Do you like horror movies?

"Do you like 

                            horror movies too?"

Special Dawn of the Dead Star in Walking Dead

Are you among the select few on the Horror Geek Tip that caught the DAWN OF THE DEAD call out in THE WALKING DEAD on Sunday night? I was thrilled when I saw this fellow shamble into frame. ( I'm 24 hours behind due to watching via iTunes )

I like to think that Greg Nicotero topped off his Directing on WALKING DEAD with slipping this gent into the mix.

I pointed at the screen and said, "LOOK! Dawn of the Dead zombie! From the airport scene!" 

My wife stared at me. :::blink blink blink::::

Fun stuff! Nice work!

Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead

Well well....look what we have here! Someone is doing a little thinking "outside the box" in horror again. Granted, this is similar to the WAXWORK concept in a few ways, but it's meta, one movie take makes this something that I'd kinda like to check out.

The trailer below almost lost me, actually. It starts out looking like a typical, set 'em up and knock 'em down slasher or BS supernatural teen splatter trip. However, it turns around and turns around quickly, taking things in a very interesting direction.

Or...is it better as a trailer? Maybe I should just be happy with that? We'll see.

The film came out in 2011 and got a big 30% on ROTTEN TOMATOES, but that doesn't scare me. People are trashing talking THE ABCS of DEATH and V/H/S and I loved those. I'll give this a go.

Sadly, it's not streaming on NETFLIX (at the time of this posting) , so I'll have to wait for the DVD.

Dead Things: The End of Her Rope

From the MEANWHILE...Story Blog



End of her rope. The end. The ropes end. The end of it. Smoking gun. Caught with the smoking gun. Pain in the neck. Time. End of. End of my rope.

Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to focus them in the darkness, but they didn't cooperate. She felt something around her throat and reached up with a shaky hand to investigate. Rope. The rope bit into the pink flesh of her neck and burned with the slightest of movements. It took her a minute to regain what little control she had. First, she felt the cold wood on her cheek and realized that it was floor and not wall since she was laying on it. Her neck and ribs ached fiercely. Her back felt twisted, but she could move her legs. Something bumped in the hallway and she tried to call out for assistance, but her throat was constricted and pain shot through her when she tried to speak. Everything smelled stale and medicinal.

What the hell had happened? She blinked and tried to sit up. The rope was caught under her arm and pulled at her burnt skin when she pushed up. She winced and yanked it from under her arm and shoved – bringing herself to a seated position. She then assessed the situation.

Rope. Broken pipe above her on the ceiling. Gun on the floor before her, smoking. Her left shoulder hurt almost as bad as her throat. She touched the burnt skin around her neck and glanced up to the broken set of pipes. Had she tried to kill herself? It seemed impossible, yet there she was. But, the gun didn’t make sense. Maybe someone had tried to kill her? Hang her? And she shot them?

“What…” she clamped her eyes shut as the sting from her throat ran down her spine. No talking for now. She tasted blood and licked her lip. It was split and blood ran from it into her mouth.
She blinked hard and slowly removed the rope from her neck. Pain made her wince as she tossed the rope aside. Her whole body ached.

The noise in the hall came again and the situation made her heart beat faster. If this person in the hall had tried to kill her and she had indeed shot them, she’d have to seek help and fast. She narrowed her eyes when she heard footsteps. Obviously, someone was still very much alive.

She rose to her feet and lost her balance. She was shaken and felt dizzy. She thought that maybe she had hit her head on the way down. She reached forward and grabbed the gun and the dizziness made her swoon and she went down on one knee. Her left arm and shoulder were useless – every movement of them made her shudder with pain. She clamped her teeth down hard and pushed herself up. She had to get out of here, wherever here was.

She glanced around and saw that the room she was in had another way out. At least another door. She stole a glance towards the footsteps in the hall and saw the growing shadow of what looked to be a woman moving up the wall in the half light. She looked back toward the opposite door and made her way towards it slowly and quietly. Her head was clearing, but she was still very dizzy and almost fell through the door in the back of the room when she reached it.

She slipped around the corner and checked the gun. She didn’t remember much of anything, but her fingers flew over the gun as muscle memory took over. She spun the chamber quietly and saw that all the bullets were spent. “Shit,” she mouthed to herself as she slid to the floor. Not good. Not good at all. She looked around and saw that the room was nothing more than a large closet.

The footsteps stopped, then she heard them start to move into the room where she woke up. A scan of the room showed that there were no other exits. A few random things to hide behind, but no means of escape. It looked like this was some sort of hospital or clinic. She listened and tried to keep quiet. The room seemed to grow smaller with each shambling step she heard growing closer. She wouldn’t be able to fight this person in her current state.

The person sounded injured. Hell, if she did in fact empty a gun at it, she must have hit the person somewhere no matter how horrid a shot she may have been.

That’s when she caught the reflection of the figure in a large, steel vacuum propped against the wall on the other side of her. The reflection made her heart beat even faster. She fought back the urge to scream and she stared on with wide open eyes and tried to convince herself that what she was seeing was just due to some head injury.

The person shambling towards her had no right arm. It looked like it was shredded at the end of the nub and bone shone through. Bits of gore hung from it and swung back and forth with each step. The figure made a sick, gurgling and smacking sound as if it were chewing air wetly. It was a woman – a breast exposed and covered with blood. But the worst part was the things face. Half of it was gone and pulp with white skull showing through. The one eye she had looked like a sharks eye – black and dead.

Memories rushed in with tidal force. She looked down at herself and the uniform she wore. Police. She was an officer. Officer Janet Temple. She was in the clinic and trying to run away from…them. Oh God, she remembered it all now. There were more of these things outside and she had run into the small clinic to avoid them. She had shot the thing in the face when it came after her. Shot it over and over, but still it came.

She stood and gripped the handle of the gun tightly, raising it high and ready to hit the thing. She drew in a quiet breath and went still. Janet closed her eyes, wished she were somewhere else, then opened them and waited. She knew she wouldn’t be able to fight for long in her current state. She could barely keep her eyes open and she felt the room spinning under her feet.

The thing stumbled forward and into the small room. Blonde hair was matted to its head with dried blood. Long scrapes marred her side and exposed ribs and muscle. Janet had seen the look before. This woman – what was left of her – was dragged by a car after being hit. She shouldn’t be up and walking.
Janet shook off the growing fear and concentrated. Her side and throat throbbed with every heartbeat. She stared at the things rotten, gore covered face. Skull shown through and the left eye was missing.

Janet didn’t move. She felt dizzy, but she willed herself to remain totally still. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and upper lip and dripped down the back of her uniform.

The creature stumbled towards the closet. It continued to make the sucking and slurping sounds as it's tongue slithered in it's mouth and out of the hole in the side of it's head. Drool or blood dripped from it like candle wax. It shuffled into the closet and stopped just past the doorway. It cocked its head to the side. Its hair parted slightly as scalp pulled away from bone. The missing eye socket was an angry shade of red mixed with deep bruise blue and black. It waited, moving its head from side to side slightly.

Janet held her breath, fire raging in her arm still held high with the useless weapon in a death grip. She was inches away from the thing now and the stench made her want to wretch. She stared into it's ruined face and prayed that it wouldn't turn to face her.

The missing eye saw nothing on the left. Janet didn’t breathe. Didn’t make a sound. The thing raised it’s arm, then lowered it slowly with a small whimper. It turned to it’s right and shuffled out of the room. Janet heard it stumble and fall, drag its body back up, then move out of the room slowly.

Janet’s arm slowly slid to her side. She stared forward and took shallow, painful breaths. Her eyes closed, then opened slowly. She bit her lower lip and tried to wrap her brain around what was happening, but nothing made sense. She listened, but didn’t hear a thing. Her stomach was churning and she felt as if she might be sick.

“Ok,” she whispered. She palmed the gun and peeked around the corner and peered into the dark. Nothing. She moved back into the room and looked up at the broken pips as she ran a hand over her neck. She couldn’t believe it could be so bad that she’d try to hang herself.

Her belt lay on the floor in the corner and she grabbed it and slipped it back around her waist, slipping the gun back into the holster. No bullets, but she’d sort that out later. The baton she carried was still tucked neatly into her belt’s compartment. She withdrew it and held it tight as she made her way towards the room’s doorway.

The hallway was empty, but that thing could be anywhere looking for her still. She moved quietly and tried to stay to the shadows and darkness.

She glanced out the window and saw other shapes moving there. Other figures stumbling and shuffling in the dark. Part of her thought it might be best to wait in this building until the sun rose, but something inside her wanted out. Wanted to have the option to run if she wanted it. Being stuck in an unfamiliar building seemed like a very bad idea.

The first door she found was heavy and bolted shut. The second revealed her follower from before. It crouched over something small and ate away at it feverishly. Janet didn’t want to think what the small, meaty thing was and moved on.

The door to the outside stood ajar and light pour in from outside illuminating the hall and the lawn outside. A police cruiser was smashed up against the clinic’s fence and smoke rose from the engine as it idled and sputtered – more dead than alive. Radio chatter poured from the open door of the car and the people’s voices sounded panicked and full of fear.

Figures moved around the car, glancing into it and moving on. Shuffling corpses wandering every which way. Janet counted six around the car and more in the street and surrounding area, but they were slow moving and spread out at a good distance. She felt around in her pocket for the keys to the shotgun, but realized they were on the keyring in the car’s ignition.

Her teeth ground together as she peered around the door jam. Panic gave way to anger. She didn’t like this at all. It didn’t make any sense. The things outside were…dead. They were in various states of decay. This wasn’t happening.

Her arm was pulsing and she glanced back into the clinic wondering if she should try to find some sort of sling or meds to help her fight through the injury. Her eyes narrowed as the follower from before stumbled from the room it had feasted in and spotted her. It made a small, guttural sound and started moving at her down the hallway. Janet looked outside and saw another one of them moving toward her slowly from the small garden to the right of the car.

She drew in a deep breath, nodded to herself then moved into the light of the headlights, out onto the porch and made her way to the cruiser. She couldn't let the fear overcome her. She had to work through it if she was going to make it.

She pulled the baton from her hip and drew in a deep breath as she raised it up and brought it crashing down on the head of the first dead thing that came for her. It came crashing down on it's head and it looked like it felt it. She brought it down two more times as it reached for her shirt. It's hands slid down her front as it fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Janet felt hope for the first time of the evening. At least they could be killed. But, she didn't want them to have to be so close to do it. She needed that shotgun. She set her sights on the cruiser and ran. Her head spun and her vision blurred as she fell forward and hit the ground hard. Her eyes lost focus and her vision dimmed. Everything swirled before her as she tried to push herself up and into the cruiser.

Something came at her from the right and she rolled onto her side to see a little boy stomping towards her – mouth wide open and face covered with blood. He grunted and swung his hands around in front of him as his lifeless eyes narrowed. Janet shrieked and swung the baton as he fell onto her. He leaned forward and tried to bite, but Janet shoved as hard as her injured arm would allow and held him back.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gripped his hair in her hand and shoved him towards the ground hard, bringing his head down on the sidewalk. He went still with a squish. Others stomped towards her. She screamed and shoved herself up and into the cruiser, then lashed out with her left arm to slam the door closed as another dead thing reached for her. It's fingers slammed in the door, but it didn't seem to notice or care. Janet thought about freeing it, but didn't want to risk opening the door. She hit the auto locks and pressed herself back in her seat. She screamed as loud as she could and pounded her fists against the steering wheel.

Her heart skipped in her chest and she swung her head around to make sure there was nothing in the back seat. It was empty. Her head continued to swirl and spin as the dead man outside her window pounded weakly at the window with his free hand. His skin was pale and his eyes milky. Blood covered the front of his button down shirt.

Bile rose in Janet's stomach and she clamped her eyes shut. She had a concussion for sure. She gave herself a minute as more of the things start to surround the vehicle. First thing's first. She needed to arm herself. She had left the baton outside. She'd forget about that. She made note of the engine's low fuel, then twisted the keys free. The engine stopped its rattlings and died. She panted as she fumbled with the shotgun lock and smiled a wide smile as it popped open and the shotgun was free.

“Yes....yes....yes...,” she muttered as she slide the extra shells free from the compartment between the seats. She loaded the gun, then slid the rest of the shells into her pockets. There were more bullets for her handgun in the trunk, but she'd have to clear the things away from the car before getting them.

She thought through where she was and tried to ignore the thumping of bloody hands against the cruiser's windows. The radio chattered with panicked voices.

“They're everywhere!”

“Requesting backup! Large group of dead attacking a bus at Lexington and Commonwealth!”

Janet closed her eyes. There wasn't going to be any help getting to her. She needed to deal with this on her own. She slipped the keys free of the lock and back into the car's ignition. The cruiser started to rock as more and more dead tried to fight their way past the car's windows. Janet thanked God that they didn't seem to be bright enough to use tools.

She turned the key and the engine shuddered and cranked, but didn't turn over.

“Come on, Baby. Come on....mommy loves you...” She tried again and sweat dripped into her eyes. “COME ON!” The engine turned over, clattered and rattled, then died. Janet breathed in deep and winced. Broken rib. She closed one eye and the spinning of her head subsided a bit. She had a concussion for sure. She needed help and knew it wasn't coming.

One headlamp flickered and lit up the front yard and porch while the other shone into the sky like some sort of beacon. A woman in hospital scrubs stumbled into the light and fell onto the hood of the car. She pounded at the hood and clawed her way over it to the window. Janet stared into her grey, dead face and milky eyes as the thing clawed at the window. A small smile played on Janet's lips as she thought about asking the woman for help.

Janet closed her eyes. She just needed time to think. Time to sort this out.

Janet kept her eyes shut tight as more and more dead things found the cruiser and it's contents. They rocked it back and forth and punched and clawed the windows trying to get in.

Janet rocked with the cruiser. Her hand slid up to her neck and across the burn. She just needed some rest. Just some sleep to regroup.

The car rocked and Janet let herself slip into sleep.

______________


The sun rose over the hills and light flooded in and around the town of Coopersmith in a filtered, gray haze. Fires burned wild and out of control and smoke filled the air. Ashes drifted from the dull grey sky like spirits. Dead things walked through the streets.

The rumbling of a truck sent a pack of dogs running. A large armored truck slipped though the street and around obstacles - dead cars and dead people. Figures moved inside the truck and peered out through bullet proof glass.

“Police cruiser. Over to the right.”

The driver glanced over as the passenger pointed. “You want to check it out?”

“Could have guns. And that clinic. We could get a few medical kits or something?”

“No. Don't go inside anywhere.” Her voice cracked.

He nodded and truck stopped behind the cruiser.

The small door between the front cab and the back opened and a man shoved his head through. “Why did we stop?”

“We're going to check something out. Keep that shut.” The driver pulled the small door closed and reached for her gun.

The passenger picked up a metal bat from the floor and glanced around and into the trucks rear view mirrors before opening the truck's heavy, metal door. He kicked hard and sent a dead man reeling backwards, then he jumped down to the street. He slammed the door shut. Beads of sweat dripped down his dark skin as he swung the bat and caught another dead creature in the side of the head. His arms flexed and his eyes scanned the area around him coldly. He stomped towards the driver side door and swung the bat into anything that came close.

The trucks driver slid over into the passenger seat and slipped the rifle out the gun slot. She watched for any dead that might have escaped his eye, though it was very unlikely that he missed any. She felt sweat drip down her armpits. It was going to be a hot day in hell today.

The bat crashed down again and the man's eyes narrowed. The driver side door of the car was open. He peered in and saw that the shotgun was gone. “Shit.” He popped the trunk and looked around. He saw someone moving towards him from inside the clinic. “Hello?” He rested the bat on his shoulder.

A woman stepped out of the shadows. She wore a police uniform and clutched a shotgun. It hung at her side.

“Hey, officer. Sorry – I thought this thing was abandoned.” He pointed to his armored transport uniform and motioned back towards the truck. “We have this armored truck and we were going to try to make it out of town and into the mountains. You can...” He stopped when he saw her milky gray eyes.

She dropped the shotgun and ran at him with an awkward shuffle step. She had been chewed at and exposed bone and muscle shifted with each faltering step.

He brought the bat back and gripped it tight. There was a loud crack behind him and the officer flipped backwards and into the dirt with a spray of viscera exploding from the back of her head. He glanced back towards the truck, then ran up to retrieve the shotgun. He hefted it up, then ran back to the fallen officer. He dropped to one knee and started going through her pockets. “I'm sorry officer...” He read the tag on her chest. “...Temple,” he whispered as he filled his pockets with shells from her uniform.

“There's more! Let's go, Jack!” The driver took aim at a fresh, fast zombie and shot it in the back of the head as it started off towards Jack. Others started towards him from the street and around the side of the clinic.

“There might be more guns in the trunk,” Jack said as he moved around to the trunk and lifted it. He saw a large black case in the back and a duffel. With the dead streaming towards the truck, he wouldn't be able to carry both. He slipped the duffel over his shoulder and ran for the truck. The door opened and he tossed the duffel inside with the shotgun.

“Let's go!” The woman behind the wheel bobbed her head up and down wildly and gripped the wheel.

Jack lashed out with the bat and dropped three more dead things and cleared the area before climbing into the truck. He climbed up and into the cab and slammed the door shut.

The truck rumbled away down the street as more and more dead streamed towards the noise. Smoke drifted through the town as figures ran and stumbled through it.

Walking Dead: Cold Storage

The fantastic WALKING DEAD SEASON II webisodes that lead up to the premiere.

COLD STORAGE

Part 01


Part 02


Part 03


Part 04

HALLOWEEN LIST 2012: THE UNDEAD

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will appear in every horror film and studios will try to cash in on the word zombie whenever they can."  Malcolm Johnson  :)

UNDEAD

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I have to say, I'm somewhat tired of zombies and the undead. When you start seeing ELLEN mentioning zombies or they appear on children's t-shirts, it's time to pack it up and put it away. :)
However, there are certain nuggets that I find myself returning to time and time again - usually around midnight...in the dark....curled up in a comfy chair.

If you've missed some of these, check them out at once. If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments section. I won't bite...






Undead
The dead downunder. Wacky, Peter Jackson style madness.A unique and fun film.


 

Shaun of the Dead

The pinnacle of  modern horror comedy. Zom-Rom-Com.

REC and REC2

The undead ravage an apartment building in Spain. Shocking. 

Return of the Living Dead

Some blissfully awesome undead, gory comedy from the 80s. 

Braindead

Splatter-gross dead from the twisted mind of Peter Jackson.

Cemetery Man

Nightmare meets madness in this horror romance from Italy. 

Planet Terror

Robert Rodriguez brings his spin to grindhouse dead. So good. 

Doghouse

The battle of the sexes with a UK comedy twist. It's no Shaun, but it's trying hard to be.

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things

A favorite of THE HORROR SHOW from the 70s. Slow pace. High creep factor.

Versus

Asian zombie sword swirl with a dash of WTF?! Good, bloody battles.

Dead Snow

Dead Nazis rise from the snow and RUIN a groups mini-vacation. (Norwegian)

ZombiE

Italian classic. 1979 goodness from director Lucio Fulci. Main thing: SHARK VS ZOMBIE!

Dead and Buried

An interesting look at the undead, this film is packed with atmosphere and has a great story.

Pontypool

"The thinking man's zombie film". This takes place in one location and plays like a play. Fantastic.

La Horde

Step One: Remove brain. Step Two: Enjoy! This wild ride is packed with...everything, really. Great!

The Dead

A return to the ultra slow moving zombie film, THE DEAD takes place in the vast expanse of the African plains. Suspense and character based, this film rolls along nicely. 

Walking Dead: Webisodes

It seems like THE HORROR SHOW has been doing a little WALKING DEAD bashing of late. Well, that's only because of the disappointment involved in watching the last few seasons of the show. We're sure the feeling of disappointment will pass...if they raise the level of writing....or....we stop watching. :)

With that said, the one WALKING DEAD associated item I was really rather happy about were the WALKING DEAD WEBISODES that were popped up into their webspace months ago. I caught wind of these a while back and watched during a lunch break one afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by them. The writing and production value was great and, honestly, I preferred them to the main show.  (More bashing? Really?)  They were more engaging and involved than the show - especially looking at the last season with the endless farmhouse drama and that HORRID, HORRID LORI WHO IS WORSE THAN ANY ZOMBIE!  :::ahem:::

Uh....oh yeah....


So, the webisodes take a look at  "one of the show's most famous walkers" (I'll stick to what the site states) and are directed by Greg Nicotero. Now, I love me some Greg Nicotero. His effects work is fantastic and he does a grand job directing these shorts. Now, don't get me wrong - we still have some drama and some slower moments here, but the overall flow is far better than the WALKING DEAD series. And, yes, I know that it may be easier dealing with tiny webisode pacing over a whole show. I get that. However, the writing is far more engaging and the world that's created is more fun and feels more...alive (:::giggle:::) than the series world in general.

These are well worth a view. Take a look!

Webisodes 1 The Walking Dead: A New Day
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-1-a-new-day

Webisodes 2 The Walking Dead: Family Matters
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-2-family-matters

Webisodes 3 The Walking Dead: Domestic Violence
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-3-domestic-violence

Webisodes 4 The Walking Dead: Neighborly Advice
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-4-neighborly-advice

Webisodes 5 The Walking Dead: Step-Mother
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-5-step-mother

Webisodes 6 The Walking Dead: Everything Dies
http://www.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/videos/the-walking-dead-webisodes-6-everything-dies

DEAD SET

I know. I know. Zombies. :::yawn:::   :)

It makes me sad sometimes. I think about how I used to LOVE a good zombie or walking dead film and now it's so mainstream it hurts. Everything has zombies now. Car commercials, kid shows....   However, there are a few choice zom nuggets in the world - still clawing there way up into the light of day and away from the swell of zombie poop in the world.  DEAD SET is one of those prize picks that will fill you with love for the genre again.

First off, this is from the UK. It automatically gets a point for being foreign. :) They also don't mess about with trying to hide the gore and violence. (Again, see UK) It's a zombie film and they put it all out there. ALL...like intestines and blood. All over the place. The original air date was October 25, 2010 and there are a total of five episodes at about 45 minutes and episode. So, if you're crazy for zombies like I am, you can watch the whole of this amazing epic in one sitting!

The BIG BROTHER house is having a big event. Cameras, crowds and fantastic live TV times are being had. In the control room, the head prick in charge is doing his best to keep his pack of idiots in line and making sure they all know who's in charge. The Big Brother occupants are being their glorious selves. The crowd is eating it up with a spoon. The cameras...are rolling.

And, like a flash fire, all hell-on-Earth breaks out and the beginning of the end rushes over everything. This mini series hits the ground running and doesn't stop. It juggles multiple characters and multiple locations as it shows us the horrors of a full scale zombie outbreak. Brilliant writing and a simple setup shows that you don't need a WORLD WAR Z budget to knock out a quality product if you have good writing and a committed group of actors.  

WALKING DEAD, take note! I'm not sure what the budget was for DEAD SET, but man...it had far better writing and pacing than WALKING DEAD does. And, it really was about the writing. It made things interesting and showed us a very small section of what was happening, but presented it in a grand and shocking way. I wish these folks were doing the WALKING DEAD instead.

WALKING DEAD bashing aside, DEAD SET is a must for horror and zombie fans. You need to seek it out. The whole set is available on AMAZON for $8 on Instant Download and DVDs are out there, though it might be slightly harder to find.


Watch this at once!

ZOMBIES, RUN! (updated 03.22.2012)

There's a new and fun way to get healthy while being entertained out now - ZOMBIES, RUN!

https://www.zombiesrungame.com/ 


iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombies-run!/id503519713?mt=8

I purchased the ZOMBIES, RUN! app a while ago, but a bad cold stopped me from trying it until recently. I have to say, it was $8 well spent. Yesterday I took the app for a spin on my first run in ages and it was a perfect way to get into running again.

THE GOOD
The app isn't just a scare app with zombie noises. It's a complex game system with a fun storyline. The basic idea is simple. There is a story that plays through your headphones as you run. It's not 100% interactive - it just plays through. However, it's a blast if you are able to "play along" in your head. You are Runner 5 - a person of action in the zombie apocalypse being talked to through your headset by people at a base close by.  The first MISSION sets the scene. You crash and are guided through the landscape - set off on a mission to stay safe, gather supplies and get to the base in one piece.

The production values are very good. Fans of radio dramas or audio books will be very familiar with the audio storyline format. As you run, bits of the story come to you as actors talk to you through your headphones. The story sets a fantastic zombie tone - creepy and urgent. There are times where the scene becomes very urgent. "They are right behind you! Run, Runner 5! RUN!" I wanted to stop for a breather, but the game really did make me keep going. I gave into the fun of it and went right into the story. The nature of the audio made it easy to do.

You pick up items along your run and they are called out with an electronic voice. "You've collected antibiotics"   I wasn't sure what the point of all this collecting was until I got home and played around with the app a bit. It all became clear and I was happy with what I found. The app has a SUPPLIES tab with icons of various supplies. When collected, a number shows up over the icon. You drag that icon to an area of your Base Map (antibiotics to the HOSPITAL on the map, for instance) and the level bar over that area of the map grows. When full, the level changes and the image of the item grows a la SIM CITY. (A small hospital tent grows to a larger, more robust hospital tent)  This added another level to the game play that I really enjoyed.

You're also able to play your iTunes playlists through the app if you want music as well as the story. The story comes up between tracks and the collection notes chime in over the tracks. I'm currently working on my ZOMBIES, RUN! playlist with a zombie horror movie soundtrack in mind!  :)

THE NOT SO GOOD, but forgivable.
Now, you can tell that this is the first rev of the app. Not by the game play itself - that worked really well. It was more along the back-end side of things. More nit picks than anything.

• I couldn't figure out a way to change from kilometers to miles.

FIXED IN v 1.1!

• I don't see a list of runs like RunKeeper where I can chart distances I've run. RunKeeper was a great way to mark running progress. This is more game than run program.

FIXED IN v 1.1!

• While there is a tweet function that tweets out your use of the game, there doesn't seem to be a function where you can connect and post to Facebook. Again, I used this feature in RunKeeper to keep myself motivated. If people know I'm running, they know when I'm NOT running and that kept me honest. Plus, why WOULDN'T you want a person tossing Facebook posts up about your product? I can only imagine that this feature is coming in Rev 2.0.

• And lastly, in a perfect world, the GPS would be weaved into the game so that little nuggets could be woven into the game play a bit more. "Pace yourself on this hill" or something to that effect. A programming nightmare, but it would add to the immersion for sure.


All in all, ZOMBIES, RUN! is a lot of fun so far and worth the small investment of cash. It's highly entertaining and adds another level to a run.

The Dead

If you're anything like me, you're kinda done with zombies.

I was a HUGE zombie fan, too. The greats like the "Living Dead" biggies (Night, Dawn and Day), the Italian splatter of ZOMBI ("We are going to eat you!") and the goodness of the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD were firmly locked as faves. But the recent waves of zombie hordes have muddied the waters greatly. The likes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, ZOMBIELAND and THE HORDE are getting lost in the much and mire of complete crap like the DAY OF THE DEAD remake - resplendent in it's under-scripting and over-bullshite 3D and leaping dead.

Well, THE DEAD (2010) marks the return to old zombie form and was WELL worth a viewing! And...there's no mention of zombies in the title. Thank you for that.

We have a classic set up here, but with a small twist that takes us in new and interesting directions. Zombies. They're here. We're trying to get away. But, we're in Africa complete with wide expanses of nothing for miles and miles. Our two heroes are both trying to get somewhere - one to a U.S. military base so he can get home and another to an African base so he can find his son. The pairing is fantastic and very "old school". Differences are set aside to reach a new set of very important goals.

The zombies themselves were a throw back to the 1979 Lucio Fulci style of ZOMBI zombies. Extremely slow moving and driven. They shuffle along at an extremely slow pace. This makes things a bit easier, but also is a perfect device for ramping up tension. There are scenes where we see several zombies off in the distance while someone is trying to complete a task. They shuffle closer...and closer...and closer and, while the danger isn't immediate, it creates a lovely sense of urgency. I found myself stomping my feet at times wishing the heroes would hurry up and get the HELL out. And, if a zombie mob does happen to slip up to you, classic zombie mob rules apply. They are slow, but a group up close and personal is deadly.

Dread and doom, heat and time and personal drive are played out really well.  The characters of Lt. Brian Murphy and Sgt. Daniel Dembele are well rounded and believable. I'd even say that non-horror lovers (that can take some scares and gore) would enjoy this film. It has a strong story and a lot of well rounded character development.

Check it!

Zombie Christmas

Very important tips for this holiday season!

Horror Show Promo 2010

The 2010 HORROR SHOW PROMO

Comments welcome!

We're Baaaaaaaack (for a while, at least...)

Bringing THE HORROR SHOW back for the Halloween Season, but we're just going to focus on FACEBOOK updates.

BECOME A FAN! CLICK HERE!

Mail Order Zombie

http://www.mailorderzombie.com/

If you're like me and have a commute to contend with every day, podcasts are the way to go. If you're a zombie fan as well, we have JUST the podcast for you.

MAIL ORDER ZOMBIE is a fun little podcast with some grand production quality and awesome content. The show's hosts - "Brother D" and "Miss Bren" - are a charming husband and wife team with a true love for each other and for horror. A winning combo for this podcast.

To mix things up a bit, they open the podcast up to reviews and comments from the M.O.Z. Family - listeners from around the globe with a similar love of the undead. This allows for a feeling of community and additional content.

There are times where the M.O.Z. Family's input rambles on a bit, but that is a small price to pay for the kind of energy this podcast creates.

The content flow moves from zombie news to reviews to a combo team up by D and Bren at the end of the show where they usually review a movie together. The podcast times range from an hour to two hours and are packed with good content and some highly entertaining reviews and discussions.

A must-listen for any zombie fan!

Tom Savini Q&A

MAIL ORDER ZOMBIE has a grand Q&A posted in their latest episode. If you're a zombie fan, bookmark them at once!

Weekend of Horrors 2010 Tom Savini Q&A!
http://traffic.libsyn.com/mailorderzombie/Episode1545.mp3

I just listened this this and it had some really nice bits. Some of it was familiar like how Savini met Romero and why he does what he does, but some of it was new and very interesting.

Savini says that he might -as of the time of the Q&A - play the Governor in THE WALKING DEAD. GREAT casting if it's true. (Though Danny Trejo might be as well.)













And in other fun news, it looks like Savini and Romero are going to do a remake of CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS which might be fun as well. This film always gave me the creeps even though it's "no budget" fair from the 70's. There was something about the darkness of it and the sheer panic the characters go through. It might make a good little remake and I'm not sure Bob Clark would mind at this point. Bob Clark side note HERE

I'm all in, Tom! Let's do this!

Zombie Bite

I giggled. :)



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