Zombie-A-GoGo

Zombie-A-Bye-Bye

2007-06-29T10:53:00.001-08:00

Well, it was bound to happen. I've just got too much going on in my life to keep this blog up. On one hand, that is sad, because zombies are fun and there's a lot of cool people associated with the genre that have made it a pleasure to be a part of it. On the other hand, it's a sign that I have a life, which is always nice. This was a hobby--just something I did for fun because I love the genre. I still love the genre, and I'll continue to watch the flicks, but I just haven't the time to update this--as can be seen.

I'll keep it up for reference, because I do think there's a lot of good stuff here (interviews, reviews, etc), and I'd like to thank the folks who've contributed their time and efforts to make ZAGG the blog it is/was. You know who you are. :)

I'd also like to thank everyone who's come here. Continue to fight the good zombie fight.

Cheers,
ZAGG

Babylon Fields - Zombies on TV

2007-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Zombies are moaning and shuffling their way onto the airwaves, and no, it’s not in another season of MASTERS OF HORROR. Nor is it the long-rumored HBO adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s THE WALKING DEAD (which this writer is chomping at the bit for). Rather, the undead are the focus of a new hour-long 20th Century Fox Television and CBS “dramedy” entitled BABYLON FIELDS. Michael (L.I.E.) Cuesta is taking the reins, following his damn impressive work on Showtime’s DEXTER; Gerald Cuesta and Michael Atkinson are on writing duties.
The premise has the dead returning to life literally and figuratively as they ingratiate themselves back into society and relationships; inevitable drama and, um, comedy ensues. But let us ask you: Does this at all sound familiar? It should. The quiet French film LES REVENANTS (a.k.a. THEY CAME BACK)—which we last told you about here—made three years ago and released on U.S. DVD in 2005, posed the same bittersweet predicament: What if those deceased family and friends you once knew re-entered your life? The film was up for remake grabs, but after a little digging, Fango learned that the task was fruitless and the powers that be decided the scenario was best left for episodic television.

BABYLON FIELDS is moving toward a 2007-2008 season debut; more updates as they arrive.

I really liked Les Revenants a lot (review here), so I'll be looking forward to this.

Undead or Alive Premieres in Texas

2007-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

The three fright films produced last year by Odd Lot Entertainment under its DarkLot Films banner are slowly creeping their way toward terrorizing the public. Following the announcement here that Dimension has picked up Robert Kurtzman’s BURIED ALIVE, now comes word that writer/director Glasgow Phillips’ comedic horror/Western UNDEAD OR ALIVE: A ZOMBEDY will have its world premiere at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX. The fest runs March 9-18 and the movie will screen at midnight on Saturday, March 10, with Phillips and star Chris Kattan in attendance. Kattan plays a lovesick cowboy who teams up with an Army deserter (James Denton) to rob a corrupt sheriff (Matt Besser); the two wind up fleeing not only the vengeful lawman but a plague of zombies as well, with Geronimo’s niece (FEAST’s Navi Rawat) their only potential hope for survival. Check out UNDEAD OR ALIVE’s website here for more on the DarkLot pics and look for on-set coverage of all three in Fango’s pages later this year.

I Sell the Dead Casting

2007-03-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Elaine writes in with another small scoop from an interview she did with Cabin Fever 2 star Larry Fessenden, "One more thing Fessenden told me: '[Glenn McQuaid's] I Sell the Dead has Dominick (Lost, Lord of the Rings) Monoghan and Ron (Hellboy) Perlman attached - [the] film is set in Dickensian England (although they are shooting in Brooklyn), everyone will have a British accent and it's a version of the Burke and Hare tale (famous Victorian grave robbers).' " Watch for more details on both films as they come in!

Black Sheep Website Launches

2007-03-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

The official International website was fully launched this evening for WeinsteinCo.'s Black Sheep, which hits theaters in New Zealand March 29 and US cinemas on June 22. Other than the trailer from before, there is a downloadable poster/desktop, photo gallery, two Weta concept art (click on the dish at the reviews section) and "casting the sheep" video. In the film an experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a rural town in New Zealand. Thanks to Twitch Film for the heads up!

Babylon 5 Creator Adapts World War Z

2007-03-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

From Cinema Blend:

The new millennium has been jam packed with great new space science fiction programming on television. Brilliant, serious science fiction shows like ‘Farscape’and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ have left their mark. But in the 90s it was slim pikings. ‘Star Trek’ was on life support and the science fiction landscape was basically dead. Except that is, for J. Michael Straczynski’s brilliant series ‘Babylon 5’.

Since the show ended its five season run, there have been several attempts by JMS to resurrect it. None of them have gone anywhere except to some new direct-to-DVD features coming out soon, and he’s moved on to other projects. Wherever JMS goes, it’s worth following. One of his newest gigs is working on an adaptation of the Max Brooks book “World War Z”.

Read it all.

Bobcat Goldthwait Talks Dead Alive

2007-03-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

From Filmakers on Film:

When Goldthwait has finished attacking the Christmas tree, he likes to settle down in front of a jolly festive treat. This is not, as you may have guessed, Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life, but Braindead, an early zombie flick by Peter Jackson. "I got the DVD as a Christmas gift seven or eight years ago. I was quite snarky about it. I said, 'You think this is a good present? Well, I'm gonna put it on right now.' I was trying to bum out the family, but now we watch it every year. It's a way to cleanse the palate after all the Frosty the Snowman stuff. And it has a lot of traditional Christmas colours in it: red and green."

Especially red. Braindead has been called one of the bloodiest horror comedies ever made. It's set in the late 1950s in suburban New Zealand, where the nerdy main character struggles to escape from under the thumb of his ghastly mother. Then she turns into a man-eating zombie. "I'm all for cannibalism," says Goldthwait, a vegetarian. "I like animals way more than people."

Read the whole thing...

Savini Talks Grindhouse

2007-02-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Fango got to chat with makeup master/actor Tom Savini at last weekend’s Monster-Mania con, where the Fango fave shared his thoughts about his role (pictured) in PLANET TERROR, Robert Rodriguez’s half of Dimension’s double-threat feature GRINDHOUSE (opening April 6). This marks a reunion between the director and Savini, who played Sex Machine in Rodriguez’s FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, but Savini promises, “This film makes FROM DUSK TILL DAWN look like BAMBI. The world isn’t prepared for this movie! Get ready, because after Robert’s episode, which will blow your mind, then Quentin [Tarantino’s] comes on to further numb you. Plus there are the [faux] previews, and I understand they’re going to make movies from those. That’s the rumor, anyway—make sure you repeat me saying the word ‘rumor’; I don’t want anyone thinking they can count on that, but it would be cool. GRINDHOUSE was a joy to make, and it’s going to be quite a ride for the audience.”

Living Dead Glasgow Comic

2007-02-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Fango got the word from Alan Simpson of the UK horror website Sex Gore Mutants that he has formed SGM Publishing and made LIVING DEAD: GLASGOW his first release. Based on an idea he had way back in the early ’80s after seeing DAY OF THE DEAD at a Glasgow cinema, the comic was written by Simpson with art by his brother John, and deals with a zombie invasion of the Scottish city, packing in lots of “extreme zombie violence and coarse language.” The debut issue also includes the undead comic strip BAD DOG by Gary Northfield and a chronological history of zombie cinema. It’s available now for £2.50 plus postage, and you can order it (though you have to be over 18) by clicking here.

New Book Series New Film Franchise: Already Dead

2007-02-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Phoenix Pictures and Mike De Luca Prods. will team for a feature adaptation of the Charlie Huston vampire novel Already Dead. Scott Rosenberg will write the script, according to Variety. B-D fav De Luca will produce with Phoenix's David Thwaites and Brad Fischer. Alissa Phillips will co-produce. You can read the full announcement inside.

- - - - -

Series revolves around a vampire who happens to be a private detective hired by a Gotham socialite to track down her runaway daughter. The city's vampires are afflicted with a virus that requires them to drink blood, and they run through the city in clans. A new virus that turns victims into carnivorous zombies threatens to upset the balance between humans and vampires.

Grindhouse Split for Foreign Audiences?

2007-02-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

For once it's our term to laugh a maniacal laugh of happiness. Usually the US distributors are the ones who decide to cut a single movie into two and release them at separate times... not this time. Variety reported this afternoon that some foreign audiences will be seeing Grindhouse split up into two separate films - one for Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" and the other for Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror".

Full Length Fido Trailer

2007-02-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

FINALLY the full length trailer for FIDO is online. FIDO is coming to theatres in the us on June 15th but lucky canadian readers will get it on March 16th. Fido takes place in the small town of Willard. Welcome to Willard, a small town lost in the idyllic world of the 50's, where the sun shines every day, everybody knows their neighbour, and rotting zombies carry the mail. Years ago, the earth passed through a cloud of space dust, causing the dead to rise with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Terror spread across the land, until a collar was invented that made the zombies docile, even useful.
A company was born: ZomCon. Thanks to their patented domestication collar™, zombies became gardeners, milkmen, butlers, and even pets. ZomCon would like everyone to believe that they have the world under control - but do they? Timmy Robinson doesn't think so. He thinks the world is "phony-baloney". An awkward loner, Timmy spends so much time in his room, even his own parents don't notice him. So when Mom buys a zombie to help around the house, Timmy is surprised, and even curious, when the beast wants to play catch. As the pair plays baseball in the park, the zombie saves Timmy from the local bullies. A true friendship is born and Timmy names the zombie, "Fido".

But Fido's collar goes on the fritz, and Timmy's cranky old neighbor Mrs. Henderson pays the ultimate price. That night, Timmy sneaks back to the park to bury her, but discovers it's too late - she's already turned into a flesh-crazed zombie! In a fight to the finish, he chops off her head with a shovel and buries her in a flowerbed. To complicate matters, ZomCon's notorious zombie-control specialist, Mr. Bottoms, has moved in across the street - soon becoming Timmy and Fido's worst nightmare. Lucky for Timmy, Bottoms' daughter Cindy has a crush on him, and becomes a valuable ally... WAtch the first clip below and click the link to watch a whole bunch more. I am stoked for this film! Go watch the trailer!

RE: Extinction Trailer

2007-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

Finally the first trailer for "Resident Evil: Extintion" went online. As for now its exclusive on "Yahoo Movies" where you can watch it in various formats. The third and final installment of the $100 million "Resident Evil" hits, "Resident Evil: Extinction" is again based on the wildly popular video game series and picks up where the last film left off. The film comes to cinemas September 21st. To watch the trailer just click right here.

Zombies at Biddeford: 2

2007-02-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

From WCSH6.com:

A new movie is being filmed in the Riverdam Millyard in Biddeford. The movie is called "2" and features people from all over New England dressed up as zombies.
The premise is there are only two living people left on earth after a biological attack, and every one else is a zombie.

"You're with 100 other people, all dressed in makeup, everybody looking different, and it's all just cool," said Steve Cain of Portland.

On Saturday, directors were filming the mass zombie scenes. John Lane, one of the producers, said he was gratified by he number of people who drove long distances for the opportunity to put on makeup and appear in the movie.

Filming is expected to wrap up by next Monday.

Zombie Lawmen

2007-02-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

From GMobile Media:

Zombie Lawmen™ is a Blogworld set in an anarchic future where the heroes of the Amercian Old West are raised from the dead to bring law and order back to Tombstone, Arizona: "The Town Too Tough To Die.”

Part blog, part graphic novel, great idea.

Jim Rage's Elitie Zombie Hunting Squad

2007-02-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Jim Rage's Elite Zombie Hunting Squad.

Check out the manual. Fill out an application.

Rise and Walk by Greg Solis

2007-02-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

From Hadrian Publishing:

The walking dead descend upon a paintball competition in the mountains. Two brave young women join forces with two thrill seekers in a terror filled struggle against the undead. Low on ammunition and supplies, the survivors use anything at hand to fight off the flesh hungry horde. As the party makes their escape they soon realize that there is nowhere to run when the dead Rise and Walk...

Click here for a 48 page preview, click here for the MySpace Page.

Pakistani Zombies!

2007-02-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Andy Starke of DVD company Mondo Macabro gave Fango the exclusive news that ZIBAHKHANA/HELL’S GROUND, the Pakistani zombie film he edited and that we first told you about here, will have its U.S. premiere at this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival, which runs April 5-18 (exact screening date to be announced). Prior to that, the movie has its world premiere at Copenhagen, Denmark’s Natfilm Festival, taking place March 23-April 1. Starke further alerts us that there’s now a MySpace page open for HELL’S GROUND, where you can find more info and juicy photos, to go with the official website here.

Directed by Omar Ali Khan and co-produced by Mondo’s Pete Tombs, the film follows a group of five teenagers who get lost while traveling to a concert and encounter not only hungry flesheaters but a crazed backwoods family. Done completely outside the usual Pakistani film auspices and without government backing, HELL’S GROUND is the country’s first truly modern horror feature. Look for more coverage in the near future.

Zombies Gone Wild on DVD

2007-02-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Up next on April 3 is ZOMBIES GONE WILD, a horror/comedy about a couple of guys who try to get lucky during spring break and instead wind up pursued by the living dead. Written and directed by “G.R.” (no, not that one), this one will also be fullscreen with Dolby Digital stereo, but here the extras include:

• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Outtakes
• How to Make a Zombie Drink featurette
• Trailer
• Photo gallery
• Soundtrack
• Desktop wallpapers

Retail price for this one will also be $19.98; you can find out more about the movie at its official website and MySpace page.

In addition, Westlake is giving commercial release to John Huckert’s gay-themed serial-killer shocker HARD next Tuesday, February 20; the disc will include the uncut feature, director/producer/actor commentaries, deleted scenes and audition footage found on the previous independently distributed DVD. And in August, the company has another offbeat undead opus on tap, the intriguingly titled MOTOCROSS ZOMBIES FROM HELL.

Kojima's Version of a Zombie Apocalypse

2007-02-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

From MMORPG Blog:

GamesRadar alerts folks that in a recent interview with Edge magazine, the legendary Hideo Kojima, head of super-studio Kojima Productions, revealed his unlikely and unhinged vision for a zombie-themed game. According to Kojima, he's "less interested in the idea of the living dead than the fact you can turn people just by biting them." So much is his focus on "turning" people, that he even considers implementing his take on zombie-apocalypse in a massively-multiplayer online environment.

He explains:

Imagine a large town where half the inhabitants are zombies. Users would subscribe, get inside the town and get bitten. At that stage they become undead and can't control their character - all they can do is modify the camera angles.

...They'd see their character attacking humans and have to pay just to watch! ...The only way they could end it is by opening another account, hunting themselves down and killing themselves. Of course, the problem is that your second character can get bitten as well.

Not getting to control your character if you get turned? Having to hunt your former "self" and kill it (if it got zombified it's an "it" now), just to progress the game? Get bombarded by cinematics of mindless zombies? All too silly? Well, despite Kojima's own reservations about his over-the-top and unlikely Zombie-MMO, he says that he won't rule the idea out. GamesRadar reports that should he feel that the moment is opportune, he will "take some time to prepare. Very seriously."

Well, the cinematic aspect of the whole thing is trademark Kojima.

Another Zombie Squad Article

2007-02-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

From the UTNE Reader:

Nuclear war, avian flu, global warming, George Bush -- there are many reasons to worry that the end of the world is near, but generally, widespread zombie attacks are not one of them. Preparing for a zombie attack on the other hand, might be the one thing that saves your life should an actual catastrophe occur. That's where St. Louis's Zombie Squad steps in.

As reported by Ben Westhoff in the Riverfront Times, Zombie Squad was inspired by the movie 28 Days Later, a 2002 action flick about the undead taking over England. The group began with zombie-themed camping trips among a handful of friends and has grown into a national survivalist coalition with 175 members and hundreds of fans. Not surprisingly, many in the group are young, hip, and zombie-obsessed, but not all were looking to become survivalists. Westhoff notes that "attendees probably come to the Zombie Squad seminar expecting an in-depth discussion of the monstrous antagonists of Resident Evil and Night of the Living Dead. But they stay interested in what [squad member Christopher] Barnhart has to say long after the discussion strays from zombies."

New Grindhouse Trailer

2007-02-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

From /film: Click the pic for the new trailer.

New Grindhouse Poster Revealed

2007-02-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

From /film:

The new movie trailer hit on Thursday, and today we bring you the New Theatrical Poster.

I love the retro ripped and torn look they’re using for all the marketting materials. Click on the poster for a high resolution look.
Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino exploitation double feature Grindhouse plays homage to B-movie thrillers of the 1970’s. Tarantino’s Death Proof is about a psycho named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who stalks and kills beautiful women with his fast sports car. Rodriguez’ Planet Terror is a Zombie thriller following a gun-legged woman named Cherry (Rose McGowan) and her martial arts-wielding partner (Freddy Rodriguez). The two feature films will be connected together by fake movie trailers created by Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, and Edgar Wright. Grindhouse hits theaters on April 6th 2007.

Not your typical Valentine's Day

2007-02-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

From the Oregon Daily Emerald:

Valentine's Day, the holiday for love, lust and... zombies. That's right, of all the days of the year, the undead of Eugene chose Valentine's Day to once again roam the earth.

Whether the zombies were suffering from supernatural heartbreak, were beckoned back from the dead by lovelorn souls, or were just plain necrophiliacs, was not really clear. But nonetheless it was a very popular night to be dead.

8:00 p.m. - More than 80 zombies (or rather, the people who were dressed as zombies) in varied states of semi-animated life congregated at Pioneer Cemetery, their eyes sunken, overwhelmed by their lust for flesh.

A few jugs of whiskey were being passed around, and many of the walking dead pulled out pocket flasks and beer bottles from their torn, blood-ridden cloths.

Apparently, all are equal among the dead. Zombies of all flavor came out that night: prom queens, soldiers, pregnant housewives, cheerleaders, surfers, goths, clowns and punks, to name a few. Everyone was splattered with at least a couple pints of what appeared to be blood, and then all joined the chorus of the zombie anthem:

"Brains..... brains... ugghhhhh..."

Zombie Dance Dance Revolution

2007-02-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

From Torontoist:

"Thriller" is having a moment. Last October, we reported the story of Thrill Toronto’s attempt to set the first Guinness World Record for Largest Thriller Dance (see the video at right) by recreating the choreography from Micheal Jackson's video classic. Then there was the much blogged Thriller Wedding Dance on YouTube, a Bollywood-style version and reports from London and New York of fitness classes that use M.J.'s zombified moves as a 13 minute workout.
Now the ghoul kids from Thrill Toronto are back with plans to Thrill the World. The plan is to stage a simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with thousands of dancers in over 100 cities on October 27, 2007. "Everyone asks why 'Thriller,' " says choreographer Ines Markeljevic, the driving force behind Thrill The World. “But everybody knows it and it’s very easy to learn." And the main purpose for the event is, simply, to get more people dancing.

Zombie Idol

2007-02-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

From TheSpoof.com:

Gillian McDonut, a recently deceased homicide victim, spoke of her joy yesterday at winning American Idol.

"It's a dream come true for me," said McDonut, "After I was stabbed and passed away, I thought my dream of becoming a pop star was over. Now, however, I've got my whole life...I mean death in front of me."

Gillian, dubbed the comeback Queen by the press, was butchered by a crazed madman, Dr Death.

The Doctor's plan was to reanimate Gillian and then force her to give birth to a mutant army of superhuman brain-eating zombies.

"Yeah...I still enjoy eating brains but my music comes first." Gillian told us yesterday.

It was hoped that Miss McDonut's first single would be a duet with Sir Elton John but, unfortunately, this was postponed after the follically challenged, midget superstar was found partially eaten in his dressing room.

Simon Cowell paid tribute to Gillian's win by saying, "She's a lovely girl and the whole brain-eating thing is a good gimmick. The public love someone who's a bit different."

HOO-HAA Zombies @ Darkness Falls- Free Zombie Fiction!

2007-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

From Darkness Falls:

You no doubt can see the zombies at this point.
Wayne needed a home.
So Darkness opened her arms.
He has made the bold decision to post the 'Hoo-Haa' chapbooks and stuff in there.
Nice of him yes.

Only members of Darkness Falls will be able to read the stuff there.

If you are not a member you won't get the free zombie reads and artwork.

Warning: this is done with an aire of sharing and goodwill, in no way does this constitute giving up copyrights to the work and duplication is not permitted.

We want to show you our love and work.
Feedback and discussion we like too.
He will also post when he hears of anyone wanting zombie stories and such, for your scribblers its your chance to shine!

'Darkness Falls and Hoo-Haa - where whatever doesn't kill you makes you longer!'

Head over to Darkness Falls, register, and then go to the forums links in the top left hand corner. In the forums, you will find the home of HOO-HAA and all the goods...

Gangs of the Dead Art

2007-02-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Fango got the scoop on the DVD contents as well as the cover art for GANGS OF THE DEAD and BIG BAD WOLF, both coming this spring from Screen Media Films. Justin Stinnett’s GANGS (formerly LAST RITES), in which warring street punks have to contend with the walking dead, streets May 1 and will include behind-the-scenes footage. Retailers will have a choice between the two pieces of cover art pictured above.

Doomed to Consume Update

2007-02-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

...meanwhile, Jason Stephenson of Not for the Squeamish Productions sent word that a new trailer for his zombie opus DOOMED TO CONSUME has been posted at the company’s site, so click on over to check it out. The filmmaker also advises Midwest Fango fans that he and his DOOMED team will be setting up shop at our Weekend of Horrors convention in Rosemont, IL, where they’ll have special advance movie-only DVDs of DOOMED available. See our previous item on DOOMED here.

28 Days/Weeks Later Deal

2007-02-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Fox Home Entertainment has released the cover art and details for a limited edition DVD release of 28 Days Later, which stars Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston, and Naomie Harris. According to DVD Active, the disc will be available to own from the 1st May, and should retail at around $19.98. The film itself will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. Extras will be identical to that of the current release, albeit with an exclusive sneak peek at the theatrical sequel 28 Weeks Later through behind-the-scenes footage, and an exclusive “28 Days Later: The Aftermath” animated featurette that bridges the storyline between the two films. As an added bonus for fans, the DVD will also include a Movie Money coupon good for one free admission. Read on for the cover art.

Grindhouse Footage and Interviews

2007-02-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

This afternoon Yahoo! Movies has added a interview featurette for Grindhouse double-feature featuring some new footage from Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" and Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror"! Grind House will be presented as one full-length feature comprised of two individual films helmed separately by each director. Tarantino's film is a rip-roaring slasher flick where the killer pursues his victims with a car rather than a knife, while Rodriguez's film explores an alien world eerily familiar to ours. For tons of stills click the title above.

RE: Extinction Concept Art

2007-02-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

If you click here you can check out tons of concept art from Sony's Resident Evil: Extinction, which hits theaters everywhere on September 21. Rumor has it that the trailer for the film will debut on February 16, so watch this spot for details. Alice (Milla Jovovich), now in hiding in the Nevada desert, once again joins forces with Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps), along with new survivors Claire (Ali Larter), K-Mart (Spencer Locke) and Nurse Betty (Ashanti) to try to eliminate the deadly virus that threatens to make every human being undead... and to seek justice.

Zombies on the Streets of London

2007-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

From Metro.co.uk:

Although you may think you've spotted some before on the train into work, London could soon see its streets full of walking zombies.
'Flesh mobbing', where people use the internet and their mobile phones to create spontaneous events dressed as zombies is about to attack the capital.

Can negative ads defeat zombies?

2007-02-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

From The Star.com:

Once upon a time in a land called Canada, the people were worried about a grave and imminent threat. A marauding gang of flesh-eating zombies, working its way into the country by way of Minnesota, was threatening to bite millions of Canadians and recruit them into the army of the undead.
For a long time, there was a debate about whether the zombies posed a real threat. For one thing, they walked so slowly, and, for another, they were always tripping over things. The country's Liberal party believed that, sooner or later, they'd be here. The Conservatives, however, said you gotta be kidding, they'll never get here and, besides, the zombies are just part of a natural cycle.
But as more studies were done, a consensus emerged. The scientific community agreed that the zombies were coming, they'd be here any day, and we had to do something.

Those wacky Canadians... :)

Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

2007-02-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

From AfterElton.com:

Brent Hartinger made a splash with Geography Club, his 2003 gay teen novel about a group of kids who start a secret high school gay-straight alliance, then give it the most boring name they can think of, the Geography Club, to keep others from joining. A sequel, The Order of the Poison Oak, followed in 2005.
Hartinger, a contributor to AfterElton.com (and the partner of this writer!), is back with another sequel to Geography Club. Called Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, and it's actually two-books-in-one. Read the first “book,” Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, which is told from the point-of-view of gay boy Russel, then flip the book over and read the second “book,” Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, which is told from the point-of-view of Russel's bisexual best friend Min. The two books together are the story of when Russel and Min get jobs working as an extra on a zombie film being shot in town.

Girl Sparks Violent Witch-hunt

2007-02-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

From News 24:

Tzaneen - A 14-year-old schoolgirl has been accused of sparking a violent witch-hunt in her village when she said an old woman kept zombies in her house.
The girl, from Burghersdorp village near Tzaneen in Limpopo, appeared in the Ritavi magistrate's court on Monday on charges of contravening the Suppression of Witchcraft Act.
According to the State, the girl sparked a violent witch-hunt when she told a community meeting that an 80-year-old woman was keeping zombies at her house.
Four houses belonging to the old woman and her two sons were torched by angry community members. The damage is estimated to be over R300 000.

Zombie Squad Talk

2007-02-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

From St. Louis RFT:

"We're going to talk a little bit today about the inevitable zombie uprising, the zombie apocalypse — also known as 'zombocalypse.'" So begins William Spencer, addressing 150 science-fiction geeks at last October's Archon convention in Collinsville, Illinois.
Spencer, a 31-year-old body-piercer who is dressed this day like a Commando character, is a founder of the Zombie Squad. A St. Louis-based survivalist group that uses the walking dead as a metaphor for the breakdown of society, the Zombie Squad's primary mission is to teach disaster-preparation tactics to the public. What unites this quirky mix of tattooed hipsters, role-playing gamers and sci-fi nerds is an insatiable appetite for zombie flicks.

On this autumn afternoon, the group is hosting a disaster-education seminar worthy of the Red Cross. But before getting into the nuts and bolts of their survivalist message, they treat the crowd to some play-acted, zombie fun.

Read more...

Autumn Adaptation

2007-02-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

From CanMag:

If you really, really, really like zombie films such as Dawn of the Dead, then you may want to throw a few bucks over to Renegade Motion Pictures and their adaptation of Autumn.

Renegade Seeks Financing for Autumn Adaptation
Renegade Motion Pictures has acquired the rights to the popular zombie novel Autumn. Production begins the summer of 2007 and Renegade has decided to sell 25% of the movie to the fans with investments starting at $20.
Autumn, by David Moody, is the first in a series of novels about a post-apocalyptic world following a sudden viral epidemic. The series has developed a cult following on the internet and Renegade wants to give the already established fans and the future fans a chance to own part of the film, which will also include part of the film’s future profits.

Read more...
Click here for ZAGG interview with David Moody.

Fido Teaser

2007-02-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

From cinematical:

We've been raving about the Canadian zombie comedy, Fido, on Cinematical for a while now. After a great premiere at TIFF, the film is slated for release on June 15th, and we've finally got a teaser for you to sink your zombie-yearning teeth into. It's quite brief, and doesn show much, but that might be best. Like any comedy, the laughs are best the first time around, and this teaser does a good job of showing the gist without revealing the gusto.

Reiko and the Zombie Shop Five

2007-02-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

From ActiveAnime.com:

REIKO THE ZOMBIE SHOP VOLUME FIVE is a spicy little piece of paranormal action and gory adventure from Dark Horse Manga. Sort of anti-Buffy on acid, Reiko has captured the imagination- and no doubt caused a few nightmares- for fans on both sides of the Pacific in the last few years. Rei Mikamoto’s story about this teenage necromancer has already seen her solve murders, take on serial killers and gangsters, get beheaded in the process and be brought back to life after having her head spliced to the recently deceased body of a fellow summoner. Reiko has done battle with her twin sister Riruka, who wanted to turn the world into a zombie empire under her control. Reiko has also become involved with the sister of the serial killer she defeated- and who in turn killed her. It seems in the last volume, the little sister escaped from a hospital and horribly dispatched the daughter of the doctor who had been treating her. Volume Five opens with Reiko closing in on the wayward girl with an unusual strategy in mind for bringing her to justice. Following that, though, it looks like Reiko has finally met her match in the form of the Star Collector, a summoner with the ability to steal the marks of other summoners- and the powers that come with them- right off their bodies. And by the way, Reiko’s sister Riruka has also risen from the dead and is looking for some payback. Just a little FYI…

Zombie Girl - 3 Formats

2007-02-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

From Side-Line:

After the success of the "Back from the dead" EPCD, Zombie Girl are ready to release their debut album "Blood, Brains & Rock'n Roll". Zombie Girl is the project of Renee Cooper-Komor (vocals, lyrics) and musician Sebastian R. Komor (lyrics, music) of Icon Of Coil fame and also known for his work in Bruderschaft, Moonitor etc. The album will come in 3 different version: a normal 1CD version, a limited 2CD deluxe carton box including some fan goodies, plus a bonus disc full of exclusive songs, remixes by Mortiis and Seb. Komor himself and special cover versions of Berlin, Rob Zombie, etc. A super limited large (25 cm x 33 cm) box 'fan edition' is also available now for pre-order at the band's label, Alfa Matrix. Inside this set you will find the 2CD limited album, a "Zombie Girl ate my brains" T-shirt and some bonus goodies. The size of the "Zombie Girl ate my brains" T-shirt inside the box can be chosen until stock exhaustion: S, M, L, XL or Girlie. This is a 2 colour print T-shirt on both sides (back & front). Below we have added the various versions for you to check. Audio previews are also available.

Zombie Girl - "Blood, Brains & Rock'n Roll" CD
Zombie Girl - "Blood, Brains & Rock'n Roll" 2CDltd
Zombie Girl - "Blood, Brains & Rock'n Roll" 2CD super fan boxset including T-shirt

Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer

2007-02-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

From MPOGD.com:

From the minds of “Massively Online Gamer” comes Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer, the first “Choose your own adventure” podcast. Each week the audience gets to decide the next step of the story by casting their votes at http://www.mogarmy.net.

The scene begins at “The Last Chance Gas Station,” Jethro’s home and dilapidated fuel shop. After multiple nuclear explosions occur far off in the distance, Jethro and his trusty, stuffed, and dead dog Toadkiller witness a bizarre phenomenon… the dead are rising.

Originally part of the podcast “Massively Online Gamer,” Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer was one of the most popular segments on the show. So popular that producer, Todd Zelin, decided to bring it to the next level. “We all agreed that Jethro needed an upgrade,” says Zelin, “Initially Ryan Verniere, co-host of MOG, would read that week’s installment during the taping of the weekly show. On part 5 of Jethro, we started to pre-record and sound-designing the segment. After an awesome response from the fan-base we commissioned artist and MOG fan, Jake Harold, to draw story-boards and comic book like panels to illustrate the story each week.”

The guys also decided to add to the growing list of MOG shows by releasing Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer as a separate podcast. Already regularly releasing Massively Online Gamer, The MMO Minute and the new review show, Cognition, this release expands the reach of the MOG brand beyond the gaming news and commentary to other forms of entertainment.

You can subscribe to the Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer on iTunes and also access the latest episode at http://www.mogarmy.net and click on the “Watch Now!” button.

The Amazing Screw-on Head

2007-02-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

From St. Louis RFT:

At 22 minutes, it's hard to rationalize a good reason to purchase this animated goof-out from Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy -- well, except that it's genius. A bit of Pythonesque lunacy, based on a Mignola comic and retaining his crudely beautiful artwork, it stars Paul Giamatti (no, seriously) as the voice of the title character, a sort of spy-catching Iron Pipsqueak in the employ of Abraham Lincoln. The Prez calls upon Screw-On Head to save America ("by which I mean, the world") from the evil Emperor Zombie (David Hyde Pierce), Screw-On Head's former manservant, who stole from him the Love of His Life, Patience (Molly Shannon), now a member of the living dead. In other words, it's deadpan nonsense -- a love triangle starring a zombie, robot, and vampire, featuring an Honest Abe who says things like "We're dealing with undead perversions of the only woman you ever loved." Like I said, genius.

Link.

Zombie CSI

2007-02-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

From BC Books (in an interview with Jonathan Mayberry):

...now that it’s done, I’m launching into a pop-culture nonfiction book called ZOMBIE CSI: The Forensic Science of the Living Dead, which is built around interviews with real world experts on forensics and law enforcement, asking them how they would respond to a zombie uprising. It’s true weird science, because some of these guys — especially the neurologists I’ve been talking with — have worked out some credible theories for how the living dead might actually rise. Creepy, but fun. I’m even going to spend a whole day with a SWAT team.

Read whole interview...

Bowie Ibarra Interview!

2007-02-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Please click here for the latest original ZAGG interview with Down the Road author Bowie Ibarra by our enigmatic HOO-HAA master, Wayne Simmons (aka Spiral)!

Diary of the Dead Preview at Chicago Fango Con

2007-02-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

A special behind-the-scenes sneak preview of George A. Romero’s DIARY OF THE DEAD will take place at the next Midwest edition of FANGORIA’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held February 23-25 (three monstrous days!) at the Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Hotel (6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL). Documentarian/director/editor Michael Felsher (pictured in ghoul getup for his LAND OF THE DEAD zombie cameo) will unveil clips from the set of Romero’s latest DEAD opus and offer a “fly on the wall” perspective on the new zombie production, which he chronicled. Felsher’s DVD special-feature credits through his Red Shirt Pictures company include FLESH WOUNDS: SEVEN STORIES OF THE SAW (for last year’s TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Ultimate Edition); IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY: THE MAKING OF A SEQUEL (for TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2); AFTER “EFFECTS”; and MY DEMON NIGHTS (with NIGHT OF THE DEMONS’ Linnea Quigley).

Fessenden's I Sell the Dead

2007-02-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Filmmaker Larry (WENDIGO) Fessenden, who has also taken numerous acting turns in everything from Brad Anderson’s SESSION 9 to Jim Jarmusch’s BROKEN FLOWERS, tipped us off that he’ll be appearing alongside genre fave Ron (HELLBOY) Perlman and Dominic (LOST) Monaghan in writer/director Glenn McQuaid’s horror feature I SELL THE DEAD. Set up at Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix under the ScareFlix banner (also responsible for THE ROOST, AUTOMATONS and the upcoming TRIGGER MAN), I SELL THE DEAD will be an extension of director McQuaid’s period short film THE RESURRECTION APPRENTICE (see item here), and revolves around a pair of grave-robbers (played by Fessenden, reprising his role from the short as pictured here, and Monaghan) who find that some of the corpses they unearth aren’t as dead as they may like.

...more...

For more info on I SELL THE DEAD, visit the film’s official site here.

Ghoul School on DVD

2007-02-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Continuing its resurrection of ’80s/’90s DIY gore flicks on uncut DVD, Camp Motion Pictures has announced the specs for its spring releases GHOUL SCHOOL and the VIDEO VIOLENCE/VIDEO VIOLENCE 2 double feature. Timothy O’Rawe’s 1990 SCHOOL, previously issued on disc by Tempe, arrives March 13 in a Super Bloody Splatter University edition, with the teen zombie flick accompanied by a host of extras:

• Audio commentary by writer/director O’Rawe
• Audio commentary by director of photography Michael Raso
• Audio commentary by producer Jon Fedele and Raso
• Original fundraising promo
• Making of GHOUL SCHOOL featurette
• DVD cover photo shoot
• SAY NO TO DRUGS (student gore film)
• HALLOWEEN TALE (fundraising film)
• HALLOWEEN TALE bloopers
• HALLOWEEN TAKEOVER (local cable TV show)
• Dead Weight (unreleased featurette)
• Camp Motion Pictures trailer vault

...more.

Zombie Farm Pics

2007-02-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Indie writer/director B. Luciano Barsuglia, whose shocker DEMENTIA: AN EXPERIMENT IN TERROR hit DVD last year through his BLB Media, gave Fango the scoop and a bunch of pics (see more below) from his latest feature ZOMBIE FARM. Produced by Barsuglia and Vince Lara, the hi-def movie is about four college students who find themselves in the midst of an undead attack in the small town of Muerto Verde. The local farmers are being transformed into ghouls thanks to the water supply being poisoned by the Taliban (!), and only the friends and a pair of trigger-happy FBI agents can stop the zombie plague. The cast includes Bobby Field, Christine Cowden, Kimberly Fisher, Jed Rowen, Joe (DEATH ROW) Estevez, John Philbin from CHILDREN OF THE CORN and THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, Javier Morga, DEAD THINGS and NIGHTWALKERS director D.T. Carney, Danielle De Luca, Chris Leone “and literally hundreds of extras in the roles of zombies,” Barsuglia tells Fango.
...more...
You can find out more about ZOMBIE FARM and see more pics at its official website.

Hi-Def Night of the Creeps

2007-02-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Another good reason to sign up for VOOM’s high-definition Monsters HD channel has just been announced: the 24-hour creature showcase will be airing Fred Dekker’s NIGHT OF THE CREEPS in hi-def on Sunday, February 4 at 5:15 p.m., followed by encore showings that night at 1:15 a.m. and on Monday, Feb. 5 at 3:45 p.m. A loving, scary/funny homage to every horror subgenre known to man, Dekker’s 1986 writing/directing debut and Fango fave stars Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow as college students battling possessive extraterrestrial slugs, with the help of a cynical detective memorably enacted by Tom Atkins.

...more...

Another Grace Lee Interview

2007-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

If you head on over to BDTV you can watch our exclusive interview with American Zombie Writer/Director Grace Lee from this year's Slamdance Film Festival. The interview was conducted as part of our Sundance Film Festival coverage in Park City, Utah. The pic documents the daily lives of a small community of the living deceased who make their home in Los Angeles. Don't forget to check out our full Sundance coverage here and watch for more interviews in the coming week. Special thanks to the Dmob crew for filming the interviews.

Burial at Sea Scores Zombie Flick

2007-02-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

From Drowned in Sound:

What's the deal with you providing the score for the Zombie Undead film?
The director, Reese, recognised our B-movie influences and asked us to provide the score for his new film, Zombie Undead, currently in production. It’s something we’re very excited about, in no small part due to the promise of cameo roles as zombies. We’ll be providing some original band tracks alongside some more atmospheric, electronic-based material.

Read whole thing.

Pocky Commercial

2007-01-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

This is hilarious.

On Youtube via Bloodee.

Cover Art and Details for Ultimate Versus

2007-01-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Media Blasters passed on the details and cover art for ULTIMATE VERSUS, a three-disc tin-case release of Ryuhei Kitamura’s swords-and-zombies bloodbath, coming March 27 on the Tokyo Shock label. The saga of Prisoner KSC2-303 (Tak Sakaguchi) taking on endless undead enemies will be presented in a 16x9-enhanced 1.85:1 transfer with 10 minutes of new scenes, new music and 6.1 and 2.0 soundtracks in both Japanese and English. The hours of extra features consist of:

Disc One:
• ULTIMATE VERSUS audio commentary by Kitamura and the actors
• Original VERSUS audio commentary by Kitamura and the actors
• English VERSUS audio commentary by Kitamura and Keishiro Shin

Disc Two:
• First Contact: VERSUS Evolution featurette
• Behind VERSUS 1: the Birth of the Dark Hero featurette
• Behind VERSUS 2: VERSUS the Legend featurette
• Sakigake! Otoko Versus Juku: Making of the New Footage featurette
• The Making of: Deep in the Woods featurette
• Still Gallery

Disc Three:
• Deleted Scenes
• Interview with the editor
• Tak Sakaguchi, A Solitary Journey featurette
• VERSUS Side Stories:
-Nervous 1
-Nervous 2
-Making of Nervous 2
• Trailers for VERSUS and Kitamura’s DOWN TO HELL
• Film festival clips
• Team VERSUS

Retail price for all this is $39.95.

NOTLD Guys at Chicago Fango Con

2007-01-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD co-creator John (MIDNIGHT) Russo and actor Russ (“Johnny”) Streiner will attend the Midwest edition of FANGORIA’s Weekend of Horrors convention, to be held February 23-25 (three monstrous days!) at the Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Hotel (6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL). The Pittsburgh natives will appear alongside Avatar Comics, publishers of Russo’s ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD and PLAGUE OF THE LIVING DEAD comics. Editor William Christensen and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD cover artist Jacen Burrows will also be at the Avatar tables.

"Gangs of the Dead" Upcoming DVD

2007-01-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

In May, Screen Media unleashes GANGS OF THE DEAD, the zombies-vs.-street-punks flick previously known as LAST RITES, directed by Duane Stinnett and co-starring Reggie Bannister (see our last item here).

Tons of Fido Clips

2007-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

FIDO is coming to theatres in the us on June 15th but lucky canadian readers will get it on March 16th. TVA gave HorrorMovies.ca a first look at a ton of great clips for the film. Fido takes place in the small town of Willard. Welcome to Willard, a small town lost in the idyllic world of the 50's, where the sun shines every day, everybody knows their neighbour, and rotting zombies carry the mail. Years ago, the earth passed through a cloud of space dust, causing the dead to rise with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Terror spread across the land, until a collar was invented that made the zombies docile, even useful.

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness Contest

2007-01-27T08:23:00.000-08:00

From Comic Book Resources:

Runnemede, NJ – DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES details for their latest contest on dynamiteentertainment.com. To help build up anticipation for the upcoming Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness five-issue event limited series and as a thank you to both the fans and retailers for their overwhelming response to Army of Darkness #13, Dynamite is giving fans and retailers a chance to win incredible Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness prizes, including an original page of art!!!

Free to enter, the contest is open now and will run through January 19, 2007. Retailers and fans can take advantage of this free contest by registering their name and email address with Dynamite - which will also allow registered fans and retailers to receive our weekly Dynamite Entertainment newsletter!

For more details, click here...

Lego Thriller!

2007-01-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is great! From the CTube:

Michael Jackson's groundbreaking music video "Thriller" has all the ingredients for success: cat monsters, zombie break dancing, Jheri curls.

"Lego Thriller" takes all of what makes the pop singer's 1984 video a classic and builds a new piece of work with - you guessed it - Legos. Using stop-motion animation, the video matches Jackson's original frame-by-frame, minute-for-all-13-minutes.

The devil here is in the details. "Lego Thriller's" creators don't overlook any of the particulars from Jackson's epic zombiefest. With an eye only dedicated fans have, they emulate every pan, zoom and angle that give "Thriller" its epic cinematic quality. YouTube browsers can find variations of "Lego Thriller" that prove just how similar it is to its forebear by playing the two videos on a split screen.

The zombie dance scene that made "Thriller" so famous marks "Lego Thriller's" highlight. Despite being zombies - and Lego ones at that - "Lego Thriller's" undead prove to be just as graceful and arthritis-free as Jackson's ghouls. As the Lego zombies chop, sway and shamble through the dance number, one has to wonder how even the most talented animators can choreograph a troupe of figurines.

Now, when is "Lego Beat It" making its YouTube premiere?

Zombie Science! On the Evolution of Zombie Populations

2007-01-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

From coalesced:

T-Rex thinks he's eliminated zombies with logic. The basic idea: Zombies depend on human brains to survive, but they also must bite humans (turning them into zombies) to create more zombies. If zombies were really good at catching humans and eating their brains, there would be no more humans and the zombie population would die off. Conversely, if the zombies had trouble getting to the human brains, they could convert humans into zombies (by biting them without eating their brains), but they would starve due to brain deprivation.

Click here for charts and graphs!

Humans vs Zombies Game Gets New Rules

2007-01-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

From the Bowling Green News:

Last semester, two students were arrested for disorderly conduct because they were carrying what appeared to be weapons on campus.

They were participating in the game "humans versus zombies," in which students carried Nerf guns around to protect themselves from the "infectious zombies."

The game has now been allowed to be played once again on campus, but with a set of ground rules instated by the players and University Police. It started at 8 a.m. on Jan. 22 and will run until midnight on Jan. 29.

"Not much has changed overall, but things were just refined. We discussed boundaries, and residence halls became off limits," said Atonn Smeltzer, junior and a co-founder of the BG Undead organization, which was created by the students who play the game.

University police helped the organization founders set the ground rules.

Left 4 Dead for PS3?

2007-01-27T07:55:00.000-08:00

From Cinema Blend:

In an interview recently conducted with Turtle Rock Studios’ founder, Michael Booth, he revealed several new aspects of Left 4 Dead for the Xbox 360 and PC; primarily regarding the gameplay. You can check out the interview as well as the answer to the burning question for Turtle Rock fans: Will Left 4 Dead make an appearance on the PS3?

Interview with "American Zombie" director, Grace Lee

2007-01-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Tim Ryan writes: "Director Grace Lee's first film, "The Grace Lee Project," was an exploration of identity that asked the question, "What's in a name?" In her latest, "American Zombie," she looks at identity through a different lens: that of the living dead.

"American Zombie," making its world premiere at Slamdance, tells the intriguing story of two filmmakers who team up to document a community of "high-functioning" zombies in Los Angeles. It begins as a study of a population, but turns increasingly dark as the filmmakers' prejudices and fears are tested. "American Zombie" is by no means your typical horror show; it's got its share of morbid laughs and social commentary. Lee talked with Rotten Tomatoes about the appeal of zombies, making and the communal spirit of Slamdance.

Read on for the Q&A...

We the Living Dead:The Convoluted Politics of Zombie Cinema

2007-01-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

From Reason Magazine via Skullring.com:

The zombiephiles—that odd cohort of nerds, video game addicts, and mullet-headed grindhouse nostalgists who have made the flesh-eating zombie a central figure of modern culture—know all about chewed kidneys, shambling ghouls, moldering flesh, barricaded doors, deserted streets, and the all-important bullet to the brain. But most of all, fans of the rich, vibrant zombie narrative of the late 20th and early 21st centuries know about politics.
Ever since George Romero’s genre-creating Night of the Living Dead in 1968, and especially since Romero’s overtly political 1978 masterpiece Dawn of the Dead, highbrow revolutionary theorizing has stalked this graveyard of lowbrow pleasures. In his 1979 study The American Nightmare: Essays on the Horror Film, the esteemed cineaste Robin Wood declared that the zombie’s cannibalism “represents the ultimate in possessiveness, hence the logical end of human relations under capitalism.” J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum’s 1983 study Midnight Movies called Night of the Living Dead “a remarkable vision of the late sixties, offering the most literal possible depiction of America devouring itself.” In a later reappraisal, a Village Voice critic explained that “the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging in Vietnam.”

Kidman in a 50 mph Zombie Crash

2007-01-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

From the New York Daily News:

LOS ANGELES - Nicole Kidman escaped serious injury when a car she was riding in on a sci-fi film location shoot crashed during a scene in which her character was fleeing zombie-like creatures, the studio said yesterday.
The 39-year-old Oscar winner was rushed to a hospital "for evaluation" and released after the stunt crash Wednesday night during filming of "The Invasion," Warner Bros. Pictures said in a statement.
Neither Kidman's publicist nor the studio would comment on what, if any, injuries the actress received when the camera-rigged car struck a light pole and a trash can on W. Sixth St. in downtown L.A.
The film, about an epidemic with extraterrestrial origins, also stars new James Bond hunk Daniel Craig.

Jeff Combs on Fango TV

2007-01-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Every Friday, our sister website FANGORIA TV brings horror fans a new round of unique and exclusive on-line programming celebrating the best in horror entertainment and the people who make it. Debuting today:
- The very reanimated Jeffrey Combs

Click here for more..

First Pics and Trailer from American Zombie

2007-01-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Today we've scored a first look at Grace Lee's American Zombie, which will have its World Premiere at this year's Slamdance Film Festival next week. The pic documents the daily lives of a small community of the living deceased who make their home in Los Angeles. Although the pics aren't quite that interesting, the movie does sound pretty cool and the hype behind it is pretty heavy. Watch this spot for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Director Grace Lee next week (actually, it's right here).

Click here for pics and trailer...

FIDO Release Date Pushed Back

2007-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

Sad news for all zombie fans. Lionsgate Films let us know that the upcoming Zombie movie "Fido" has been pushed back from its march release to June. The film, directed by Andrew Currie, will now come to cinemas June 15th, 2007. Welcome to Willard, a small town lost in the idyllic world of the 50's, where the sun shines every day, everybody knows their neighbour, and rotting zombies carry the mail. Years ago, the earth passed through a cloud of space dust, causing the dead to rise with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Terror spread across the land, until a collar was invented that made the zombies docile, even useful.

Zombie Casting Call in Wisconsin!

2007-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Dissatisfied with the crop of presidential candidates that's shaping up for '08? Mount Horeb resident Brendan Hartmann wants you to ponder voting for a zombie.
Hartmann is making a film entitled, "Behind the Scenes: The Media and the Zombie Phenomenon," in which the zombies that have risen from graves decide that rather than eating people and causing mayhem, they want to assimilate: demand voting rights, Medicare and the chance to drive SUVs.
"They take a look around and say, "Hey, this is America, this is a free lunch in a whole different way,'" says Hartmann. "They want jobs, duplexes and acceptance just like the rest of us."

In what he describes as his "Frontline-style mockumentary," as the zombies pursue citizenship, the media blow the story out of proportion, while corporations see a cash cow and began catering to zombies as consumers. Eventually, this makes it possible for a zombie to run for president. Hartmann, a local actor, says he got the idea for the film during the 2000 Missouri Senate election when Mel Carnahan posthumously beat John Ashcroft.
Hartmann is seeking dozens of potential actors (everything from speaking parts to zombies to extras) to help make his film a reality and has a casting call Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Atwood Community Center. Asked about his goal for the movie, Hartmann says he hopes to "premiere it around Madison and send it to as many film festivals as I can."

Brian Keene Interview @ SR

2007-01-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

From Skullring:

Brian Keene is arguably one of the most prolific and popular writers of horror fiction these days. Among others he’s authored "Terminal", "The Rising", its sequel "City of the Dead", "The Conqueror Worms", and the forthcoming "Ghoul". Brian recently granted an interview to SkullRing and had some interesting things to say about writing, smoking, comics, the web, film, zombies, and the use of certain forms of punctuation.

Click here for the Q&A...

More Moore & Reppion: Raise the Dead

2007-01-20T07:54:00.000-08:00

From Comic Book Resources:

When we last spoke with writers Leah Moore and John Reppion, the pair were promoting “Witchblade: Shades of Gray,” which arrives in stores next month. In that interview, Reppion mentioned that he and Moore had just finished scripting the first issue of their second mini-series for Dynamite Entertainment, and that it would see release in March. That second mini-series, it turns out, is “Raise The Dead,” a zombie apocalypse story that Dynamite promises will set a new standard in horror storytelling. CBR News dug up once again Leah Moore and John Reppion to writhe around and talk about the new mini-series.
The story begins in the middle of a zombie infestation, with a disparate group of seven people forced to cooperate with each other in order to survive. While Moore and Reppion are keeping quiet about many of the details so as not to spoil the reading experience for hardcore zombie fans (which both writers are), CBR News has learned that among the large principle cast are a geek, two children and a middle-aged real estate baron. “What's that you say?” said Leah Moore. “Isn't there supposed to be a Navy Seal or tough policeman who saves them all the time and has a shotgun? Not this time.”

Also...if you'd like to be a part of an article Reppion is currently writing for Revenant Magazine, do stop by here and take his zombie-related survey!

CD Release Party in Morgantown + Zombie Flick TONIGHT

2007-01-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

From DAA&E:

If your favorite store is out of black eyeliner, don't worry it's not discontinued. Morgantown's Descension Rate is just preparing for its CD release party Saturday night at 123 Pleasant St.
The album, ''Deadly Elegance,'' is the industrial/electronic band's first full-length. Although the original release date was Nov. 11, the band did not receive the CDs until December and decided to put off the release show until people were back in town.

Compared to the band's previous EP's, singer Jeff Jordan considers this album more professional-looking.

''We've done CD-Rs before,'' Jordan said. ''We went all out on this one -- we had someone do the art and had it pressed.''

Also, Jordan feels ''Deadly Elegance'' shows how the band really sounds live. Previous
recordings were recorded with a friend and the band didn't have a lot of say in it.
Descension Rate is not going to settle for just any CD release show -- the band wants the whole night to be an experience.

The show will start promptly at 10 p.m., with half-hour DJ sets from three band members and DJ Blackout from Mayday! Also, throughout the night several televisions will show zombie movie, ''Die and Let Live'' by West Virginia University student Justin Channell.

''We're trying to emulate a goth night from a big city,'' Jordan said. ''It'll be a lot of fun, tongue-in-cheek stuff.''

Also playing Saturday will be gothic industrial rock band, Beloved Dead.
For more information on Descension Rate and to hear MP3s from ''Deadly Elegance,'' visit www.myspace.com/descensionrate.
Saturday's show starts at 10 p.m. and costs $5 at the door.

The Abandoned Review

2007-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

From Graphic Novel Review:

The cover of Ross Campbell's zombie graphic novel The Abandoned (Tokyopop) provides a small double-take moment for the reader. It features the book's heroine, punkishly coiffed Rylie, holding what first looks to be a bloody bludgeon, blood spattered on her shoulder and around her pierced lower lip. It takes several seconds for the reader to register that the "weapon" Rylie's holding is a gore-dripping toilet plunger. When you're in the midst of an unexpected zombie attack, you use what tools are at hand.

ZAGG Updates Update

2007-01-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

So, guys and gals, I've gone over this coming semester's schedule (which begins tomorrow) and have decided that ZAGG will get updated once a week, on Saturday mornings. Why just once a week? Well, to be honest, it seems as though the wild zombie crazy we've been having might be dying down (no pun intended) a bit. The fact is that it takes me about a week to accumulate the same amount of news it took me just a day or two to get about a year ago. So, time-wise, it makes more sense for me to do it like this.

Fear not. I've been a zombie fan long before this most recent popularity cycle and will be for some time to come. So I do intend to keep updating ZAGG, and getting those reviews and interviews here and there. If there's another jump in the amount of news, maybe I'll push updates to twice a week. Who knows?

So, that's that. Thanks for your continued support and expect the next update on the 27th!

Cheers,
Kriscinda

House of Re-Animator Canned?

2007-01-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

From The Horror Yearbook:

I was going to wait for Molly Celaschi’s, San Jose “Fangoria Weekend of Horrors” report for this news, but it’s too sad not to post. Johnny Truant (Our “Man on the Street”) had tipped us off about a possible Re-Animator Trilogy (READ HERE), but according to Jeffrey Combs, this weekend, it looks like it may never happen. Since the material in “House of Re-Animator” is becoming dated, with the defeat of the Bush administration, we may never see the sequel.

I of course did not write anything down during the talk, but those guys over at Esplatter did (Hey, were you those guys sitting behind me?), and got this quote from Jeffrey:

“A year ago I would have told you that looks like that’s happening,” he said. “At this time I’d say maybe the air has gone out of that. … That’s sleeping right now. I don’t imagine that will wake up. The problem is the script we wanted to do is very topical.”

...just a note...there is a Re-Animator Trilogy. Did these folks miss Beyond Re-Animator? I mean, yes, it blew and all but it's still exists.

More Zombie Art

2007-01-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

From The Perishing Image.com:

Click the photo for more.

Dead West Update

2007-01-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Reflecting a palpable desire to get back in the horror game, Green says he and WEST’s producers were eager to move the project along in lieu of subjecting it to cobweb growth until the director is through with GOD. “So far, working with Jacob has been awesome,” he says. “We’re approaching this as a true Western…that just so happens to be splattered with extremely gory horror and violence. I’m sure fans of the graphic novel will appreciate that we’re not looking to make yet another ‘zombie flick.’ Just imagine one of the Leone spaghetti Westerns—if the Indians came back from the dead and can still fight as viciously and intelligently as they did in life. It’s going to be brutal.”

If all goes smoothly, WEST is eyeing the end of this year for a production start—unless HATCHET’s bayou-bathing bully, Victor Crowley, interferes.

Cover Art/Specs for Deadlands" The Rising

2007-01-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Tempe Video just passed on the cover art and specs for the April 17 Splatter Rampage DVD release of Gary Ugarek’s undead opus DEADLANDS: THE RISING. Previously self-distributed by Ugarek (go here for more on the movie), DEADLANDS follows five people through three separate story threads as they confront a zombie plague that has overtaken Baltimore. The movie will be presented in 16x9-enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen, with the following extras:

• Audio commentary by Ugarek
• Audio commentary by the cast and crew
• Interview with Ugarek
• Interview with producer Brian Wright
• I AM ZOMBIE MAN short film with introduction by filmmaker Nick Thomson
• Teaser trailer
• Splatter Rampage DVD trailers

Retail price is $24.99.

New Re-Animator and Dorks Cover Art

2007-01-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

Anchor Bay passed on to Fango the art from a trio of its upcoming genre releases, including the cover for the upcoming new special edition of RE-ANIMATOR that Jeffrey Combs debuted at our just-concluded San Jose Weekend of Horrors. This title has been moved up to a release date of March 13; final specs have yet to be announced, but it will include a pair of audio commentaries (one by director Stuart Gordon, the other by producer Brian Yuzna and the cast) and much more. We’ll give ya the final details as soon as we receive them. The disc will be packaged with a special collectible “syringe” pen, pictured above.

The Bay has also set a February 20 debut for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DORKS, German writer/director Mathias Dinter’s teen zombie comedy (see our early review ). DORKS will be presented in a 16x9-enhanced 1.85:1 transfer, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (German-language with English subtitles) and Dolby Digital stereo (English-dubbed version). Also included will be:

• Interviews with cast and crew
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Deleted and extended scenes
• Alternate ending
• “Fun” scenes
• English and German theatrical trailers

Retail price is $19.98.

Bob Clark Interview at BD

2007-01-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

From Bloody-Disgusting:

Are you sick of hearing about the remake to Bob Clark's Black Christmas? Good so am I, which is why I'm excited to bring you yet another interview with the infamous director (long delayed I might add) - this time about his remake of Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. This is an amazing interview and details have been more than spilled, they've been completely gutted! Click here and enjoy! In the original six friends dig up a corpse named Orville. They use it in a satanic ritual to make the dead rise from their graves. Look out!!!

New Photos from 28 Weeks Later

2007-01-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

Some spiffy new 28 Weeks Later Stills have popped up online at BlackFilm. The movie is set six months after the rage virus has annihilated the British Isles. The US Army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin. In the first wave of returning refugees, a family is reunited -- but one of them unwittingly carries a terrible secret. The virus is not yet dead, and this time, it is more dangerous than ever. New images of Idris Elba and Harold Perrineau from 28 Weeks Later. Check em out.

One More Last Man

2007-01-15T07:52:00.000-08:00

From KVOA News 4:

Explosions? Zombies? Gunfights?

It may sound like a scene right of a movie script.

That's because it is.

Sunday, a gun carrying maniac fired shots at people in the middle of Downtown Tucson.

"City hall we're blowing up. Superior Court, we're blowing up. Federal Court, we're blowing up. We're just going crazy blowing up everything."

James Arnett is not on the terror watch list, though he hopes he's on Hollywood's watch list.

"We're actually the first company to make this into a feature length film," he says.

He's directing a movie called 'The Last Man.' It's a thriller about a pandemic sweeping across earth.

And there's only one man left in a world of zombies.

Zombie Birds

2007-01-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

From BNN:

In Austin, Texas on Monday January 8, at least 63 birds dropped dead.

This prompted authorities to close down 10 square blocks of the city’s downtown for much of the day. A homeless gentleman in the area was interviewed and stated that not only did he see dead birds, but strange-acting dying birds as well.

Local folks are calling the avians the “Undead Zombie Birds.”

Zombies Invade Biddeford

2007-01-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

From WCSH6.com:

Dozens of the "undead" from all around New England made their way to Biddeford Saturday for their chance at immortality on the silver screen.

More than 70 zombies showed up, sporting blood and guts and severed limbs, all trying out to be extras in a movie.

It was each zombie's big chance to shine. Producer John Lane says this zombie movie has hidden meaning, a different twist.

"The zombies aren't really trying to kill people, as much as they're trying to explain what happened," said Lane.

Night of the Living Dead in 30 Seconds

2007-01-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Friday the 13th Remake Update

2007-01-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

A new year is upon us, and that means renewed rumors regarding the return of Jason Voorhees (which we last reported on here). But before that happens, allow Fango to give you a solid update from Platinum Dunes' Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, the producers behind Leatherface's recent exploits as well the new HITCHER hitting screens January 19 from Rogue. While attending a screening of that particular update, Fango spoke to Fuller, who's gearing up for a busy year ahead with a number of projects. "We were actually just talking about FRIDAY THE 13th today," he says. So the project isn't adrift somewhere in Crystal Lake? Not according to the more vocal one of Dunes' busy team. In fact, it sounds like the who-owns-what debate surrounding the next chapter is being smoothed out: "We'll be doing it with Paramount and New Line." Look for more on this as well as their other upcoming films Monday, when Fango sits down for an in-depth discussion with the Dunes duo.

Edgar Wright Joins Grind House

2007-01-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

From Fango:

There’s a new addition to the GRINDHOUSE family: SHAUN OF THE DEAD director Edgar Wright (pictured with DEAD friend). As Robert Rodriguez puts the finishing touches on PLANET TERROR and Quentin Tarantino pushes through postproduction on DEATH PROOF, Wright has joined the team of guest filmmakers at work on the faux trailers that’ll be sandwiched between GRINDHOUSE’s two features. As we previously reported here, Eli Roth and Rob Zombie are creating previews for THANKSGIVING and WEREWOLF WOMEN OF THE SS, respectively, and now Rodriguez tells us that Wright is lending a coming attraction all his own. What he has up his sleeve is unknown at this time, but we’re looking into it!

More...

Automaton Transfusion News

2007-01-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

From MoviesOnline:

You all know that the staff of MoviesOnline loves Zombie movies. One of the movies we can't wait to see is Steven C. Miller's "Automaton Transfusion" which was played at the ScreamFest last October. And today the filmmakers of "Automaton Transfusion" informed us that they are finalizing negotiations with The Weinstein Company/Dimension and should be getting its 2007 release date soon. Great news for this indie movie. According to various reviews at our sistersite Horror-Movies.ca the film really rocks. If you still don't know about the movie you can watch the trailer and learn more at the official site right here or the official MySpace site here.

Zombies by Design Review

2007-01-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

From Film Threat:

Trading spaces in the land of the dead comes to us in "Zombies By Design", a good idea hampered by poor execution.
This time around, it's an incredible longshot combination: a housewife on the outs with her husband signs on for a home makeover reality show--you know, like "Trading Spaces"?--in a last-ditch effort to rebuild the dying marriage. Meanwhile, at about the same time, her husband has his own plans for the broadcast, involving a horde of mind-controlled zombies.

"Horror of the Zombies" Cover Art

2007-01-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

From Metal Underground:

Impetigo have posted a sneak peek at the cover art for the upcoming "Horror of the Zombies" re-issue coming out soon. The art was drawn by Stevo in 1989. You can check out the artwork here.
Get more band news and info on: Impetigo

Resident Evil 4: No Zombies?

2007-01-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

From Games Digest:

The creator of the original Resident Evil has returned to the series, to tear up the rule book. Resident Evil 4, the next in the series for Nintendo’s GameCube, will not feature zombies for starters.
Instead, the sequel, set four years after the destruction of zombie-infested Raccoon City, will see Raccoon survivor Leon hunting for the US president’s daughter in remote eastern Europe. With zombies gone, the foes seem to be occult monks and scary hick villagers, both with a touch of decay about them, but with a touch of smarts.

Read the rest...

I suppose occult monks and scary hick villagers are okay, but...no zombies? Really?

IT Zombie Identity

2007-01-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

From IT Business:

It doesn’t matter whether you’re making a resolution for the new year or a new day. The point is to change who you are. It’s not always a case of completely transforming yourself: you just want to be recognized as something other than one of David Berreby’s zombies.

An online forum conducted by Edge.org recently asked a slew of scientists and intellectuals what they are optimistic about. Berreby, the author Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind, said he was hopeful that the idea of a “zombie identity is coming to an end, or at least being put into greater context. I’ll let Berreby explain the notion of a zombie identity himself.

Read the whole article...

More Zombie Related "Art"

2007-01-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

From NJ.com:

Usually around this time of year the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey mounts a show called "First Look Emerging Artists," often a big, sprawling exhibit of many media and more philosophical disciplines than any single person can keep in mind at one time. This year's "First Look," the first in its newly expanded exhibition gallery, is much smaller than that, just 10 artists, and devoted entirely to one medium: contemporary sculpture...

Then there's Nathan Skiles' "Zombie Trap," which features a cracked tombstone made of wood, paper and styrofoam over which an elaborate, counter-weighted armature stands, dangling what appear to be a severed arm, finger and toe close to the gallery floor. The idea is, if there is a zombie there, he will reach up through the polyeurethaned floor, grab the faux severed limbs and ... well, you get the picture. So does the Sarasota, Fla.-based Skiles, since part of the trap is a tripodded camera, ready to snap the proof of zombie existence.

Johnny Depp: Zombie for a Day?

2007-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

From Louth Today:

A PAIR of budding movie moguls are trying to raise £100,000 to fund their first film and convince Hollywood star Johnny Depp to be a zombie for a day.Andrew Cargill, 20, from Fanthorpe Lane, Louth, and his university pal Tony Lane, 28 from Grimsby, have big plans for Indywood, their movie company.

The duo have started a petition to try and convince Johnny Depp to star in their film, a B-movie spoof called Invasion of the Not Quite Dead.

Tony said: "I know where he has a house – so I'll deliver it personally."

On January 1 they launched a website to try and make £100,000 by selling square spaces to people who want to help fund the film.

Andrew said: "Once people sign up they get their own profile page, a bit like the My Space website."

One square costs £10.19 or $20 and it provides a link to the owner's profile page.
In June one person from the site will be picked at random to win ten per cent of the money they make.

A distribution company to sell the film and others is also in the pipeline.
Tony said controversial filmmaker Ken Russell has said he would like them to sell some films he is making.

Both Andrew and Tony are in their final year at the International Film School in Newport, Wales.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

I hope you partied, much like this fellow.

The Ocean

2006-12-30T10:49:00.000-08:00

The Ocean (MySpace):

THE OCEAN is a tale of creeping terror that centers on Cathy (Margot Kidder), a psychic who travels to Puerto Rico to be with her estranged family after the drowning deaths of her daughter's husband and son. Upon arriving, Cathy begins receiving frightening premonitions as the ocean continues to claim more victims. Judith O' Dea (Night of the Living Dead) will play a scuba diver who, along with Cathy, ultimately discovers that a watery apocalypse may soon be at hand.

Dante Tomaselli on THE OCEAN...
"It's about the end of the world. A mysterious, deadly Ebola-like virus is spreading along the coast. The Ocean is a zombie splatter movie with a story of a family in deep psychic pain at the core. I'd say it's definitely my most ambitious film. I hope I don't drown while shooting it."

War of the Dead

2006-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

Zombies from Finland! Yay!

From Twitch:

The recent wave of genre film coming out of the Nordic countries continues with War of the Dead, a Finnish / US co-production directed by Marko Makilaakso with a dominantly English speaking cast.
In the frozen arctic forests, Captain Martin Stone is leading a finely-trained, elite platoon of American and Finnish soldiers as they attack an enemy bunker. Underestimating their enemy’s strength, they are quickly beaten back into the forest. As they try to regroup, they are suddenly attacked by the same soldiers they had just killed a few minutes earlier. Forced to flee deeper into Russian territory, they discover one of war’s most terrifying secrets and realize they have woken up a far more deadlier enemy.

Apparently this only started shooting in November but they've already got an early teaser cut together and it's looking impressive. Makilaakso clearly knows what he's doing behind the camera ...

War of the Dead Teaser (downloadable Windows Media)

ZSG: Monsters in Siberia

2006-12-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

From Piper Films site...click here.

Hmmm...could be interesting...

Zombie Circus

2006-12-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Official Website:

Brian Keeping is a young gay mechanic who lives with his grandma and yearns to be an entertainer. Randy is flaming hairdresser. Steffi is, well your typical fag hag. This group of best friends lives in the most un-PC homophobic town in mid-west America. The traveling circus comes to town and our hero, Brian thinks it’s his chance to escape but everything goes horribly wrong.

Unbeknownst to him and his friends, the town has a dark history and committed a heinous crime at the hands of the old hypocritical pastor when they put a circus of the past to the torch and condemned them to a horrible fiery death. What’s worst, is that circus was in possession of a mysterious tonic that was supposed to promote longevity when it met its end. Now the new circus just happens to stir up that past, in more ways than one, and instead of a flight to freedom our hero and his friends end up fighting for their lives.

Distribution Rights Up for Zonbi Jieitai (Zombie Self-Defense Force)

2006-12-30T10:31:00.000-08:00

From Twitch:

Distribution rights for Naoyuki Tomomatsu's Zombie Self-Defense Force (Zonbi jieitai) - a.k.a. "Zombie Jieitai" - are being offered for sale by Gold View Y.K. (Y.K. Gôrudo Byû).
Zombie Self-Defense Force had what appears to have been its world première at Dead by Dawn 2006 in Edinburgh, Scotland on April 23rd. It had its North American première at the 2006 Fantasia Festival in Montréal, Canada on July 24th. GP Museum Soft K.K. (K.K. GP Myûjiamu Sofuto) released it on sale DVD (DMSM-6652; NTSC, region 2, no subtitles) in Japan on April 25th.

The screenplay for Zombie Self-Defense Force was written by Tomomatsu and Chisato Ôgawara. The movie's cast includes Miyû Watase, Hisakatsu Ôya, Jun Yamasaki, Shun Saeki, Mihiro, Kenji Arai, Yûya Takayama, Masayuki Hase, Kiyo Yoshizawa, Eriko Nagamine, and Yû Machimura.

Here's a description of Zombie Self-Defense Force from the Fantasia Festival website: "It's an ordinary day in the Japanese countryside - a day of sightseeing for tourists, photo shoots for a pop-star model and her crew, routing training for a squad of JSDF soldiers, treachery for an adulterous couple and sudden murder for gangsters. Everything changes, though, when a UFO crashes and releases some form of strange radiation. Confusion turns to sheer terror and the grim, blood-soaked will to survive when the dead rise and attack the living in a mindless cannibalistic frenzy! Soon, the soldiers and a handful of civilians are holed up in a secluded hotel, surrounded by the zombie hordes. There are other dark secrets at work, though. One soldier, Yuri, has been having sudden, painful flashbacks to a mysterious operating room, and there's that spooky legend about the ghostly, ultra-patriotic Japanese soldier from WWII lurking in a local cave... ¶ ZOMBIE SELF-DEFENSE FORCE opens with a sarcastic, faux-fascist voiceover dismissing heinous wartime history, demanding the reinstatement of a true Japanese military and vilifying the USA. Or American militarism, at least - the Yanks, after all, gave the worl[d] hamburgers, rock 'n' roll and, of course, the beloved filmography of George A. Romero! Consider this a companion piece to TOKYO ZOMBIE, also screening at Fantasia this year. But where TOKYO ZOMBIE is a wry farce toying cleverly with zombie-movie traditions, ZOMBIE SELF-DEFENSE FORCE is a gleeful, lo-fi leap into lurid lore of the living dead, now unquestionably a global pop-culture phenomenon. And don't tell us that flying, cackling undead fetus isn't just the most adorable little thing you ever saw!"

For more information on Zombie Self-Defense Force, see Twitch's fourth, third, second, and first articles on it.

Gold View: Zombie Self-Defense Force
Twitch: Zombie Self-Defense Force review
Zombie Self-Defense Force Japanese rental DVD cover (192 KB JPEG)

Zombie-A-GoGo

Zombie-A-Bye-Bye

Babylon Fields - Zombies on TV

Undead or Alive Premieres in Texas

I Sell the Dead Casting

Black Sheep Website Launches

Babylon 5 Creator Adapts World War Z

Bobcat Goldthwait Talks Dead Alive

Savini Talks Grindhouse

Living Dead Glasgow Comic

New Book Series New Film Franchise: Already Dead

Grindhouse Split for Foreign Audiences?

Full Length Fido Trailer

RE: Extinction Trailer

Zombies at Biddeford: 2

Zombie Lawmen

Jim Rage's Elitie Zombie Hunting Squad

Rise and Walk by Greg Solis

Pakistani Zombies!

Zombies Gone Wild on DVD

Kojima's Version of a Zombie Apocalypse

Another Zombie Squad Article

New Grindhouse Trailer

New Grindhouse Poster Revealed

Not your typical Valentine's Day

Zombie Dance Dance Revolution

Zombie Idol

HOO-HAA Zombies @ Darkness Falls- Free Zombie Fiction!

Gangs of the Dead Art

Doomed to Consume Update

28 Days/Weeks Later Deal

Grindhouse Footage and Interviews

RE: Extinction Concept Art

Zombies on the Streets of London

Can negative ads defeat zombies?

Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

Girl Sparks Violent Witch-hunt

Zombie Squad Talk

Autumn Adaptation

Renegade Seeks Financing for Autumn Adaptation

Fido Teaser

Reiko and the Zombie Shop Five

Zombie Girl - 3 Formats

Jethro Thule: Zombie Killer

The Amazing Screw-on Head

Zombie CSI

Bowie Ibarra Interview!

Diary of the Dead Preview at Chicago Fango Con

Fessenden's I Sell the Dead

Ghoul School on DVD

Zombie Farm Pics

Hi-Def Night of the Creeps

Another Grace Lee Interview

Burial at Sea Scores Zombie Flick

Pocky Commercial

Cover Art and Details for Ultimate Versus

NOTLD Guys at Chicago Fango Con

"Gangs of the Dead" Upcoming DVD

Tons of Fido Clips

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness Contest

Lego Thriller!

Zombie Science! On the Evolution of Zombie Populations

Humans vs Zombies Game Gets New Rules

Left 4 Dead for PS3?

Interview with "American Zombie" director, Grace Lee

We the Living Dead:The Convoluted Politics of Zombie Cinema

Kidman in a 50 mph Zombie Crash

Jeff Combs on Fango TV

First Pics and Trailer from American Zombie

FIDO Release Date Pushed Back

Zombie Casting Call in Wisconsin!

Brian Keene Interview @ SR

More Moore & Reppion: Raise the Dead

CD Release Party in Morgantown + Zombie Flick TONIGHT

The Abandoned Review

ZAGG Updates Update

House of Re-Animator Canned?

More Zombie Art

Dead West Update

Cover Art/Specs for Deadlands" The Rising