Mad House Zoo
...and the trouble she discovers.
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Showing posts tagged Zombie
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Patton Oswalt Zombie Spaceship Wasteland Book Review
When I pre-ordered Patton Oswalts Zombie Spaceship Wasteland I believed it would be much like any other comedian who had taken pen to paper and etched themselves a place in history as an author. I was sure there would be a few laugh out loud moments mostly revolving around stand up material. I absolutely did not think that once I opened the front cover on a lazy Sunday morning that I would be unable to put the book down until I met, frantically, with the back cover. Fortunately, for me, that’s exactly what occurred.
There are two stories that struck me as touching or endearing and the first involves the mishappenings of a movie theater job and its possibly homeless employee Roddy. Coming from a small town in Ohio, I know that guy. I’m sure every small town has him; the adult (by age definition alone) who befriends teenagers just to have a following. Connected in a very dissimilar way is the reminiscing of his (Patton) Uncle Pete. Through Pattons eyes you follow the fear of becoming stuck in that small space for eternity that both Roddy and Uncle Pete inhabit. While contemplating the issue Patton became very close to convincing himself that is exactly what he could do; becoming an author who never leaves his home town. It has been done before (Stephen King reference here) and surely he could become one of the greats. What pulled at my heart strings is the fact that I am that person. Nestled neatly between the punch lines and the memories is a haunting truth to Mr. Oswalts memoir.
The essay that truly hooked me in this collection is the perfect summary of the imaginative landscape that he describes for himself and friends. Depending on your preference for Zombies, Spaceships, or Wastelands that determines your personality type. I am a part zombie but mostly wasteland type of gal. It’s just too bad I’ve never been able to write those two things out of my system.
Also in this success you’ll learn of a beginning comedian who never got to choose his headliners and their own style of comedy as well as the managers of clubs who are cheesingly skeevy. I strongly suggest this book to not only Oswalt fans but for any awkward, stay in town, kid who has wished for something a little more. -
The Walking Dead Video Game
Telltale, the company behind the Lego franchise, has finally released some screen shots of the new Walking Dead video game. The minds behind Telltale, as well as the series creator Robert Kirkman, did not want to rehash the graphic novel or the ongoing television series so they’ve concocted a new character, Lee. Apparently Lee, a criminal in one way or another, was being transported to prison the very day of the Zombie apocalypse.
It appears that this wont be a sandbox endeavor nor will it be about saving the world. We shall be solving problems that one would need to deal with in a real world flesh eating take over. Broken bones, hunger, and exploring small spaces for needed tools seems to be the name of this game.
As a zombie fan I’m always delighted for high quality undead material but as a female “gamer” with terrible eye / hand coordination I’m sure I’ll suck at the game play. For those of who aren’t inept at gaming I hope you’re all appropriately excited.
For more still images and the full story check out Game Informer.
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At number eight on the countdown is Night of the Living Dead (1990)! Yes: 1990. Not 1968. Don’t get me wrong: I adore every single frame of George A. Romero’s seminal zombie flick. Its one of the most influential films in horror history. I just prefer Tom Savini’s remake.
As I’m sure you know, Night of the Living Dead—remake and otherwise—tells the tale of a mysterious zombie outbreak and a group of strangers who try to survive it by seeking shelter in an old farm house. They come from wildly different backgrounds and the story focuses as much on their struggles to coexist with one another as it does on their resistance effort. When you look beyond the flesh-eating ghouls you’re left with an excellent character picture.
Most of those characters are timeless—they resonate as much today as they did in 1968. That’s what makes the picture hold up so well. One of them doesn’t, though. In Romero’s film, Barbra—the female lead—is a character conditioned by society to be flimsy and weak. When the outbreak occurs, she falters. She literally becomes a blithering idiot. Her co-lead, Ben, is a powerful character who pushed societal boundaries by being one of cinema’s first mainstream portrayals of an African American hero. Barbra, on the other hand, maintains the status quo of the atomic housewife. The juxtaposition of a progressive character like Ben with a markedly regressive one like Barbra has always baffled me.
Savini’s remake fixes that. Romero’s script—yes, Romero scripted the remake—depicts this Barbra as a powerful, take-no-prisoners ass-kicker. When the outbreak occurs, not only does she not falter—she thrives. Ben is just as powerful as he was in the original, but this Barbra doesn’t need Ben. Or anyone else, for that matter. She’s a capable, resourceful human being that can survive without using anyone else as her crutch. 1990 Barbra is the antithesis of 1968 Barbra and that makes for a massive improvement.
The film’s greater social subtext is also modernized. The original conclusion is a sobering commentary on racial prejudice that was extremely progressive for its time. The remake’s ending pushes a statement more relevant today—a statement about how reactionary people are. How easily we turn on others. How we almost want someone to villainize. It’s powerful.
Also, there’s good gore. And lots of tension. And a Bill Moseley cameo. Huzzah.
Could not have said this better myself. Many people question my taste for Tom Savini’s remake and now I know I’m not alone.
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Grace Movie Review
The 2009 independent horror film Grace follows the missteps into Motherhood as Madeline, a newly widowed mother, has been granted a miracle when her stillborn child comes back to life. As a vegan with a huge mistrust in medical science Madeline refuses to take Grace, the new born child, to a hospital to have her tested. Instead Madeline uses her keen logic and decides to use her midwife as a pediatrician.
Madeline’s mother in law Vivian is distraught at losing her own son and becomes suspicious of Madeline’s ability to care for Grace. Vivian sets a plan in motion to keep the child for herself while calling in a favor from her family doctor. Finding an old breast pump Vivian, well into menopause, begins to stimulate her breasts into giving milk and even has her elderly husband suck / drink (it’s unclear) from her right breast. Yeah, that was really gross.
Madeline, unaware of her mother in laws new obsession, is having a hard time getting Grace to feed from her own breast. It appears that Grace is gaining nutrition from the blood that comes from Madeline’s raw skin instead of the milk that she is providing. Yeah, that was really gross too. Not only is little Grace feeding from her mothers blood (there’s no symbolism in that, right?) she also seems to carry an aroma which causes flies to swarm her nursery. Instead of closing the open window as any normal person might do Madeline decides to decorate the entire room with hanging fly traps. Oh yeah, and our miracle baby is a living, breathing, zombie.
This film is garbage. From the opening “trying to make a baby” sex scene to the very end this flick is a bore. The acting is slowed down with awful pauses in which the characters seem to be contemplating each following line and the mechanical doll is bad. I mean, really bad. It seems that the writer was terribly wronged by a vegan at some point in their life as much of the film surrounds Madeline’s mistrust in conventional food and diary products even forcing her feline to drink soy milk. I’m not sure why the mother in law needed to show her breasts on film with her weird obsession about breast feeding since it didn’t go anywhere and served the only purpose it could, grossing me the fuck out. As for the midwife; well she and Madeline were apparently in some type of romantic relationship which causes her to ignore the odd behavior displayed by both mother and child.
The whole movie was crammed together with little point to any of the plot devices. Zombie baby stinks, zombie baby eats boob, Madeline loses her mind and feeds zombie baby some cow blood. The end. Oh yeah, and, Certified Pass. -
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My favorite non-zombie related George A. Romero film. I bought mine at one time thinking I was a super fan. Now I believe you can buy it at Walmart for five dollars after the vampire boom.
I would pay money for this particular poster.
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Title: Zombi 2
Language: Italian / Dubbed in English
Genre: Horror / Zombie
Year: 1979
Favorite Foreign Film -
- Amy Augusta
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Things I Like
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do you ever sing a duet and pretend youre both people
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At a job interview. Wish me luck!
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