(2015 Anthology with some original content)
2010 - 2013 (USA / Spain / UK
/ Canada / Australia)
Not a movie, but a
collection of varied quality 2010 - 2013 zombie shorts mashed together by a rather strained
news-reader narrative. Presented by
Dread Central these
11 short
films have nothing in common other than their gut munching brothers and
sisters, so some credit should be given that there's something to tie them
together at all. Also Bill Oberst Jr. as Marvin Gloatt does a half reasonable
job portraying a reporter deteriorating to a zombie bite with a script almost always lacklustre and overreaching.
I've reviewed each
film separately. Some are good, some are bad, most are average. As an overall
product I feel hard pushed to recommend it as the great shorts can be found
independently and other than Adrián Cardona and David Muñoz's audaciously
excessive duo Fist of Jesus and Brutal Relax I doubt any would be watched a
second time. Still promoting amateur zombie film making is something I feel
should be rewarding so I'll be kind -
5/10.
Steven@WTD.
Shorts in order shown:
Dark Times
2010 (USA) 5 mins
Rather formulaic first person shakey cam short that leaves the viewer scratching his or her head. Why were so many people near the power plant that late at night? Why doesn't he stop filming? Why is there a guy dressed as Father Christmas and why when he's a zombie does he spit his food out rather than consume it? (Ok I'm being facetious as we know the actor just didn't want any of the gut-a-likes in his mouth.)
These cohesive wrangles aside Dark Times is a reasonably competently put together little bit of apocalyptic carnage that just tries too hard to not only stop and think (see above), but too hard to cast off the derivative accusation it surely wears. I can understand writer / director's Peter Horn and Jared Marshall's fear and could even get behind some of the genre-play, especially the first person transformation, casting aside its, again, disjointed feel, but by the finale it felt they'd given up any desire to remain cohesive or consistent at all, and it suffered for it - 4/10.
Fist of Jesus
2012 (Spain) 15 mins
Okay, where to begin
with the silly little gem. Blasphemous? Most definitely, though with tongue
firmly in cheek and no real desire to offend ala Monty Python etc. Excessive? Off the chart with
perhaps only their previous gore-fest Brutal Relax or
Dead Alive (Brain Dead) coming close. Yes it's also
prosthetic madness but with such little regard to reign things in, whether it's
spinal cords beings ripped out or heads being popped, the comic anti-realism just adds to the insanity. Finally, any good? Yes, it's quite the riotous ride, though
perhaps it does actually go on a tad too long allowing me to finally apply the
phrase gore-bore; after thinking it up years ago. Another Adrián Cardona and
David Muñoz must watch, but for all the wrong reasons -
7/10.
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
2010 (USA) 23
mins
Over-all a highly
stylised pop-culture bit of zombie fun that manages to blend story and comical
narrated instructional video cohesively and engagingly. Split into segments,
something Zombieworld takes advantage of to spread it across its presentation,
some are distinctly better than others and sometimes the humour misses the
mark, but overall it's a highly engaging little romp. There's a play with
genres from people who obviously understand post-zombie cinema and it's a
recommended throwaway bit of fun - 6/10.
I am Lonely
2011 (UK) 8 Mins
A brief flirt with
action quickly turns into a six minute mildly amusing, utterly throw-away
one-man ramble. Chris (Matt Prendergast) spills out the annoying diatribe of
self-obsessed irreverent nonsense to his dying house mate and whilst I can
respect what they were trying to do it's just not all particularly funny. A
tight little play; it's not bad in what it's doing; I'm just not sure why anyone would have done it in the first place - 3/10.
Dead Stop
2011 (USA) 5 mins
A great little
ground zero short. Tense, gripping and dark, this to the point zombie
footage-cam flit fits a lot into five minutes, even managing a pervasive hint at
a larger problem. Very good and would love to have seen something bigger from
director Tommy Woodard, who went on to become location manager on such series
as Fear the Walking Dead, 8/10.
Home
2010 (Australia) 12 mins
A short survivalist
film playing with isolation, loss and grief in the Australian Post-Apocalyptic
outback. Jaimie McDowell staggers lost and confused mourning the loss of her
would be husband between one gut muncher and another fully occupying the empty barren tundra. An average composition if we're honest, that even manages
to drag out a bit. Moody, indulgent, and a bit up its own behind, it's still tight, well performed and shot - 4/10.
Dead Rush
2013 (Canada) c. 12 mins
A mixed bag shaky
cam short from Director Zach Ramelan. Full of energy it's a wild little zombie
survivor chase that's interesting and engaging yet entirely throwaway. There's
a nice little twist at the end but for the most part it feels like a cheap thrown
together / made up as it's going along student project, with mates acting as a
favour rather than a calling - 4/10.
Teleportal
2010 (USA) 2 mins
A one gag throwaway
short; but one that actually works. An idea played with in
Demons 2, though reversed here; but
we'll let it go, as it's so well put together, brutal, straight to the
point, and delivers. A delight -
8/10.
Certified
2012 (USA) 9 mins
A delightful and
charming rural 1950's zombie tale in the Creepshow / Tales from the Crypt vibe.
It's postman Frank Nuttell's (Thomas Garner) first day on the job and he's soon
intently embroiled in the sad tale of a young girls lost father and brother
to a mining accident, and a mothers forlorn denial. Writer / director Luke
Guidici's little yarn works, is well performed and delivers a great punch line which I won't spoil - 8/10.
Brutal Relax
2010 (Spain) 15 mins
Another truly eccentric
zombie silly from Adrián Cardona and David Muñoz. A silly a show-case for
excessive violence, it's audaciously over the top and really if we're all
honest, just an excuse to fit as much gut ripping, bone splintering, head
exploding and blood spilling nonsense into fifteen minutes as possible. Also if
we're honest, I'm only reviewing this as it appeared on Zombieworld as I don't
think the sea-lizard-creatures from the black lagoon are actually remotely
zombie. Still, it's breath-taking relentless fun, and doesn't quite get as
gore-tedious as their subsequent Fist of Jesus; also José María Angorrilla
provides a lead role performance I'll never forget - 8/10.
Marathon Apocalypse
2013 (Canada) 2 mins
Entirely throwaway
short zombie chase, followed by nice clean CG narrated zombie global pandemic
intro video. A promotional video for the Montreal zombie run event, it did its job, but is entirely too lightweight as an entity in its own right to really pass any kind of meaningful judgement; still, it is quite a nice atmospheric 30 second chase - 4/10.
2012 (USA)
Directed and written
by Jon Schnepp, W is for WTF! unfortunately I feel, falls into the latter camp
with an anything goes style designed to disgust and disturb and a series of
vulgar and obnoxious ideas that never really comes together. I'm not going to say
it never raises a smile or doesn't ever entertain, and it certainly wears its
letter loud and proud but as a complete short it feels rather rushed and lazy.
