Cool News
A report from the Venice screenings of Joe Dante's THE HOLE and George Romero's SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD comes lurching in!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I'm currently at a tropical island paradise visiting a movie set, but as I type this we have so many festivals either gearing up, currently running or recently wrapped that there just seems to be a torrent of reviews rolling in. Awards season is here. I myself went to Telluride and still have some stuff to write up from there, we have Anton Sirius, Cartuna and Copernicus up at Toronto and now we've gotten a review from "Boba Fat" who attended screenings of the new movies from horror legends Joe Dante and George A. Romero at the Venice Film Festival.
Gotta say I love that these two are still kicking around, making art. I'm not a fan of Romero's last zombie movie, but I'll always be excited to see a new movie from him until either he goes or I do. If I go first, I hope he can use me in one of his features...
Anyway, here's the rundown on THE HOLE and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD! Enjoy!
Hi Quint
I was lucky enough to catch Romero's Survival Of The Dead, and Joe Dante's The Hole, at the Venice Film Festival last week and, seeing as nothing seems to have turned up about them on the site, here's my thoughts.
First off, Survival Of The Dead. I love George Romero. I would have liked to have given that big bear of a man a big bear hug. I enjoyed Diary Of The Dead, but was left a bit cold by Land Of The Dead. It came across a bit rushed to me and it felt like it had been interfered with. Diary played like a fun experiment and I could go along with that, but it also seemed a bit below such an icon as Romero. After watching only one clip of Survival online, a less than great scene of the guy catching a zombie on his fishing line, my hopes were low, but the film is a pleasant surprise or unpleasant, depending on where you stand with gut munching. If anything, it's his first western.
The story revolves around two feuding families on a small, east coast island and some mercenaries who turn up there to find a safe haven. The mercenaries were the guys in Diary who dressed like they soldiers or maybe they'd gone AWOL - you might remember them stopping and stealing from the kids in the Winnebago. The main guy with the beard is the lead character here. Anyway, the islanders and families have different approaches to the epidemic. One wants to keep the Zombies alive, train them to eat animals and give them some sort of quality of existence until a cure can be found. The others want to shoot em. The mercenaries are now looking for a home and after seeing an advert on the internet about Plum Island, they set off. They pick up an annoying hipster on the way when they rescue him from a bunch of looters who keep zombie heads on sticks for fun. When they get there, the island has degenerated into a sort of asylum for survivors and zombies alike. Which is an idea I'd like to have seen played out more. The zombies are chained up and repeatedly try to post letters or chop wood. Like I said, the island stuff plays like a western. The end has a definite Wild Bunch feel to it and there are probably other references that I didn't catch as Westerns have never really been my thing. There's even a zombie on horse back, which is better and spookier than it sounds.
The film is not without it's faults. There's a twist about the zombie on horseback that seemed like a bit of a cheat to me and the guy who wants to keep the zombies around out of respect for the dead goes a little gun crazy in the middle of the film. The audience loved it, though. They gave George a five minute standing ovation before and after the film and politely applauded the big kills. Flare gun and fire extinguisher stand out, but there's plenty of chomping, splattery gunshots and gut chewing at the end. It's the film Romero should have made when Universal were throwing all that money at him to make Land and I think it's his best since Day Of The Dead. With the glut of sub-par zombie stuff around these days it made me really happy to see the man who wrote the rule book so appreciated.
I've seen Joe Dante's Hole and it doesn't stink. There's a sentence I never thought I'd write, but it's true. I knew very little about this film going in. I knew it was in 3D and I'd been told it was like Disturbia but with a bottomless hole, which it is for the first ten minutes, then it becomes a dark, really dark, episode of Eerie Indiana. Dante gets to flex his big screen muscles here and he's been away for far too long. You really get the sense he's put everything he's got into this film and the big set pieces are a master at work.
The story revolves around a single mum and her two kids, a late teen rebel and his kid brother. They move to a tiny town in search of the quiet life, but the kids find a seemingly bottomless hole in their cellar and when they unlock it, with some help from the cute girl next door, the darkness get out. Remember that bit in Poltergeist where the medium gives the big speech about the poltergeist knowing your fears and using them against you, then nothing really happens? Well, this is what would happen if that promise had been fulfilled. In fact The Hole has a lot of similarities with Poltergeist, including psycho toy clowns, childhood fears and families under siege, but it aims to affect the audience on a deeper level than Hooper's haunted house ride.
It's squarely aimed at the PG 13 audience, but gets surprisingly intense and spooky at times. I don't really want to spoil too much about the plot, but as you probably guessed, the two brothers and the cute girl (sorry, I can't remember any of their character names) have to confront the hole. So, you get to see three sets of fears dealt with. A child's, a teenage girl with repressed memories an accident in her past and the older kid who claims that nothing scares him
The 3D is so restrained that at times I was begging for something to make me duck into my seat. You don't really get that, but Dante spoke before the film about 3D being here to stay and it being up to the film makers to be worthy of it. So, I guess he deliberately stayed away from any of the "coming at ya" stuff. He tries to use the technique to create an immersive environment, but you sort of expect a bit of cheesy stuff from a 3D movie. Well I do anyway. They showed some footage of a upcoming Japanese horror beforehand called Shock Labyrinth and that had stuff flying at you in spades so, I guess you can take your pick. It looked very cool and very Japanese.
I hope The Hole finds a big enough audience to get Dante back on the big screen more often - it deserves it - but my worry is that hard core horror fans are going to be left wanting more and the Disturbia audience may not know what to make of it. Hopefully they can all get on board for some quality scares.
Finally, there are the familiar in-jokes for fans to spot and cameos from the old favourites. Orlacs glove factory anyone? Bruce Dern pops up and it has the funniest Dick Miller cameo yet.
If this is of any use to you call me Boba Fat, if it's no use call me fuckin useless.
Ciao!
I was lucky enough to catch Romero's Survival Of The Dead, and Joe Dante's The Hole, at the Venice Film Festival last week and, seeing as nothing seems to have turned up about them on the site, here's my thoughts.
First off, Survival Of The Dead. I love George Romero. I would have liked to have given that big bear of a man a big bear hug. I enjoyed Diary Of The Dead, but was left a bit cold by Land Of The Dead. It came across a bit rushed to me and it felt like it had been interfered with. Diary played like a fun experiment and I could go along with that, but it also seemed a bit below such an icon as Romero. After watching only one clip of Survival online, a less than great scene of the guy catching a zombie on his fishing line, my hopes were low, but the film is a pleasant surprise or unpleasant, depending on where you stand with gut munching. If anything, it's his first western.
The story revolves around two feuding families on a small, east coast island and some mercenaries who turn up there to find a safe haven. The mercenaries were the guys in Diary who dressed like they soldiers or maybe they'd gone AWOL - you might remember them stopping and stealing from the kids in the Winnebago. The main guy with the beard is the lead character here. Anyway, the islanders and families have different approaches to the epidemic. One wants to keep the Zombies alive, train them to eat animals and give them some sort of quality of existence until a cure can be found. The others want to shoot em. The mercenaries are now looking for a home and after seeing an advert on the internet about Plum Island, they set off. They pick up an annoying hipster on the way when they rescue him from a bunch of looters who keep zombie heads on sticks for fun. When they get there, the island has degenerated into a sort of asylum for survivors and zombies alike. Which is an idea I'd like to have seen played out more. The zombies are chained up and repeatedly try to post letters or chop wood. Like I said, the island stuff plays like a western. The end has a definite Wild Bunch feel to it and there are probably other references that I didn't catch as Westerns have never really been my thing. There's even a zombie on horse back, which is better and spookier than it sounds.
The film is not without it's faults. There's a twist about the zombie on horseback that seemed like a bit of a cheat to me and the guy who wants to keep the zombies around out of respect for the dead goes a little gun crazy in the middle of the film. The audience loved it, though. They gave George a five minute standing ovation before and after the film and politely applauded the big kills. Flare gun and fire extinguisher stand out, but there's plenty of chomping, splattery gunshots and gut chewing at the end. It's the film Romero should have made when Universal were throwing all that money at him to make Land and I think it's his best since Day Of The Dead. With the glut of sub-par zombie stuff around these days it made me really happy to see the man who wrote the rule book so appreciated.
I've seen Joe Dante's Hole and it doesn't stink. There's a sentence I never thought I'd write, but it's true. I knew very little about this film going in. I knew it was in 3D and I'd been told it was like Disturbia but with a bottomless hole, which it is for the first ten minutes, then it becomes a dark, really dark, episode of Eerie Indiana. Dante gets to flex his big screen muscles here and he's been away for far too long. You really get the sense he's put everything he's got into this film and the big set pieces are a master at work.
The story revolves around a single mum and her two kids, a late teen rebel and his kid brother. They move to a tiny town in search of the quiet life, but the kids find a seemingly bottomless hole in their cellar and when they unlock it, with some help from the cute girl next door, the darkness get out. Remember that bit in Poltergeist where the medium gives the big speech about the poltergeist knowing your fears and using them against you, then nothing really happens? Well, this is what would happen if that promise had been fulfilled. In fact The Hole has a lot of similarities with Poltergeist, including psycho toy clowns, childhood fears and families under siege, but it aims to affect the audience on a deeper level than Hooper's haunted house ride.
It's squarely aimed at the PG 13 audience, but gets surprisingly intense and spooky at times. I don't really want to spoil too much about the plot, but as you probably guessed, the two brothers and the cute girl (sorry, I can't remember any of their character names) have to confront the hole. So, you get to see three sets of fears dealt with. A child's, a teenage girl with repressed memories an accident in her past and the older kid who claims that nothing scares him
The 3D is so restrained that at times I was begging for something to make me duck into my seat. You don't really get that, but Dante spoke before the film about 3D being here to stay and it being up to the film makers to be worthy of it. So, I guess he deliberately stayed away from any of the "coming at ya" stuff. He tries to use the technique to create an immersive environment, but you sort of expect a bit of cheesy stuff from a 3D movie. Well I do anyway. They showed some footage of a upcoming Japanese horror beforehand called Shock Labyrinth and that had stuff flying at you in spades so, I guess you can take your pick. It looked very cool and very Japanese.
I hope The Hole finds a big enough audience to get Dante back on the big screen more often - it deserves it - but my worry is that hard core horror fans are going to be left wanting more and the Disturbia audience may not know what to make of it. Hopefully they can all get on board for some quality scares.
Finally, there are the familiar in-jokes for fans to spot and cameos from the old favourites. Orlacs glove factory anyone? Bruce Dern pops up and it has the funniest Dick Miller cameo yet.
If this is of any use to you call me Boba Fat, if it's no use call me fuckin useless.
Ciao!
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Stupid fast zombies killed the genre. Educate yourselves, question authority, including this: http://video. google.com/videoplay ?docid=-594683847 743189197#
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Fuck it, I'll see both if they go straight to DVD. I'm especially excited about the re-emergence of Joe Dante. The guy gave us Gizmo!
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Along with Carpenter, they are my old-school favorites. SO glad to see Dante's return to horror after teh bullshit kid movies he started doing after Gremlins.
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I didn't think much of Land and Diary was fucking shit!
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If we'd gotten to follow the Dead Reckoning up north, maybe we'd have seen a scenario like this. Land of the Dead was good but it needed at least twice the running time it had to explore all the ideas it was juggling.
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I can imagine a dream scenario where Warner tosses Gremlins to Legendary Pictures who bring in Dante to make a real third film. Gremlins 2 ranks up there with Temple of Doom and Flash Gordon for non-stop fun.
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social commentary zing!
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dont like westerns? PER FUCKIN LEASE. Akin to saying you are a movie moron.
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Then get Dante and start making some fuckin' puppettttttsssssssss
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Sep 12, 2009 7:50:05 PM CDT
I've seen Joe Dante's hole and it doesn't stink
by rene_belloq_12inch_figure
a little bit gay.
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The return of Dante and Romero! Can't wait! And I disagre CTM, I think the premise of Survival of the Dead sounds very interesting.
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of a movie that scared the shit out of me as a kid. I haven't seen it since, but I get a kind of "goones but scary" feeling when I think about it. Any of that in this remake?
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typooooo
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Land was a fun romp, and I'm pretty sure there was no studio interference. I love how people flock immediately to that when they don't like a movie by a beloved film maker, but that's pretty damned well the script he wrote, shot the way he wanted it, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Diary's didactic, preachy message was delivered with all the poignancy of that "I Learned It From Watching You" ad from the 80's. It was utter dreck, which wouldn't have been acceptable in a community college film school class, let alone from a seasoned vet like Romero. And I say this as a die hard Romero fan. Diary is the only one of his available films that I don't own, and I don't think I ever will.
In spite of all this however, I will always give the man the benefit of the doubt. So I will be at my local indie theater the day Survival comes to town (assuming it isn't wide release and all). -
it will be like this. Making a good zombie flick under the radar. (i didnt know about it.) I hated land and diary.. but i so much wanted to like them... so im willing to give him another chance. *fingers crossed*
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it will be like this. Making a good zombie flick under the radar. (i didnt know about it.) I hated land and diary.. but i so much wanted to like them... so im willing to give him another chance. *fingers crossed*
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although last i heard when this was just a rumor, the story was gonna follow that girl who stole the RV near the end of Diary. but since those black military dudes are in this, guess its officially a sequel.
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Starring a young Stephen Dorff? That movie SCARED THE SHIT out of me as a kid. Family dogs turning up dead, swarms of moths, little demons, zombies, a giant demon, an eyeball inthe palm of your hand that you have to stab with a piece of broken glass... yeah that movie is terrifying. Is that what you were thinking of?
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Sorry, so this is not the remake! I think there's a 3d The Gate remake coming though...
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Sorry Mr Dante! Thanks D.Vader!
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Sep 12, 2009 8:14:38 PM CDT
The Gate is fuckin' cool as hell, I don't think this is a...
by soylentmean
remake. That's one of the first bargain bin DVDs I ever bought, after remembering hearing something about it when I was a kid and then finding it a Suncoast video (R.I.P.)
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I rewatched it on one of those crazy cable movie channels recently, and while it wasn't as scary as I remember as a kid, it still gave me the chills and rewatching certain scenes reminded me why they terrified me in the first place. But man, those little demon effects were so good! To this day I can't tell if they were really good stop-motion animation or if they were guys in costumes running around and shrunk down with optical effects. I'll never play metal music backwards thanks to that movie.
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I'm pretty sure it's sometime this month. I think I'll pick it up, even though I already have it, because the version I have is pretty crappy.
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You talking R1?
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He was surrounded by members of the local zombie walk and generally being a good sport. Which is befitting his new Canadian citizenship.
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I fell asleep in the theatre and wished that I could somehow erase the moments of the film I did see from my mind altogether. I cant trust anyone who says Diary is even a little good... cuz it was horrible horrible fucking horrible
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I sincerely hope that Joe Dante and John Carpenter can get huge comebacks. I'm all for it.
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I know... but its true. And Matinee rocks!
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Do not seek the treasure.
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Sep 12, 2009 8:56:38 PM CDT
StarchilsAD, really, you saw Diary of the Dead in a theater?
by soylentmean
Because I'm pretty sure, barring festival screenings, that Diary of the Dead was pretty much DTV for Dimension EXTREME.
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Nice reference there too, Brother.
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at some theatre there when I was visiting. It was around the time that the movie Jumper was out. Jan-Feb of 08? My memory is not on my side.
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It reminds me of the box art for The Monster Squad (which is a good thing). I only wish they had incorporated the other characters and creatures into the area surrounding the kid. Its a good looking cover, but I want more than just those midget demons around him.
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Sep 12, 2009 9:12:30 PM CDT
StarchildAD, if I saw Diary in a theater I would be pissed
by soylentmean
It's an interesting thing to see, once, if you like Romero's films, but ulitmately I thought it failed miserably at providing any noticeable social commentary. It came across more as a gimmick and it's best kill involved an Amish suicide with a pitchfork. WTF?
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One was a steaming pile of excrement and the other was a cooling pool of lukewarm puke. Can you guess which was which?
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Good call, and speaking of The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps hits DVD/Blu-Ray on 10/27. So fuckin' excited to finally see that movie!
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you saw the better movie though. I didn't hate either Diary or Land but I wasn't blown away by them. Some good F/X. The sword in the head from Diary, and I always loved the concept of distracting the zombies with the fireworks. It is such a "your already zombies anyway" fuck you to humanity. Dante could film himself eating breakfast and I would check it out. Welcome back boys.
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...which could be an allegory for how once-great filmmakers lose it. But then again, it's zombies, and I do love me some zombies.
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But I've heard so many good things over the years that I will have to check it out next month too!
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Who's even scoring The Hole? Watching a new Dante movie without Goldsmith's music will be like watching a new Spielberg movie without John Williams (which will sadly come to pass within a decade).
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I'm holding out for another 15 years.
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..is not art, it is a steaming pile of photoslop shit.
it's like the dvd covers for star wars vs. the drew struzan art that they didn't use. GARBAGE. -
I believe it was pg-13, correct?
I guess that rating isn't the kiss of death for horror. Love the shock near the end with the kid look up at the sky when it looks like the world is going to end. Kind of cool. -
they used some generic random child model on it. he's even wearing a style of clothes that really didnt exist for kids back then. you're telling me they couldnt find some old promotional photos of any of the actors to slap on there? but its still a great movie and i'm buying it, just glad only the spine will show on the shelf. :P and yeah those little demons are some of the best effects regarding adding real people and making them small. its so seamless and to think this was a low budget canadian movie.
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When the dorky metal friend is evil, hiding in the closet, & he lunges forward & bites Stephen Dorff's hand. Scary motherfucker!
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Really, The Gate was Canadian? Maybe the box will smell like cedar.
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and your appreciation of DIARY OF THE DEAD will soar
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ff to 7:15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-s5Sk5lpoU
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But wait, is that a confirmation that the lil demons were guys in suits and not stop motion animation? But I swear they had blinky eyes!
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Used a kid "model" to stand in for the main kid, since they obviously can't get a pose out of him anymore. Its more about the atmosphere and design that gets me, not whether or not that's actually a lil Stephen Dorff.
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That shit was terrifying! In ways that no other PG-13 film at the time had been! Except for maybe Poltergeist. But that was PG and hardly as evil.
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Which would make Williams...what, 95?
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Sep 12, 2009 10:57:23 PM CDT
man, that George Romereo really sticks to his subjects.
by lockesbrokenleg
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um, how??
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With Shiny Lovesick Zombies?
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when someone says they enjoyed Diary of the Dead, which is one of the worst zombie films I've ever seen.
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Or you are prone to extreme hyperbole.
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Can't decide which is a lesser tragedy.
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Just really bad stuff.
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Stopped reading there.
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...a decent movie in 25 years.
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Diary, considering it's pedigree(which isn't saying much since Land of the Dead sucked ass, also, i guess), can be considered one of the worst zombie movies ever.
It's not even close to hyperbole. -
I'm sure these past two"films" were just as shitty.
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get ready for an original answer...'78's 'Dawn of the Dead.'
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a book I need to get my ass to read.
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Seriously, go get the book in the morning.
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The Hole is being scored by Javier Navarrete, who did Pan's Labyrinth.
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...and it's still going to suck.
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"Survival of the dead". What was he thinking?
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Sep 13, 2009 3:59:23 AM CDT
Gremlins 2 is a better sequel than Godfather 2
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Two words....Rambo Gizmo
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Sep 13, 2009 4:05:01 AM CDT
Gremlins 2 is the best movie ever. I fucking love that film
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
All other films quake inside their assholes with primal terror at the majesty that is mans greatest achievment, otherwise known as Gremlins 2. If mankind lives for another 10 billion years and expands throughout the galaxy, expanding our culture and people as we mix with other alien societies, we will still never approach the summit of Gremlins 2.
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Sep 13, 2009 4:06:43 AM CDT
When you approach the pearly gates and get to ask God
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
what is the meaning of life. He will reply Gremlins 2.
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Sep 13, 2009 4:09:13 AM CDT
I hereby now pronounce September 12th Gremlins 2 day
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
That'll show that Bin Laden fucker... Actually you know what would really fuck him up? Two words. Rambo Gizmo
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romero makes a brand new original film
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It's not the black guys, it's the army guys who briefly show up in Diary, which is far from the worst zombie film ever made. A shadow of Romero's best work I agree, but I was able to go along with it. Seemed like Romero was having fun where as Land seemed to be full of big ideas he didn't have the time to pull off. Quantize I like very few westerns, a handful. What would you recommend?
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unforgiven
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is the best of the bunch. They seriously botched the remake. The original "DOTD" movie really sold how we were actually worse than the zombies. I'm hoping "Survival" continues that but don't make it preachy like "Diary".
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I've seen that one. Sergio Leone and Pekinpah I love, in whatever genre they were working in, but I got the feeling Surival Of The Dead was referencing at lot of the classic John Ford type of stuff and, apart from Stagecoach, I've never seen em. Always felt put off by macho posturing and heavy handed messages, but I'm open to suggestions.
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It gets pretty preachy near the end, but has a really cool western/horror last shot.
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He should be praised. Look at his resume and just TRY to tell me this guy doesn't have the goods as a legend.
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Gremlins 2 would be a masterpiece if it was not for his own "Matinee". Had the pleasure of watching it with him and had a complete blast!
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I did some writing or attempted writing of stories. But I did think of the following scenerario. Zombies. abondoned town. tourists. bus breaks down. tourists spend night in town. they donr know about the zombies.
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Do one thing ... do it competently ... and never, ever, EVER change.
I actually liked "Land". Have not seen "Diary." But the whole "zombies are people, too" crap that began to pop up in "Land" rubbed me the wrong way. And now a subplot about a guy who wants to HELP zombies UNTIL THERE IS A CURE???!!!
A CURE? A cure for WHAT? These people were DEAD before the disease reanimated them! The whole "equality for zombies" crap is nonsense, really. Just make a good zombie-killing flick and stop with the lame attempts at making them metaphors for some discriminated against minority or whatever. Worked in "Night," hasn't been apt since. Moronic!
But I'll stil see it. -
Pan's Labyrinth is a fine score. It's just sad to see a movie by one of Goldsmith's old collaborators without his music (like Verhoeven's Black Book).
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No self respecting artists repeats themselves for their whole career which is all he's done.
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Is it the one off Mass. or is it the Animal Disease Control one off Long Island? The latter would be cooler.
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*that's what we wanna see*
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Isn't that from "Silence of the Lambs"? The island they offer Lecter for the fake retreat/deal that they're never going to follow up on?
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Can you imagine the terrifying sequences, drifting towards the ghouls in weightlessness?
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If you like Leone and Peckinpah you really should get into John Ford. I would start with THE SEARCHERS. That movie has been "quoted" visually in everything from Star Wars to Inglorious Basterds. If it's good enough for Lucas, Spielberg, Scorsese, Eastwood and Tarantino it ought to be good enough for you.I'm watching DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD right now. It's a Peter Bogdanovich documentary mixing Orson Welles' narration, interviews from 1969 with Ford, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart etc. and 2006 interviews with many of AICN's favorite directors. That will give you a great primer on Ford's visual style and work with actors, and give you some other films to look for.Leone and Peckinpah were allowed to make films in a more permissive time, but the darkness, ambiguity and violence in their work is already there in Howard Hawks' RED RIVER or the noir Westerns Anthony Mann did with Jimmy Stewart. The characters on DEADWOOD are merely foul mouthed amplifications of the Western antiheroes in those earlier films. Al Swearengen and his cohorts wouldn't exist without the psychotic obsessiveness and casual racism and rootless wandering that's inherent in what Ford, Hawks, Raoul Walsh and others were doing back in the 30's and 40's. It's often implied rather than expressed, but the ironic ambiguity is always undercutting the sentimentality if you play close attention to what the characters actually do, as opposed to what they say about it.On some level I don't think anyone can really call themselves a film fan if they don't develop an affection for and an understanding of Westerns. With Jazz and the Comic Strip, they are one of only three art forms America has given to world culture. Dig in without prejudging, and you'll find plenty of films to love.
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are actually what Romero subverts and satirizes in his Zombie movies. And those old Western guys often did the same thing. We see John Wayne as something of a cartoonish American icon these days, but if you actually WATCH the films the audience isn't always supposed to AGREE with everything he does. The women always take the piss out of him. The younger men have a grudging respect usually mixed with resentment. He's not afraid to look ugly or sexist or racist or even psychotic by the end of RED RIVER.Clint Eastwood's entire career could be read as a backhanded compliment and subversive commentary on John Wayne's persona. He would probably be the first to admit that.
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I made it about 15 minutes into DIARY and turned it off. Awful. And I won't be seeing this one. I watched a two-minute clip on YouTube, and it reeked of goofy zombie nonsense. A guy was sitting by the water and accidentally hooks a zombie with his fishing rod. HAW HAW. So sad to see Romero really hit senility like this. Seriously, it looks like scenes cut out of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II. Yeah, meaning they wouldn't even be good enough for that POS. George, it's over.
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as well as zombie themed videogames. After the RE vg series, it doesnt get much better.(L4D is basically a mindless FPS that lacks both plot and substance and Dead Space does not qualify for being a true zombie game.)Zombie films have'nt been good since 28 Weeks later and Romero should just hang it up and retire from thr genre alltogether.Jeez, is that all he's good for is Zombie films? Let's see more orginality George.Martin,Creepshow and Monkey shines proved that you are more than capable than just fucking zombies."In your headdd,In your heaaadddd, Zombie,Zombie,Zombiieeettbettteee.."(Lyrics courtesy of the Cranberries' song; Zombie)
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Thanks. I'll check all of those recommendations out.
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Sep 13, 2009 12:18:14 PM CDT
I think we are off the Subject here people
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Lets talk some about the greatest miracle in all of existence. Since the Big Bang there has never been an event of its kind. It is pure, perfect, magnificent and from the world before the Prim receded. It is Gremlins 2
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made Ira zombies. and its sequel reveng of the ira zombies.
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land and diary suck ass. as an above poster mentioned, it's really fucking stupid that he keeps entertaining the idea of zombies being people too. nobody goes to a fucking zombie flick wanting to feel sorry for the fucking zombies. people go to zombie flicks to see people eaten, surviving, and awesome zombie headshots. fuck the bullshit george, bring it back down to basics for fucks sake. nobody gives a fuck about the half baked fucking stupid ass metaphors. fuck.
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No hyberbole in the slightest. The only reason people gave it a pass is because it had Romero's name on it. Horrible writing, horrible acting. Not to mention it couldn't even superficially satisfy with gore, of which there was almost none. I was actually somewhat offended by how stupid Romero thinks his audience is, constantly repeating the "if it's not on camera, it didn't happen" line over and over as though to say, "Hey guys, I still put commentary in my movies! That makes it deep!" If it wasn't done by Romero, it'd be sitting next to the DayOTD remake and Automation Transfusion as one of the worst zombie films ever. It would've been completely forgotten by now, just like the aformentioned movies. I've seen plenty of zombie movies, and I usually can find a way to, if not enjoy, tolerate it just on the fact that I like the genre. Diary of the Dead was almost painful.
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How?
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Top 5 Zombie movies...
(in no particular order)
LIFEFORCE
DAWN OF THE DEAD
THRILLER
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
28 WEEKS LATER -
Yeah I put THRILLER in there. Landis said it was always meant to be seen on the big screen.It's better than the shit Romero is shovelling these days anyway.
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Time that 'Matinee' was given the DVD treatment it deserves. It's only a bare-bones NON-widescreen release here in R2 land! 'MANT' was meant to be seen in WIDESCREEN....
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Both Land and Diary of the Dead were good! I love it how all you fucks come down on these films, because you just don't understand them. Romero borrowed from "I am Legend", the book, not the lame films. In that book, there were two types of vampires. Ones that were smart and ones that were zombie like. What Romero did was make his zombies start out dumb and slowly grow intelligent. This was what he was doing in Land. I do agree that Land should have been longer, but what can you do.
Diary was great and had a great way of being a zombie road film, which was a first for Romero. I loved the idea of these people seeing how everything was in chaos.
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time and time again having to shout "They're not zombies! They're infected with Rage!"
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like that headless zombie that used the head like a whip and the pool scene with all the zombies floating, that was great. He still has some good stuff, his casting choices are horrendous and the movies always have that direct to video look to them, why doesn't he use the old cameras like back in the day that would bring some nostalgia.
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1. Dawn of the Dead 1978
2. Diary of the Dead
3. Day of the Dead
4. Lifeforce
5. Night of the Living Dead 1990 version. I still love the 1968 version, but I really like how the female lead is stronger in the 1990 remake. -
Hahaha because it was so deep, thought provoking, and metaphorical. Right.
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Just wish Jerry were still here to score the film, I'm curious who Dante has hired.
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even if it ultimately does not stand up as a film. The metaphors are too on the nose to work. Romero really loses the audience when the main character says the zombies are just trying to find their way. They're goddamn zombies. Some of the other social commentary works pretty well, though. Besides, there are some decent kills, like when the soldier's arm is cut off before he throws a grenade and then gets blown up or the part with the zombie whose head is barely held on by his spine. Good moments, even if the whole kind of falls apart.
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Balancing the political and satirical subtexts that critics and intellectuals have always embraced in the films, and also providing good scares and gore for bloodthirsty teenage fanboys who just want to watch zombies destroyed and people being eaten.Some of his films work better than others but I'm glad I've seen all of them. How many directors could come up with that many genre variations on what would seem like such a limited theme? 40 years of filmmaking, from B&W to CGI. He's still one of the most subversive filmmakers we've ever produced.
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while most, probably 95% of them were in fact already dead before they came back, a few people are only zombies because they got bit and were infected. so finding a cure would make sense to help those. because say it gets to a point where there will always be zombies running around, well then accidents will happen.
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was a VAMPIRE movie. pay attention next time
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BRING IT.
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the original Night of the Living Dead, which was great for it's time. The rest are interesting premises with poor executions. Dawn of the Dead comes to mind, with that ridiculous circus music soundtrack (was that supposed to be ironic or something?). Even gave Land of the Dead a chance (Crap in a Hat, what a terrible movie). Romero needs to stop making these. Seriously. The remake of Dawn of the Dead is better than all of Romero's stuff put together (after the original of course).
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Have the dead rise and become whole and healthy, while the living become diseased necrotic and destructive. Survival's youtube vid looks like crap. I love Romero and I'm sure most of the praise/ovation the man was given was more related to his carear vs this new film of his. GAR needs to move away from the dead while he still has some life in him. I get why it's hard for him hsi investors only want to invest in dead pictures, because of his track record and the fact that he is the godfather of the genre. Still for someone who watches TMC and AMC as much as he does I know he has to have something inside that mind that is so unlike anything he's dared to do. The Diamond Dead wasn't that good of a read when I read it all them years back. It will never be as good as POTP or RHPS. George while your still here on earth, please pull your buds toghter and make something tonally new and exciting. Stop playing this damn theme into the grave your more than this. Martin is one of my favs. I get mad that you are not doing films like that anymore, and yet i understand why your trapped in with the dead. Night and Dawn are cinematic masterpieces. Humble or not those films are what they are man. Please do something else next. Please!
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Your taste in movies matches your taste in screen names. Douche.
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and the Tales from the Darkside TV Show.
I don't begrudge Romero making some money and keeping busy at this stage of his career. The thing about his recent zombie films is that he's not doing stupid in-joke laden riffs on his own films. He's still using the genre as specific social commentary. If anything, he's giving hack directors more stuff to rip off for decades to come.
I doubt any film fan would turn down another Samurai film by Kurisowa or another Kinski/Herzog team-up if either were possible. -
Every single scene devoted at least one minute to the girlfriend having issues with her boyfriend's need to film anything. It's like Romero was so caught up with the "found footage" concept that he had to constantly, CONSTANTLY reference it. I watch zombie movies over and over again, even Land of the Dead, but if I never see Diary of the Dead again that will be one too many times. (and now I want to watch it again, luls).
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Fuck
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Comparing Romero to Kurosawa or even Herzog is patently ridiculous.
Especially at this stage of his career when he's just putting out shit. -
Return of the Living Dead Dawn of the Dead 78 Zombie Dellamorte Dellamore final is a three way tie between Re-Animator, Shaun of the Dead and Evil Dead 2
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I liked that movie.
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and tv. not all of it zombies. Bruiser had gotten better with time. Dark Half, Crazies, Knightriders, Martin, Monkey Shines, Two Evil Eyes, Creepshow, A few Tales from the Darkside episodes, and he ex produced most of the TFTDS episodes.
theres no denying his ability to craft entertaining tales. That's not the issue here. the issue is the DEAD. Most of his fans want him to abandon that subject as far as film making goes. What about werewolfs romero, what about aliens, what about ghost, what about dream, what about clowns, anything, anything, anything but the dead. Just for a spin a romero version of some other subject matter. We need his mark on somthing he's never tackled before. Because we like his mark, his sensibities, style and characters. We still want that but in a new environment against a new oposition. -
that shits played out like arnold and what you talkin bout willis
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As i watched it the other day, and the fucking Movie still holds up to this very day.Fulci's classic had too many WTF moments(The Splinter in the eye gouge,Olga's bare ass, Shark vs Zombie,that gory ass scene in which a group of Zombies are feasting on Olga's corpse,the creepy sythn music,and then there's that fucked up ending.) to not appear on anyone's top 5.Fulci may have ripped off Romeo, but Zombie is 10x scarier than the orginal DoTD.Blue faced Zombies and campy music does not get my vote.DoTd's Social commentary angle is what really made the movie stand out IMO.
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To infinity and beyond...
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To be patently stupid? Of course people who don't like something "just didn't get it!" If they did, they would have LIKED IT!
People can only take out of a film what they bring in. Maybe a film is to challenging or sophisticated for people to get; but maybe, just maybe, the director and writers did a piss-poor job of getting their message across. -
Sep 14, 2009 4:59:04 AM CDT
And how can people have any serious discussion of best zombie
by continentalop
films and not bring up I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and/or WHITE ZOMBIE at least once? Or Tree House of Horrors III, "Dial Z for Zombie"?
The episode of Kolchak: the Night Stalker with the Zombie in it was damn good too. -
Hey if CarlThorMark1978 is allowed RE-ANIMATOR and EVIL DEAD 2 then I should be allowed 28 WEEKS LATER and LIFEFORCE.
In the midst of a zombie holocaust is no time to be pedantic. -
Make it.
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Personally I didn't care much for land of the dead it was okay but not great. I loved the original dawn of the dead my fav of his zombie flicks and wasn't looking forward to the remake which was i think bloody good. Perhaps he should colaborate with James Gunn or whomever else put that remake flick together for his next zombie outing - just not Jeffrey Reddick as the day of the dead remake was absolute shite.
Im all for John Carpenter doing a sequel to the 'thing' with not too much CG, that spider-head ;) -
Nice idea Mike but Tom Hanks lost his 'funny' long ago and doesn't know where to find it.
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Wheres the review for that? Until Dante put some sort of Movie Orgy dvd thing I won't care.
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The Beyond
Re-Animator
The Serpent & The Rainbow
Night of the Living Dead '68
Zombie Flesheaters (Zombie)
If only 'I Drink Your Blood' qualified. That film is both amazing and hilarious, but it's only rabies infecting the cult.
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