Zombies and Conan

There's some exciting news from AMC! "The Walking Dead", the cable channel's new series based on the graphic novel of the same name, has received a second season!!!

In other TV news, Conan O'Brien's new show, "Conan", is premiering tonight on TBS. Although experts have projected that O'Brien's ratings will not be able to compete with "The Tonight Show" (by virtue of being on cable versus network television), I hope he will be very successful and I will be a regular viewer, as I was a fan of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" from way back. Go Team Conan!!!

Mike White has been offered the chance to direct Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is exciting, considering his success with School of Rock. I think White is an excellent choice and I am crossing my fingers that he will accept the offer. Scarlett Johansson has been approached to play Elizabeth Bennett and Bradley Cooper has signed on to play Darcy. I am definitely looking forward to this hilarious adaptation coming to the big screen.

Image: Conan

2010 Geek Fright Fest: AMC's "Walking Dead" Premiere

"The Walking Dead"
Rated MA (for disturbing images)

Directed by Frank Darabont

Starring:
Andrew Lincoln
Jon Bernthal
Lennie James
Adrian Kali Turner

"The Walking Dead" is based on the graphic novel of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Tony Moore. The series is directed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) and premiered today on AMC.

In the first episode, sherrif's deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is wounded in a shootout with three criminals. He slips into a coma and when he awakes, he finds the town deserted . . . except for "the walkers". Rick decides to head to Atlanta to find his wife and son.

All I can say is "Wow". So far, this show is amazing. The acting is exceptional(aside from Lincoln's on and off American accent) and I was SO pleased to see Lennie James (Snatch) in a role that uses his wonderful talent. James plays Morgan Jones, a grieving widower trying to help his son, Duane (Adrian Kali Turner), survive. Darabont opted for a less-is-more philosophy, skipping excess dialogue and sticking to showing emotional reactions to the zombie carnage, which is far more effective. The desolation is palpable, but Darabont manages to sneak a few pleasant scenes in, most notably, one in which three characters get a hot shower for the first time in months. Morgan's grief over his wife's death is heart-wrenching and his breakdown had me on the verge of tears.

The most awe-inducing quality by far are the amazing makeup effecs created by veteran FX artist, Greg Nicotero. Nicotero is a genius with an enormous and impressive resume. His effects bump the series up to film quality and are arguably the lynch-pin of the show. I applaud the producers at AMC for not shying away from the kind of violence, gore, and gruesome makeup effects needed to create effective zombies. Finally, a channel that produces intelligent, boundary-breaking, and quality programming! (Keep it up, AMC!)

Fright Rating: 3 gasps out of a possible 5

Tonight's episode was mainly about showing the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, but there were some majorly gory moments. If you're a zombie-lover, you'll adore this series, but judging from the premiere episode, the series will also be character driven and very cinematic. If you can deal with the gore, I highly suggest watching this series.

2010 Geek Fright Fest: 28 Days Later

28 Days Later (2002)
Rated R (for violence and language)

Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring:
Cillian Murphy
Naomie Harris
Brendan Gleeson
Christopher Eccleston

Animal rights activists in Britain release a chimpanzee infected with "Rage", an Ebola-like virus, and are immediately infected themselves. 28 days later, a bicycle courier, Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a deserted London hospital to find England has been decimated by the rouge virus. After being chased by infected citizens, he finds a small band of survivors. Together they must escape the city and the hordes of infected chasing them along the way.

Drawing heavily from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and George Romero's groundbreaking film Night of the Living Dead, Boyle and writer Alex Garland created a genre-changing modern zombie flick. Boyle's feeling was that every generation gets the type of zombie they deserve. Brain-eating radioactive zombies were created in a generation terrified of nuclear attack. With recent fears about the spreading of disease, Boyle and Garland based their zombies on a viral apocalypse.

The most amazing scenes in the film are those of deserted London streets. One of the busiest, most congested cities in the world, filming deserted areas was no easy task. Boyle and his team managed to film for an hour at a time, setting up a ravaged scene and and quickly taking it down again before and after each sequence. Garland and Boyle thoroughly researched the aftermath of unrest in areas like Sierra Leone and Rwanda, replicating pictures they had seen in some of the film's scenes (most notably, the bodies piled in the church).

The main reason zombies are scary is that there are so many of them. This movie doubles that fear. Not only are there thousands, the infected in 28 Days Later are ridiculously quick and the virus transmits from an infected person to a healthy person in a matter of seconds. Even a drop of infected blood can transmit the virus.

The film was shot on digital video, which gives it a realistic, raw quality - almost like a documentary. Boyle used the slow motion feature on Canon XL1 DV camera to film the infected, which produces a "jumpy" quality, making the scenes appear as though they were trimmed and edited together. He also hired athletic extras to play the infected, believing that they would be able to move their bodies in ways regular people wouldn't. All of these elements work together to create frenzied post-apocalyptic world where survival is the only goal.

The cast in this film is excellent, but they are outshone by the infected zombies, who are some of the most terrifying movie monsters of this century, made worse by the fact that a world wide epidemic is - if not probable - at the very least realistic.

Fright Rating: 4 gasps out of a possible five

This film is scary, fast-paced, and bloody. Fans of zombie flicks will love it, but I highly recommend it for all adult filmgoers.

Two Zed-Word Videos

It must be a new month, because it's my weekend off. To celebrate, here are two zombie videos for your viewing pleasure . . .

First, Jonathan Coulton (lyricist of the uber-popular "Still Alive" from the videogame, Portal) sings a plaintive request for a little help from a friend:



And, if you like kitties and you love zombies, this video is for you. (Thanks to my friend Beck for posting this on Facebook):

AMC Rocks My World

If you're a regular reader, you know about my love for zombies. You can imagine how delighted I was, then, to discover that AMC is premiering a series based on the Walking Dead graphic novels by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. AMC has become known for their excellent regular programming, including "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad". From the first trailer (released on imdb.com today), it looks like "The Walking Dead" will be no different. AMC has tapped A-list director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, etc.) to write and direct the series and special effects veteran Greg Nicotero will do the makeup (which looks fantastic!) The cast is made up of relative unknowns, but both "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" began with lesser known actors and have become major hits, so this type of casting could be a brillant strategy for AMC.

The first season will have a 6 episode run and will premiere on October 31st. The 90-minute pilot is the culmination of the channel's month-long "Fearfest".

Ready to be excited? Behold:

Doll Braaaaainnnns . . .

Like most little girls, I had a doll collection. My dad brought dolls from all the places he visited around the world and they sat on shelves collecting dust.

My favorite dolls were my Barbies. I had a veritable army of Barbies - all different kinds, including the Disney princesses. Eventually, I grew out of the Barbie craze (except for this one, which is one of my prize possessions), but the other day I found myself in the toy aisle at Target squealing over a new Barbie. I never intended to even look at the Barbies. We were on our way from the Legos (so Kris could drool over the deluxe Star Wars kits) to the baby toys to check out possible presents for some friends who are expecting.

Occasionally, Target carries the "collector's" Barbies. These are clearly not meant for little girls (evidence: the new "Mad Men" Barbies). Ever since the release of The Birds Barbie, I've been hoping for a Rear Window Grace Kelly Barbie (wouldn't that be perfect?).

The Barbie I was squealing over was a new doll called Frankie Stein. She's part of a new collection called "Monster High", which is basically a hybrid of Bratz dolls and Barbies with a movie monster flair.



I think they're adorable. (There's also a Creature From the Black Lagoon one!) There is one problem, however. Mattel has created a website and short webisodes to promote the dolls and there is a character that doesn't have a doll. Ghoulia Yelps (daughter of the Zombie) got the shaft! And she's the best character! (Other than being a zombie, check out the cherry print camisole and the awesome cat-eye spectacles!) My favorite part about her - she's a genius, but because she's a zombie, she only speaks in moans!



There's been talk of releasing a Ghoulia doll in 2011, so I'm crossing my fingers.

Agghhhhh!

I posted my list of top five zombie movies and realized that there is SO much zombie stuff right now.


Kris, who is not a big reader, devoured (pun intended) Max Brooks's World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide (which was actually a birthday present for me, thank you very much!). Brooks presents the zombie apocalypse as an eventuality that the world must prepare for and the Survival Guide instructs you on how to defend yourself against the walking dead. World War Z is the "history" of the life-as-we-know-it ending war against the zombies. If you are a zombie fan, these are essential for your library.


The Starz channel, which has some of the best documentaries on horror flicks (Fantastic Flesh is amazing . . . find it on Netflix), is currently running Zombiemania on Starz OnDemand. There are interviews with George Romero, makeup and FX specialists Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, and Max Brooks, among others. It pretty much goes into detail about most of the movies I discussed in my previous post and discusses the cultural significance of zombies.


There are countless zombie fiction books out there, bordering on becoming a separate genre, but the most surprising example combines fine English literature and the awesomeness of zombies. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Seth Grahame-Smith, with a co-author credit for Jane Austen) inserts a zombie warrior subplot into the original text of Pride and Prejudice. I have read excerpts, but the cover alone is hilarious enough to want to buy it. (Also available from Grahame-Smith - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters). There is also a wealth of zombie graphic novels, and capitalizing on the success of Zombie Survival Guide are books like Zombies for Zombies, etc.


There are, of course, the zombie video games as well . . . multitudinous Resident Evils and the more recent Left 4 Dead series.

And finally, while it's not technically about zombies, Stephen King's Cell is reminiscent of the zombie genre and offers the same social commentary found in most zombie fiction and films. Even if you are not a King fan (which you should be), it is an awesome book. The book on tape (available through bookstores and iTunes) is a great alternative due to the excellent voice work of veteran actor Campbell Scott.

Zombtastic!

Being a huge zombie movie fan, I had to see Zombieland. Kris and I went to see it on opening night, and we weren't disappointed. It was funny, gory, and full of pop culture references - everything we could ask for in a zombie movie. I highly recommend the flick. See it with zombie-loving friends. I'd say more, but I don't want to give anything away.

It did get me thinking about my favorite zombie movies, and I've compiled a list of my top five.*

#5: Day of the Dead (George Romero, 1985) Straight-forward zombie apocolypse flick that would be unmemorable if not for six little words . . . . "Choke on 'em! Choke on 'em!" (This clip has fairly gory special effects, so not for the faint of heart. Click at your own risk.)

#4: Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968) The original and quintessential zombie flick makes the list for the nearly unprecedented use of an African-American hero and the distopic ending. It's also got a creepy kid zombie and is pretty darn scary for using chicken cutlets as body parts.

#3: Fido (Andrew Currie, 2006) It has an awesome cast (Scottish comedian Billy Connolly and Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss) and a kitschy-cool storyline. After a cataclysmic zombie war in an alternate universe 1950s, zombies are captured, collared, and turned into servants. It's funny and sweet and satirical, which sounds counterintuitive for a zombie movie, but it definitely works. Highly underrated and worth the watch.

#2: Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009) . . . yes it is that good. Go see it to find out why.

#1: Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright 2004) Zombie purists may scoff, but Shaun of the Dead has it all. Underdog heroes, comic relief, nods to other films in the genre, loads of pop culture references, human and zombie killings alike, and scads of quoteable lines.

*Remember, these are MY top five, not the end all and be all of zombie movies. I'm sure you have your own list and your own reasons for ranking them as such.


By the way . . . you've got red on you.