Monday, June 16, 2014

Junesploitation Day 16: Zombies!

They are evil. They are dead. They are ravenous.

27 comments:

  1. Jean Rollins' THE LIVING DEAD GIRL (1982) on Amazon Prime for the first time.

    Two little French girls, Hélène and Catherine, make an innocent BFF blood oath to always look after each other. Little did they know that, once they grew up, Hélène (Marina Pierro) would have her hands full when Catherine (Françoise Blanchard) comes back into her life two years after the latter's death. Mute, confused and with a never-ending taste for human blood and flesh, Catherine is no mindless living dead minion. She still has feelings and thoughts, and knowing who/what she is, what she does to others and what Hélène is willing to do for her drives Catherine into a serious existential angst that rivals the pain her body feels when it needs to feed.

    This being a Jean Rollin picture means Catherine looks mighty good and sexy for a two-year corpse (which has me seriously questioning whether the chemical spill that starts the movie proper is actually what brings Catherine back to life), the lesbian vibe is an ever-present motif and, in a nod of where the horror genre was in '82, the blood and gore more abundant than your average moody, atmospheric Rollin flick. Two American tourists sniffing around Catherine's abandoned castle (Mike Marshall and Carina Barone) make for a poor source of alleged tension, but whatever. If you want your zombie action sexy, bloody and introspective "The Living Dead Girl" delivers the goods. Two blood-soaked, razor-sharp nails up.

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  2. Planet Terror (2007)

    I was so happy, so very happy...when the credits finally began to roll. Couldn't stand the retro flickering effect, especially in a relatively recent film. Perhaps, I've spent too long in the "developed" film world, so to speak and, as a result, haven't sampled enough elsewhere. I'm just used to good films, I guess.

    Furthermore, "how low can you go? How low can you go?" (I'm singing here, by the way.) What's up with Bruce Willis? I haven't bothered to check his filmography, in order to learn when exactly his career started going down hill, but I think his inclusion made this bad film even worse. Rose McGowan's ridiculous, yet entertaining, performance did the film some justice, nonetheless.

    In the end, I'd say that this is the perfect film for those aspiring extras (myself included), whom yearn to be killed in front of millions of moviegoers, so as to strike that item off their "Things to do before I die" list, next to finding true love and having a threesome with Japanese twins.

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  3. White Zombie (1932)

    As I mentioned last Friday in Netflix This Movie, although this public domain title is available everywhere and usually for free, I urge you to seek out the recent Cary Roan restoration on Blu-Ray. The quality is revelatory and should get the film reassessed in the same way that Universal's recent Blu-Ray restoration of Dracula made critics take a second look at that old chestnut.

    Bela Lugosi plays Murder Legendre, the zombie master who keeps a local sugar cane processor stocked with workers who never complain about being paid less than the minimum wage. Lugosi always said that this was one of his favorites of all his roles.

    In much the same way that Universal's The Mummy owes a lot to the script and structure of their earlier Dracula, White Zombie seems to be a quickie rewrite of that great film as well. Modern viewers, I suspect, will be put off by the film's languid pace, but also surprised by some of the film's pre-code suggestive hijinks.

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  4. The Zombie Diaries (2006)

    Proof that the UK can produce a found-footage horror movie just as bland and uninvolving as those made in the US. George Romero's similar Diary of the Dead is also not very good, but it's preferable to this because at least it feels like it has something to say, whereas this is just a bleak, empty movie.

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  5. ZOMBIE HIGH (1987)

    Look at this cast: Virginia Madsen! Sherilynn Fenn! Even Paul Feig of all people! A girl goes to an elite private school where the student body starts losing their individuality. She does the Nancy Drew thing and investigates. These are mostly “mindless drone” zombies as opposed to “flesh-eating reanimated corpses” zombies, but that’s OK. I’ve always maintained that zombies cannot exist without metaphor, and the metaphor here is the sameness and apparent airheadedness of rich preppie kids, so it works. I guess what I’m saying is I liked this movie.

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  6. Zombie Ass: The Toilet of the Dead (2011)

    If you know the director Noboru Iguchi (The Machine Girl, Robogeisha to name two of the most popular) then you kind of know what your getting into. The difference is, I really don't like either of those and have always stood by my opinion that "Tokyo Gore Police" is the only movie of this genre that anyone needs to see. It is by far the best. Surprisingly, this was pretty damn good! Now, that's objective because you have to know the genre pretty well and, frankly, most of the movies that represent the genre suck.

    This one was just so ridiculous it was actually fun to watch. There is NO way for me to describe this film without it sounding like the most revolting movie ever. Hot chicks who fart vaporous gas and have parasites and monsters coming from their anus and other orifices; yeah, that just about sums it up. Over the top, of course (it's called Zombie Ass); played for nothing more than laughs and gross out, a couple homages to Evil Dead 2, hot chicks who are somehow still hot with farting sound effects and their asses exposed with nasty......my lord this sounds so fucking dumb as I write this, I need to stop.

    You probably would only watch this if you know the filmmakers or the genre and I am happy to report it's much better then most of them.

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    Replies
    1. Forgot to mention there are plenty of Zombies (and ass).

      Btw, this was the hardest movie I've ever written a review about. Could you imagine the writers pitching this to a studio?! Only in Japan my friends.

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    2. I'm just gonna go ahead and file this one under "better you than me"

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    3. I have seen Zombie Ass, and I remember being all "Really? This AGAIN??" It was just too formula.

      Actually, it was the kind of movie that's kind of fun to see once. And only once. Asana Mamoru is from another planet.

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    4. "Asana Mamoru is from another planet" ...that I would live on in a second!

      Agreed with seeing it once, however, I disagree with the formula to an extent. I think the formula is pretty much overused in the genre, but for some reason, this felt different, with a clear appreciation for American and Italian Zombie and Monster Horror films. The others in the genre, for the most part, are just a mishmash of ideas that are thrown together. This one seemed like the whole thing was actually thought out.

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    5. Oh, I was just kidding about the 'formula.' There is no other movie that even remotely resembles this one. The sarcasm doesn't always translate. Sorry.

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    6. They should get the people who did the opening credits to this for the next James Bond. Just saying.

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    7. Patrick - oh, right on, I see now. Honestly, being that I LOVE that you actually saw zombie ass, I thought the comment was in reference to the actual formula that these movies tend to have.

      Shannon - No doubt! And great final shot too before the end title card!

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    8. Chaybee1 wrote: Patrick ... I LOVE that you actually saw zombie ass...

      Chaybee, I'd put "zombie ass" with upper case letters to clarify it's the movie "Zombie Ass" that Patrick has seen. Because the implications of what Patrick has seen if it's not a movie but... my God, when is Junesploitation over?!?! :-P

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    9. HAHA!! That's freaking funny :)

      I'm guessing Patrick has probably seen some zombie ass before. Matter of fact, MOST OF US HAVE!

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  7. Nightmare City (1980)

    As Patrick's screenshot shows, the zombies in this are...let's just say the filmmakers were very frugal with the makeup budget. Theses zombies come from a plane exposed to radiation that lands in a city that will soon become NIGHTMARE CITY!

    The zombies in this movie are unique because they are proficient with firearms and other deadly weapons and that they drink blood and don't go the full Romero. The acting is about what you expect even though everybody is redubbed Italian(even American Mel Ferrer). It's all very goofy. The gore isn't Fulci level but on par with a lot of Italian horror. The ending made me roll my eyes, in that it goes with one of the oldest cliches imaginable.

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  8. Land of the dead (2005): The film has its rough patches and some not very good performances. But there is an interesting exploration of class. I think this idea could have been better executed but the idea of Cholo not being excepted even after getting enough money, as he simply isn't good enough for them as he cleaned out their garbage (or as we say in the UK, rubbish). I was much more interested in John Leguizamo and his performance as Cholo. I felt more invested in him than Simon Bailey as Riley. I even cared more for Big Daddy played by Eugene Clark as the zombie with some personality who helps make the arsehole of the film pay. I am glad I gave it a go (very cheap buy from a DVD shop) even if it isn't the best.

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  9. The Crazies (1973) - First Viewing

    While the Crazies aren't technically zombies, this is definitely a zombie movie (made by George Romero, inventor of the genre). While Night of the Living Dead was about a zombie outbreak from the perspective of one house, The Crazies is about a zombie outbreak from the perspective of "the establishment", those in charge. Basically it boils down to just a bunch of bickering between military types and scientst types, etc. Still, this is a pretty good movie. Romero seems to be an "Aww shucks" kind of guy, but he makes some really SMART movies. Recommended.

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  10. Burial Ground (1981) trailer / full movie

    Shameless rip-off of Fulci's Zombie, set in the Italian countryside instead of the Caribbean, and with four times the number of characters for the undead to munch on. After seeing a few Italian zombie flicks, I've come to believe that the reason they're all so somnambulant is simply because they're aping Fulci, hoping to replicate his success. The only real noteworthy feature is the terrifically creepy presence of diminutive actor Peter Bark, in his mid-twenties and his only major performance, portraying an Oedipal 10 year old, and entrusted with the climactic, gory punchline it feels like the entire movie was built to deliver (nsfw).

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    1. Holy shit that movie. That actor. That performance. The breastfeeding. Holy shit.

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  11. Zombie Lake (1981)

    I'll spare you the plot (I guess there was a plot?) and say I should of looked this one up before watching it. Wow, where do I begin. So apparently, the director (who had directed a number of adult films) didn't even put his real name on it because he was so embarrassed by it. The makeup effects in this movie made Nightmare City seem like an episode of the walking dead. However, I did learn that French women do not own bathing suits. Thank you Zombie Lake. Probably should watched Cemetery Man.

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  12. Fido (2006)

    Super entertaining and a very interesting take on the zombie genre. I liked that despite the bright colors and poppy music, the universe this movie creates is actually quite horrifying if you think about it to much...It was a nice mix.

    Side note, I had to miss out on Junesploitation this weekend. So happy to be back!

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  13. The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie) (1974, dir. Jorge Grau) Really solid zombie movie has a lot of atmosphere and some good characters in its two leads. The pacing is a little slow and the gore, while present, is restrained compared to something like a Fulci movie, but I really dug this one. I'll be watching it again. The transfer on the Blue Underground Blu-ray is amazing, too.

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  14. Fido (2006)

    The opening newsreel exposition reminded me of Starship Troopers but this quickly finds its own tone and though it wears its metaphor on its sleeve, it's a very smart and funny movie. Also, CANADIAN.

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  15. World War Z (2013)

    I like the scene when they're trying to get to the medicine in the lab and they're like, "Don't make any noise because zombies are attracted to noise!" And then they all continuously MAKE TONS OF NOISE.

    I also like the scene when Brad Pitt's wife calls him on his space phone, causing it to ring, causing zombies to attack, causing a character to die. GOOD GOING MRS. PITT!

    And don't forget about that scene where the CGI looks horrible and people get sucked out of the plane and the audience becomes numb to emotion and OH WAIT THAT'S ALL THE SCENES.

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  16. Fido (2006)

    First viewing and fell in love with it immediately! I laughed out loud more in this movie than I have at any other in quite awhile. I love the "Little Timmy is trapped in the well", style scene, Mrs Henderson brought a laugh every time, (could have something to do with my name perhaps?), and was there something else? ....Oh yes, brain craving, flesh munching zombies! Top it all of with the fact that it's Canadian and BAM! Honestly, whats not to love?

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