Niven Howie (LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS). The film's producers are original DAWN producer Richard P. Rubinstein, Marc Abraham (SPY GAME) and Eric Newman (THE EMPEROR'S CLUB). Exec producers are Tom Bliss (THE HURRICANE), Armyan Bernstein (AIR FORCE ONE) and Dennis E. Jones (VIRUS).
Quote from: mogwaiWhat the hell is this???
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0363547
a mistake
i'm thinking about catching these two flicks as a double feature at the local cinema:
http://www.moviefone.com/showtimes/theater.adp?theaterid=165&date=20030617&uid=30
Barn of the Naked Dead (Nightmare Circus)
Invasion of the Blood Farmers
anyone seen these?
No, but I've seen Night of the Living Bread
Quote from: tremoloslothNo, but I've seen Night of the Living Bread
that was so not funny. they included it in one of the VHS editions of Night of the Living Dead (back when DVD was just a glimmer in your mother's eyes).
correct
Does this:
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...qualify as a zombie movie? Either way, it's fantastic, a real landmark in the Euro horror canon.
Dead Reckoning: 'J Smith' just got back from a Q & A session with Director George Romero ("Night of the Living Dead") that was held at Western Kentucky University and thought readers might like some of the tidbits he tossed out:
"He discussed the fact that Fox Searchlight does have the rights to the 4th zombie movie, but unfortunately they refuse to move ahead with it unless they can secure the Night of the Living Dead moniker. Apparently they also refused the titles Dead Reckoning, as well as Land of the Dead. An audience member mentioned the fact that they had heard Anchor Bay offered to foot the bill for the film and he confirmed this, stating that if the Fox thing fell through he would rework the script to fit an Anchor Bay budget. Also discussing the 4th film he gave out some plot points. Basically the film will take place in a city in where the remaining humans live and focus on the people who must leave the city in order to retrieve the "finer things in life" such as perfumes, fabrics, and the like. (he noted this was based on his home town of Pittsburgh and how city, being in the shape of a triangle, could easily be cut off from the rest of the world by one wall). He also made a later note that he would probably continue having the lead actor being african-american.
He also commented on another project he was working on and excited about involving the composer of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The film would focus on a rock band who return from the grave. He made mention of it possibly being a "Boy Band" who cause a building to fall on them as a result of an amp explosion. His take sounded hilarious and cracked up the entire audience. He noted he was hard at work on a script for a Dracula mini-series for ABC (or it may have been NBC, I couldn't tell). He noted that they were attempting to adapt the Bram Stoker novel without having the characters talk like they're from a Bram Stoker novel. Not sure if this meant it would be a modern retelling, or simply the original story using more modern dialogue. Overall, Mr. Romero is extremely accomodating to the fans, and answered questions until the staff made him stop. He was even nice enough to sign autographs before and after the show, take pictures, and simply talk with fans. Overall, it was a great experience".
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If you like zombie movies and are interested in their evolution, check out the movie that is currently my avatar: The Last Man on Earth, starring the brilliant Vincent Price
Technically, it's a vampire movie, based on Richard Matheson's amazing "I Am Legend." But it feels more like a zombie movie, and you can see the seeds of Romero's original Night of the Living Dead germinate in this creepy flick.
Best yet, there's a fairly nice DVD version of the film available at amazon.com, for a ridiculously low price -- $5.98. Just be sure to get the Madacy Entertainment version.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000897C9/qid=1066837068/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-7892547-0627211?v=glance&s=dvd
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Title: Dawn of the Dead
Released: 9th March 2004
SRP: $19.98
Further Details
We now have the artwork for the special edition release of Dawn of the Dead which stars David Emge and Ken Foree. The disc will be available to own from the 9th March for around $19.98. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen along with both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS tracks. Extras will be headlined by an audio commentary with Writer-Director George A. Romero, Special Makeup Effects Artist Tom Savini, and Assistant Director Chris Romero. Other features will include a George A. Romero bio, poster and advertising gallery, theatrical trailers, TV spots and radio spots.
great news for everyone who didnt get the OOP one that goes for 100 bucks and more on ebay, cant wait for this.
does anyone know if the new Dawn dvd is a new transfer or the same one from the last dvd?(okay, it is a new transfer, yay!!)
also, speaking of zombies, the first trailer for 'Shaun of the Dead' is up at: http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/nusite.php
It's a zombie horror comedy that leaves the comedy in the hands of the living humans, where it belongs, and not with the zombies.
versus
Shaun of the Dead looks absolutely british and brilliant. And that Dawn cover is gorgeous.
Just in from Anchor Bay Entertainment are the full specs for their new March 9th reissue of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. This single-disc edition includes a new DiviMax anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 remixes, a new audio commentary with Romero, and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $19.95, and Anchor Bay also promises a far more elaborate special edition due later this year. Stay tuned...
oops. looks like this one is a decoy for the superset coming later in the year. shit.
Shaun of the Dead, of course, must live up to the amazing "My Boyfriend's Back," starring our own PSH.
Quote from: peteversus
Yes! What an insanely ridiculous, wonderful movie. It gets thumbs up for having zombies WITH guns. Though they're a little slow and have bad aim, still quite amusing.
The best zombie flick by far is Seven Doors of Death by some Italian guy. There's some hardcore flesh-eating tarantula scenes in there.
Quote from: Weak2ndActQuote from: peteversus
Yes! What an insanely ridiculous, wonderful movie. It gets thumbs up for having zombies WITH guns. Though they're a little slow and have bad aim, still quite amusing.
The gore is often comically over-the-top.
Quote from: analogzombie
also, speaking of zombies, the first trailer for 'Shaun of the Dead' is up at: http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/nusite.php
It's a zombie horror comedy that leaves the comedy in the hands of the living humans, where it belongs, and not with the zombies.
This looks so cool! being an avid Spaced (http://www.spaced-out.org.uk) fan. (writer/actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Writes TV comedy) I read about this a long time ago and assumed it would never get made!! It does look very British, so i doubt it will get a release outside of the UK
The IMDB (http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/) say a 9th of April UK release! so not too long to wait. Although it will probably only get released to about 4 cinemas in the whole country. :roll:
I'll do my best to go see this one!
N.B. here (http://www.waytoblue.com/./media/video/shaun_of_the_dead_trailer_100k.asx) is a direct link to the trailer for Windows Media player and here (http://www.waytoblue.com/./media/video/shaun_of_the_dead_trailer_100k.ram) is the Real media trailer.
Quote from: analogzombie
This looks so cool! being an avid Spaced (http://www.spaced-out.org.uk) fan. (writer/actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Writes TV comedy) I read about this a long time ago and assumed it would never get made!! It does look very British, so i doubt it will get a release outside of the UK
Please don't say that. I saw the trailer for this last month and I'm still laughing just thinking about it. However, if you're right and it doesn't get a US release (which you'd think someone might push this in the US on the basis that 28 Days Later did so well), please let me know when the DVD comes out in the UK. I'll buy a multi-region player and order a copy.
I NEED TO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Writting a short film called Samurai Zombies Attack at the moment actually... will be directing it before Christmas. it's gonna be good, lots of blood and dismembered corpses. :-D
Lifestyles of the undead
By Max Brooks, Special to The Times
"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth." Ken Foree's words chill your blood as the trailer for "Dawn of the Dead" flashes before your eyes: screaming victims, frantic news reports, collapsing police barricades. And suddenly there they are, zombies, the living dead! Bleeding, snarling, running ... running? Do zombies move that fast? And why aren't they shouting "More brains!"? Don't zombies eat brains? Are these even real zombies?
This question applies not only to Universal's remake of George A. Romero's zombie epic, but all forms of walking corpses. The zombie's star has risen from horror staple to pop culture icon — but what truly defines the undead?
The word "zombie," with roots dating back to ancient West Africa, has been used to mean everything from a voodoo snake god to a stagnant Japanese corporation. Cinematic zombies are even more nebulous. Each subsequent film, "Dawn of the Dead" being no exception, presents a new and contradictory depiction.
But careful analysis reveals that movie zombies can be distilled and classified into three distinct categories:
Orthodox zombies
Orthodox zombies are, unquestionably, the creation of writer-director Romero in his classic trilogy "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) and "Day of the Dead" (1985).
Slow, awkward, bereft of intelligence and devoid of all but the most basic memories or emotions, they attack and devour the flesh of the living, swelling their ranks with mauled, reanimated victims.
Their origins are realistic and simple — most likely a virus — as is their one critical vulnerability, destruction of the brain.
In these three movies, Romero has created a set of rules so plausible and so globally accepted that Orthodox zombies remain the most numerous and universally recognized version. You can see them battling yakuza thugs in Japan's "Junk" (2000), or wrestling a killer shark in Italy's "Zombi 2" (1979).
Even today's polished, MTV-esque "Resident Evil" (2002) is built upon Romero's Orthodox zombie foundation.
Reform zombies
As with all established movements, there must inevitably be a revolution. It came with Reform zombies, a new breed of ghouls bearing little resemblance to the earlier shambling automatons.
Brains, not just any flesh, are the goal, while destruction of their own brains is no longer fatal. Their speech is human, as is their speed, agility and, in the case of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," their expert choreography.
These zombies defy not only the laws of Romero but also, apparently, the laws of nature. How else could a corpse missing its diaphragm, lungs and larynx still be able to gasp, "More brains"?
While the 1980s and early '90s seemed to be the heyday of Reform zombies, they reappeared in "House of the Dead" (2003), trapping a group of young hot teens on a haunted island where only the hottest survived. If "No more room in hell ... " encapsulates the Orthodox, then nothing sums up these freer, hipper zombies better than their own slogan from 1985's "Return of the Living Dead": "They're back from the grave, and ready to party!"
Conservative zombies
As with most revolutions, the pendulum swings back to the center. The ghouls inhabiting this remade — and, many would argue, reinvented — "Dawn of the Dead" represent a limited return to more traditional guidelines. These are the Conservative zombies, who combine Reform vigor with Orthodox logic.
With the exception of Olympian physical prowess, other aspects adhere to strict Romerian doctrine. Thoughtless, speechless, heartless flesh-eaters, Conservative zombies also share the Orthodox Achilles' heel of a bullet (or sharp object) in the brain.
One school of thought maintains that Conservative zombies did not originate with "Dawn's" remake but owe their beginnings (as with many cultural phenomena) to Britain, specifically director Danny Boyle's smash hit "28 Days Later." This is a fallacy. The psychotic, homicidal hordes of "28 Days Later" were not dead, and if all somnambulist scholars can agree on one basic truth, it is that to be a zombie, one must be clinically dead. Therefore, the "infected" of "28 Days" were not zombies at all, but more accurately "crazies."
Do Conservative zombies represent a viable future for the living dead? Will they lead a parade of sequel and knockoff movies like their Reform and Orthodox predecessors? Or will they quickly be replaced by a new zombie, a ghoul with ever-changing characteristics to suit pop culture's ever-changing whims? Only time and box office balance sheets will tell.
The living dead may continue to prowl mainstream consciousness for years to come, or they may retreat whence they came, back to their subculture shadows and narrow niche lairs.
Regardless, the zombie genre, like the creatures themselves, will never truly die. As America busies itself with some new craze, obsessed with its latest shiny distraction, the undead will wait, patiently, hungrily, for the day they rise again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best of the living dead: Top 10 Zombie Movies
1. Night of the Living Dead (USA, 1968) — A farmhouse besieged by the undead, a genre is born.
2. Dawn of the Dead (USA, 1978) — As society crumbles, zombies wander through a shopping mall like ... well ... like zombies.
3. Day of the Dead (USA, 1985) — Humans holed up in a bunker not dealing with the problem right outside their door. Go figure.
4. Zombie 2 (Italy, 1979) — No social subtext whatsoever, just a zombie fighting a shark.
5. Night of the Living Dead (USA, remake 1990) — New director, same story.
6. Night of the Zombies (Italy, 1981) — Fake Italian gore, but with real cannibal footage.
7. I, Zombie (Britain, 1998) — A uniquely sympathetic, pro-zombie tale.
8. Junk (Japan, 2000) — Classic ghouls versus teens, gangsters and the Japanese Self Defense Force.
9. 28 Days Later (Britain, 2002) — Zombie-esque hordes rule post-apocalyptic Britain.
10. Wild Zero (Japan, 2000) — Zombies, aliens, transsexuals and Japanese rock 'n' roll, yea!
Max Brooks is the author of "The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead" (Three Rivers Press, 2003).
Quote from: MacGuffinThis is a fallacy. The psychotic, homicidal hordes of "28 Days Later" were not dead, and if all somnambulist scholars can agree on one basic truth, it is that to be a zombie, one must be clinically dead. Therefore, the "infected" of "28 Days" were not zombies at all, but more accurately "crazies."
this is a good point, and one that my dad brought up to me immediately after he saw the movie. not TECHNICALLY a zombie movie because theyre not dead only infected.
why are these new wave zombie movies like the only things coming out now? between 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Undead, Resident Evil 2, etc. what the hell is going on here?
Send More Zombie Films
Romero-free Night of the Living Dead sequels on the way?
Source: Empire UK
The renaissance of the flesh-eating ghoul movie, propelled by the success of the Dawn of the Dead remake and our very own Shaun of the Dead, was further amplified this week, when Empire learnt of plans to make sequels to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead – but the zombie-meister himself isn't on board…
It's likely to be announced at this year's Cannes Film Festival that preparations are being made to make Night of the Living Dead 4 and 5, with Eight Legged Freaks helmer, Ellory Elkayem at the helm. The films will be shot back-to-back in Romania, with production possibly starting later this year.
Now this is one hell of a tangled situation, so pay attention. The rights to Romero's original Dead trilogy – Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead – are tied up with different production companies (and not the maestro himself), allowing for the situation where these sequels can be positioned as 'official' sequels to the original Night (which was itself remade in 1990).
Meanwhile, rumour has it that original Day producer Richard Rubinstein has plans for a remake of the classic underground bunker flick, plus reports have filtered through from the States that Taurus Entertainment, which holds the Day rights, has already filmed a quickfire sequel, Day of the Dead: Contagium, directed by Taurus president and CEO Jim Dudelson and vice president of production Ana Clavell
Confused? You will be. And we haven't even mentioned that Romero himself is working on a fourth instalment of his Dead series, entitled Dead Reckoning. Which isn't Diamond Dead, the zombie rock musical project co-produced by the Scott brothers that we reported on yesterday. Phew!
So with that little lot (not to mention Resident Evil: Apocalypse, a rumoured Dawn sequel, and the happy news that Shaun of the Dead looks set for a decent American release), this truly looks like being the Year of the Zombie. Look out for more information on the new Night movies – plots, casting, the Romero situation - as and when we get it.
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Dead Sequel Details
Two new Living Dead installments.
The Hollywood Reporter is adding to a report that surfaced online a few days ago at Empire Online regarding the next two installments in the Return of the Living Dead film series. The trade reports that Aurora Entertainment is planning to shoot the fourth and fifth movies in the franchise back to back starting June 7 in Romania.
THR expands on the previous report, confirming that Eight Legged Freaks helmer Ellory Elkayem will direct and adds that the films will be entitled Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis and Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave From the Grave.
Actor Peter Coyote will reportedly star in both films along with a relatively unknown cast. William Butler and Aaron Strongoni wrote the scripts for both features.
As is widely known in the fan community, George Romero, director of the original Living Dead film, is currently working on his own zombie movie, Dead Reckoning.
Plan B taking a stab at 'Z'
Source: Hollywood Reporter
It was a battle between Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Pitt emerged the winner.
The production labels of the two stars -- Pitt's Plan B and DiCaprio's Appian Way -- were engaged in a competitive bidding war through their respective studios, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, over an upcoming zombie horror book by Max Brooks titled "World War Z."
By Wednesday afternoon, the dust settled with Plan B/Paramount winning the movie rights.
In 2003, Brooks wrote "Zombie Survival Guide," which explained in great deadpan detail how to survive a supposedly impending zombie apocalypse. The book went on to become a surprise cult hit.
"World War Z" also tackles the zombie genre but is set 10 years after a great global zombie epidemic and is a serious oral history of the zombie future told from many perspectives around the world. Crown Publishing is putting the book out in the fall.
The galleys of the book went out around town late last week, but interest took awhile to ignite. By the time execs finally realized they had a potential "tentpole" franchise, the battle lines were drawn between Plan B and Appian Way.
The bidding went back and forth between the two into Tuesday night and carried over into Wednesday. Sources say the rights sold for six figures, with the deal going to seven figures if the film actually gets made.
Brooks was a writer on "Saturday Night Live" from 2001 to 2003 and did voice work on the "Justice League" cartoon series.
There are said to be no hard feelings between the companies, and DiCaprio is starring in "The Departed," the Martin Scorsese crime drama that Pitt and his Plan B are producing.
How Do You Survive A Zombie Attack? Scary-Movie Vets Roth, Tarantino, Raimi Give Advice
'Always chop 'em up,' 'Evil Dead' director Sam Raimi offers.
Source: MTV
Your parents, your classmates, your co-workers and even your significant other have all laughed at you. They mock your wasted hours spent watching "Evil Dead 2"; they scoff at your memorized lines from "28 Days Later"; they giggle as you geek out over the differences between versions of "Dawn of the Dead."
But it's Halloween time again, and as you pop in your "Shaun of the Dead" DVD for the umpteenth time, the possibility once again crosses your mind: What if the dead really did rise from the ground? What valuable lessons have all your hours as a couch zombie taught you?
"I've been there," Sam Raimi laughed when we posed the question to him, having directed all three of the "Evil Dead" films. "If the dead should rise, you're going to want to get yourself a shotgun, a chainsaw and someone to watch your back. It's also good to have a partner, so that they can get taken down first. And that makes you not only the survivor, but also the star of the show."
If zombies should begin walking the streets this Hallow's Eve, the first thing you want to do — naturally — is take a moment to laugh while all those fools who wasted their time watching "The Notebook" get torn apart like a Hometown Buffet on a Friday night. Then, begin your own plan of attack by carefully monitoring the speed at which the undead are advancing.
"The majority of zombies can't run, unless it's the new 'Dawn of the Dead' movie you're in," pointed out "Saw" series director Darren Lynn Bousman. "So as long as you can run, you're OK. I myself don't run — so I'd be screwed."
"Mostly with regard to any zombie, all you have to do is run — because they can't move very quickly," agreed Bruce Campbell, the "Evil Dead" star who reigns as the most beloved zombie killer of all time. "And it's no use trying to speak to them, because they can't communicate. Just run!"
"One mistake people make is they get cocky, just 'cause they're fast, but it's like the tortoise and the hare," warned Eli Roth, director of "Cabin Fever," the "Hostel" movies and the upcoming zombie spoof "Trailer Trash." "People start running and running, and then they stop and take a nap. The zombies are lumbering, but they don't sleep!"
Although Quentin Tarantino is quick to dismiss the fleet-footed baddies ("Fast-running zombies," he scoffed. "F--- that!"), and Campbell insists, "A zombie is a zombie is a zombie," it's important to make the distinction between the loveable lumberers from the classics and the fast-running new-school zombies.
" '28 Days Later' technically isn't a zombie movie, it's a contagious [monster] film," noted writer/director Roger Avary. "But as much as I love that movie, I go crazy in films where characters do things I would never do — like when they're sleeping out in the middle of the country, on the ground! I would never do that!"
Sounding like any zombie-film fan, Avary added: "I'm the smartest guy in the world when it comes to stuff like that; I'd hide myself somewhere. That one ['28 Days Later'] scene when they're in the house and they have all the lights on in the bottom floor? And those things come crashing through? That kind of stuff just drives me insane."
"I'd pretend to be one of them, like in 'Shaun of the Dead,' " said "Black Christmas" star Mary Elizabeth Winstead. "I think I could work it. At least we actors have [the tools] to turn that on."
"Just like in 'Dawn of the Dead,' you need to find a big mall where you have tons of equipment and food that can take care of you for a while," reasoned Chris Marquette, who had a role in 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason." "So, I figure my best bet is I'm going to head to [L.A.'s ] Beverly Center the second sh-- gets crazy."
Once you and your fellow survivors have locked the doors to your hiding spot, however, movies have taught us to expect melodrama, irrational in-fighting and constant questioning of authority. "You have to create some hierarchy as to how things are going to go," Marquette said. "If anybody wants to whine and leave, I figure you've just got to kick them out the door. There's no mercy at that point."
There's a time to run, and a time to hide. When all that fails, however, it's time to kick some ass.
"I'd pull a shotgun out of nowhere and just start shooting them in the heads," advised Daeg Faerch, the 10-year-old star of "Halloween." "Just blow their heads right off!"
"I would do what 'Shaun of the Dead' did," added "Ghost Whisperer" actor Ross McCall. "Grab a bunch of LPs and start throwing them."
"I don't know if you've ever seen Lucio Fulci's film 'Zombie,' but there's a great scene where a zombie goes underwater and the shark bites the zombie, and then the zombie takes a bite out of the shark," noted Roth. "The zombie wins. So don't look to sharks for protection."
"Don't try to wrestle with a zombie, it won't work," advised "House of 1000 Corpses" star Sid Haig. "Head-shots. Nothing but head-shots. Don't worry about it, just whack them in the head and it's over. It's the only thing that will stop them — well, that and a good margarita."
"They've got to be the slow-moving kind — just shoot them in the head," explained Tarantino, thinking back to the hundreds of zombie flicks he's watched. "One bite, and you're done; you're infected. You'll have about an eight- to nine-hour incubation period after you die before you become one."
To avoid such unfortunate bites, it might help to keep the proper clothing at hand. "Get one of those shark suits, those chain-mail suits, where the sharks can't bite you," said Avary. "I guarantee if a shark can't bite you through one of those, a zombie's gonna have a hard time doing it."
"There's a great Umberto Lenzi film called 'Nightmare City' which deals with this kind of thing," Roth pointed out. "The zombies run around and rip every girl's shirt off before they attack them. So I'd say wear multiple layers of clothing if you're a girl, because the zombies don't actually kill until the breasts are exposed. ... If you're a guy, I would say get some good protective headgear so they can't bite through your head. ... Go to a sporting-goods store and get the football pads and lacrosse pads and a helmet."
Roth continued: "And don't ride a motorcycle! It's this Catch-22, because if you want to get around the cars that are stuck, you have to be on a motorcycle — but your arms are exposed, and you always get bitten in the arm!"
"You should not take your shirt off and run upstairs ... because that's what all women do, and it doesn't seem to ever work out for them," grinned Christine Lakin, star of the upcoming thriller "Red Canyon." "Wear a hardhat at all times; I carry one in my car just for the occasion."
"Always chop 'em up," advised Sam Raimi, insisting that it isn't enough to simply knock your zombie down with a head-shot. "You really want to go for the active body dismemberment when it comes to zombies because they can come back at you like a bad lunch. They'll keep repeating on you, unless you do your business.
"It's tough with zombies," he finished. "So be sure to do your due diligence."
Quote from: MacGuffin on October 30, 2007, 02:46:17 PM
How Do You Survive A Zombie Attack?
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