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Another segment I will be doing a monthly installment of will be on zombie movies. I plan on diving into classics, and visiting some of the remakes for comparison. Hopefully we will be uncovering the movies that were made but never made it. I have found some of those my favorite because they have this cool Indy feel. But maybe thats because sometimes I feel like being an obnoxious prick who thinks it was better before you started liking it too.
So for this month’s movie I decided to review Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero. No not that remake they did in 2004. I’m talking the 1978 version with the bad special effects and even worse hair cuts.
This movie had all the flair of the 70’s, embracing pop culture of the time and tearing through it with a hoard of roaming undead. It’s kind of like this time capsule that we should open every once in a while just to remind us of what once was. To think that in that story line those characters will never progress into 80’s hair bands, rock ballads, or Gucci style fashion is oddly both satisfying and horrific in itself. I found myself watching this film and marveling at the names of the stores and the fashions of the time. I took solace in the brands that were still around (like BP) and wondering what happened to the others that aren’t (what the hell was FOXMORE?).
But besides sitting in awe over a movie that takes place a decade before I was born, some truths rang though that follow until this day. We still have not learned from the warnings that were practically shouted at us from progressive film makers like Romero. The first 25 minutes of the movie are riddled with examples of corruption, racism, and violence of man against his fellow man. A sort of foreshadowing of the horrors that we will be exposed to if we don’t learn from our past mistakes. The scene Mr. Romero was painting for us over 34 years ago still rings horrifically true in this day and age. I can still see some sleazy news director posting old and outdated information even if that information may kill someone just to get the last of the ratings in the final days. I see examples every day of people who get angry at a group of people with different color skins because of a false generalization they make about the people as a whole. And their jokes of violence don’t bring me laughter, only sadness.
picture taken from http://billwardwriter.com/dawn-of-the-dead-movie-review/
The theme of consumerism in this movie as well is one that is sung among many people who have concerns with the over spending in our day and time. Just this past Christmas season we even had people arrested for dressing as zombies and running through a mall as part of a protest of Black Friday. The analogy of people shopping like zombies, just buying because that’s what they are told to do by big businesses, has been used over and over again ever since this movie has been made. In the movie itself it is theorized that they are attracted to the mall because it’s familiar to them. I wonder where I would haunt if I were a mindless zombie?I would like to point out a few things that this movie can teach the zombie enthusiast about survival in the end days.
Lesson 1. Don’t give an idiot a gun. – Steven, or Flyboy as he’s commonly called, was at first a trigger happy dofus when it came down to guns. His ignorance showed first when he first tried to gun down a zombie attacking Peter while Peter was directly in the line of fire (at the helicopter refuelling station). Then he tried to gun down another zombie while traveling in the back halls of the mall, while only managing to make the bullets dangerously ricochet off the pipes. He also shows his ignorance on how guns work as he reloads a revolver with one bullet and tries to fire each blank chamber instead of advancing the cylinder to the proper position before firing. If he had done this it wouldn’t have been such a close call. Later in the movie he is taught how to shoot and take care of his guns but man his blunders could have been deadly.
Lesson 2. Set Priorities. – When looting the mall it was decided to go to the department store first. Later the mall was reviled to have a gun shop (is that even legal in a mall now?) and a grocery store. Either one of these 2 places would have been a better choice to loot first rather than trying to get some lighter fluid for the lighters. This may have even saved Rodgers life by having them better prepared for the zombies roaming outside. Get your priorities strait.
Lesson 3. Let everyone in on the plan. – If Rodger and Peter had told Steve what the first expedition plan was he probably would not have put himself in as much danger and it is for sure that the Harry Cristina zombie would not have made his way up to Francene, putting her in danger without a gun.
Lesson 4. Proper planning does a lot of good. – I was so happy when I saw the scenes where they were planning the fortifications for the mall. How many people would think to wall up the entrance to their hide out so that if people come they wouldn’t recognise that they lived there? Stroke of genius I say. Parking the trucks in front of the entrances, although did not go so well for Rodger, was a smart way to stem the flow of zombies so it would be easier to lock the doors. Plus it served as extra protection from other outside attackers. If they would have needed to, they could have used those parked trucks as a relatively safe escape plan.
Rodger Zombie. Picture taken from http://www.milehighcinema.com/2012/01/19/screening-oriental-theater-presents-george-romeros-dawn-of-the-dead/
Some other things I wanted to point out before we were finished. My award for funniest zombie in this movie goes to the fat zombie. The scene where the shirtless fat zombie was rubbing his body against the glass door made me laugh out loud. Scariest zombie has to go to Zombie Rodger. They did a great job on his make up. Best zombie acting job goes to the Steven zombie. The way Steven dragged his bum leg around was great. And finally the most awesome zombie kill would have to be when Peter lifted a zombie over his head and threw him off the second story. And funniest death will go the the death where the raider tries to get his blood pressure taken and gets trapped in the machine as the zombies descend on him. Dumb Ass.
One last point to talk about. I know this is old hat, but did anyone else see how much this movie influenced the first Dead Rising video game? Everything from the helicopter entrance, to using everything around you as a weapon (throwing the fence at a zombie), and even when the raiders threw pies in the zombies faces and used seltzer water on them. I realize that Romero has influenced many other zombie movies and video games but this one was so blatantly obvious this post would feel naked without me saying something.
We could go on for hours about this movie, but alas I must move on. Maybe we can revisit this subject at another time. But until then please feel free to discuss below. I’m always welcoming people’s opinions on the blog and looking for suggestions so please email me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You can also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. And to hear more from me, follow me on Twitter and Google +.
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
In the news of the last week, there were some interesting stories on zombies, even if I did have to dig a bit to pull them out.
First and foremost I would like to announce that the epic Star Wars RPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, took no more than 2 months to jump the shark. Well not really but I’ve always wanted to use that term. It was announced in a recent patch update that players will now be able to face the Rakghouls. Now if your like my cousin, you might know exactly what this obscure reference is, and be able to tell me exactly when if first appeared, what they are and what characters have encountered them. He would also be able to tell me their sleeping patterns and mating rituals, I tell you he’s a little scary when it comes to this stuff. But if your a little more like me and only a normal fan of Star Wars (read watched the movies quite a few times but still can’t repeat lines word for word) then you may need to do some research on these fascinating creatures.
picture taken from http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rakghoul
According to Wookieepedia, the Rakghouls are mutants transformed by the talisman of the Sith Lord Karness Muur. The talisman gave the Sith Lord the power to control these mutants as well but he found that it was ineffective on force sensitive beings as well as a few alien life forms. So in addtion to the talisman he gave his creatures a poison in their saliva that would allow thier bites to transform their victims into Rakghouls as well.
I wish I had come across this earlier when I was doing my blog on the Korriban Sith Zombies as I would have covered these guys too. But the long and the short of it is you will now get to fight zombies in SWTOR. Some may argue that these are ghouls not zombies but seriously, their bite turns you into them, they come from a magic talisman, and they live only to feed their hunger for flesh. These are zombies. In a loose sense of the term at least. I’m calling it a win for zombie fans anyway. Original Source http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/hyperspace-beacon-star-wars-zombies/
Next I have news that has been released about the much anticipated Resident Evil 6. Fans of the series have probably already found the trailer released for the game last week. I have seen the trailer on YouTube… and well take a look.
The big hub bub about this is hard core fans of the series are a little up in arms about this game being too actiony. Yes I just made that word up. Complaints about the game are that it look like it will rely too heavily on fighting the zombies instead solving the puzzle or what not. Fans of the early games reminisce about a time when resources were limited and the game scared you with it’s dark levels and hidden surprises. Resident Evil 6 looks like it’s going back to darker levels, but not pitch-black-with-just-a-flashlight-and-fresh-set-of-drawers dark.
It shows signs of the original zombies, but much like RE5 is throwing in some zombies with advanced mutations like tentacles that try to suck you up. The trailer also shows some running and sliding scenes as well as some kick ass fight scenes. This too has fans in an out rage. Concern that this game is turning too far in the action direction has been resonating on message boards.
My personal thoughts about this are that the Resident Evil guys are allowed to experiment a bit. Keep up your complaining. It gives developers an idea of what you want. But at the same time be a bit open to the creativity of the designers. Maybe it will be a sweet game. Maybe it will suck. But the developers will have at least tried it and if you don’t like it, RE7 will go back a bit further to the roots. But keep in mind as well that the original RE games were made when the system’s resources were a bit constraining. In order to make games with as much detail as these had, they had to limit things like resources and the special effects and seriously sweet graphics you see in the trailer. Now that we have better systems to use, it should be expected for the games to evolve and be more action packed to take advantage of the better graphics processing and faster memory speeds.
I should also say that I have never finished a Resident Evil game. These games to me have been intense to the point that I want to throw my controller across the room and stomp on it. Now that RE6 will allow you to do more and be a bit creative with survival strategy, maybe I’ll be able to get past the first 2 levels. Original source, http://www.computerandvideogames.com/332878/resident-evil-6-return-to-form-or-gears-with-zombies-pt-2/
If you have heard of the zombie flick entitled “The Dead” and have seen the movie, consider yourself lucky. Up until now it has only appeared in minor runs in the US, at film festivals, and in other countries. But happy days for all zombie fans, another film is becoming available for all to enjoy as it hits DVD and Blue ray just in time for Valentines day. Release date it Feb 14th, and this has me excited. Many reviews for this movie are positive, and I’ve read a not so positive “review” (see the source). This looks like it’s going to be filled with the things many zombie movie fans will enjoy. Action, Zombies, and more action. Taking place in Africa, the place many people believe the zombie outbreaks will start, this film boasts beautiful locations and what I hope to be some good examples of surviving a zombie outbreak in the desert. The trailer can be seen in the source link. Original source, http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/zombies-in-africa-feature-film-the-dead-heading-to-dvd-blu-ray-2-14-new-release-trailer
My next bit of news has me trilled to death. I am trying to get a small group of people together to do a 5k zombie run called Run for Your Lives (featured a few months ago). Problem is I’m not so much a runner as that asthmatic couch potato. So I need to get in shape and learn how to run effectively. Well as it turns out, there’s an app for that. Zombies, Run! is a fitness training app that utilizes my one motivation to get into shape. Zombies. As you run you get chased by zombies. Pick up items along your run and when you get home, distribute them as you see fit to best prepare for the zombie attacks. It has training for every runner from couch potato on up. For $12 you can pre-order the first season, and according the the source a second season is already in the works. Yes I will shell out the $12. Then I’ll review it for a future blog for you guys.
Original source, http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/02/play/on-your-marks
If you come across any news worthy tid bits for stories in these weekly segments, please email them to me at penguinprince@grimcrew.com. You will get source credit and fame! You should also follow Dead Future on Facebook and Google +. If you want more from me feel free to join me on Twitter and Google +!
Till Fate brings our Future…
Penguin Prince
