Author's Note - Zombies

There is no denying that zombies are a very popular horror genre these days. With the success of shows like “The Walking Dead” and countless, horribly made films on Netflix, zombies are a major movie monster, ranking among the classics like vampires and ghosts. Ever since George A Romero helped change to concept of a zombie from a drugged voodoo victim to the hungry undead, zombie movies have steadily become more and more prominent. This week’s theme of zombies will include some of the best the sub-genre has to offer as well as a few that I haven’t seen yet. Hopefully I won’t regret renting them!

Besides the seven reviewed during this week, be sure to consider the other zombie related movies that I’ve reviewed previously if you’re looking for one to watch. These include -

1.      .  Dead Alive
2.     .   Dead Snow
3.     .  28 Days Later
4.     .  Dellamorte Dellamore
5.     .   La Horde
6.      .   Mutants
7.      .   REC 2
8.      .   REC 3

Author's Note - 100 reviews and top 7 suggestions!

I can’t believe that I have already posted my 100^th review! What started off as a mere writing exercise has become a fun and amazing experience. I’ve had more hits on this blog than I ever expected and I’ve begun writing my own short stories in my free time, which was the entire point of this in the first place. I have also seen some great new horror films that I know I wouldn’t have otherwise. Having this blog is an incredible motivator to go out to Scarecrow Video and rent movies every week or scour Netflix for a film that fits the theme I’m working on. And I believe that it’s only proper that I now list the seven movies that I had not seen before this that I highly recommend anyone and everyone who loves a good horror movie to see at once!

1.”The Last Exorcism 2” – A strong sequel that keeps the viewer engaged.

2. “REC 3” – Breathes new life into a franchise and takes a serious movie and adds a little black comedy to keep things interesting.

3. “Grave Encounters” – A lower budget POV style film with some fun ghostly scares.

4. “The Bay” – Unique use of POV filmed vignettes that tell a haunting story.

5. “Angel Heart” – Perfect blending of film noir and horror genres, a true classic that I should have seen years ago.

6. “Atrocious” – On the same level of “Blair Witch” (which I love), a POV that is willing to show what happens after…

7. “Midnight Meat Train” – Great cast with a killer story adapted from one of my favorite authors.

I can’t wait to see what I get to see and review for my next 100 films!

REC 3 (2012)

The final movie for my Spanish theme week is “REC 3”. I liked this one much more than “REC 2” for several reasons. First, it doesn’t take itself as seriously and actually has several great moments for some dark comedy. Second, it changes up the format; about twenty minutes into the movie, it drops the found footage/POV style that was used in the first two films are becomes a straight forward film. This was a great choice to make by director Paco Plaza (who wrote and directed the first two films) because it shows that he’s trying to break the mold and not make a copycat movie. That attempt clearly did not work for “REC 2” and the change of style and mood fits perfectly in the storyline for “REC 3”.

Koldo and Clara are getting married and all of their family and friends are there to celebrate, even Koldo’s uncle who was bitten by a dog at the veterinarian office that he works at. All of the standard wedding moments are caught on film including the ceremony, cutting of the cake, a groomsman sneaking off with a guest of the bride, but when the dancing is about to begin, Koldo’s uncle falls off a balcony and onto a table. His wife rushes over but it’s too late, he’s been turned and bites her in the neck. Infected people biting unaffected people chaos takes over and Koldo and Clara are separated. The film then follows Koldo and then follows Clara until there are finally reunited and many more guests are killed. It’s a fun bloodbath kind of movie with moments that seem inspired by “Dead Alive” and “Shaun of the Dead”.

Favorite moment – Koldo and a waiter sneaking around looking for Clara while wearing armor and carrying a morning-star that they found in a shrine to Saint George.

Second favorite moment – Clara killing infected guests with a chainsaw!