Surviving Horror

zombies

the walking dead - wildfire (1.5)

there's a long running conversation between my zombie loving loved ones and i. should one of us turn into a zombie, they have permission to kill us. in fact, its an order. we discuss this flippantly because although we are all paranoid enough to believe that someday there will be a zombie plague, really, what are the chances we're going to live to see it? two times in the past 6 months i've been presented with evidence that it wouldn't be quite so easy. a particular death scene in feed by mira grant and the scene above from tonight's episode of the walking dead.

andrea's grief is palpable. she knows what she needs to do. she does. and could she have made it easier on herself? yes. but she needed her sister to hear that she was sorry and that she loved her, regardless of whether or not amy could understand.

glenn understands the importance of burying your dead and insisted upon it. carol goes to town on her dead, abusive husband's body. shane continues to seem dangerous. daryl continues to be a loose cannon. jim reveals that he was bit and rick decides they can't just condemn him. he wants to go to the cdc because he's certain that they should be able to help. and so the majority of the group journeys back to atlanta, despite serious reservations, where they are "saved" by a doctor on the verge of a nervous breakdown played by noah emmerich.

as much as i love this show, and i really do, i have to admit that its uneven. the writing can be so clunky and the dialogue so bad in parts that i have to cling tight to scenes like the one with andrea sitting watch over her not-yet-reanimated sister. the departures from the comic books, while understandable, are disconcerting. and i'm just not sure about how this is all going to turn out.

but i really can't wait to find out.

This entry was posted on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 02:38 and is filed under

.

the walking dead - tell it to the frogs (1.3)

ok, yes, i got a little choked up when carl went running toward his dad. fine. yes. the zombie tv show, based on a comic book that i've read, made me cry a little. fine. let's move on, shall we?

merle's having a nervous breakdown on the roof. rick and friends arrive back at camp, where there seems to be some unrest.  the kids, who are apparently allowed to play alone in the woods, happen upon a zombie feasting on a deer. merle's brother is back from his hunting trip and is PISSED that his brother has been left behind. the women aren't so happy with the "division of labor," they miss their coffee makers and vibrators. ed, true to abusive husband form, is not so happy that his wife seems to have made some friends.

the actor who plays shane gave his acting chops a workout last night, clearly conflicted that his girlfriend's husband, who happens to be his partner, is back. and wait, his partner is back, that's a good thing right? and oh wait, his girlfriend is PISSED as well because shane lied to her about rick being dead, and declares her family "off limits" to him. shane take this out on ed, who, let's face it, deserves it. 

and what seems like moments after rick, lori and carl are reunited, rick's planning to head back to atlanta. he wants to a) rescue merle, b) retrieve his duffel bag of guns and his walkie talkie, so that he can c) warn morgan and his son to stay away from atlanta. no one but merle's crazy brother at camp is thrilled with this plan. what they don't fully understand is that the new world order is still very new to rick. he just woke up to it. he is still operating with the same moral code that he worked with before his coma, and the rest of the world isn't. they don't understand why he would risk his life for a man like merle. to which rick says, "i can't let a man die of thirst." he hasn't lost hope for the world at large. people can still be saved. 

let's back up a minute though, the zombie feasting on the deer. first of all, this doesn't bode well. more will be coming. whoever said that they were running out of food in atlanta and would be leaving the city soon was right. and then they will need to leave their cozy camp. second, did they all need to jump on him like that? couldn't one man with an axe done the job much quicker? oh yeah, that's right, we humans, we're scary sometimes. 

is it next sunday yet?

This entry was posted on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 23:21 and is filed under

.

the walking dead - guts (1.2)

the second episode of walking dead did not disappoint - from the long aerial shot of the tank, surrounded by zombies in the beginning to glenn's unadulterate joy, flying down the highway. if forced to complain about anything, i'd have to say that this episode was more action driven than character driven, and although i spent most of the episode on the edge of my seat, nothing packed the same sort of emotional wallop of morgan contemplating shooting his wife last week. last week i was emotionally drained. this week, i was a little wired but didn't really have trouble sleeping.

andrew lincoln's performance as rick just keeps getting better. he's heroic but still very human, making numerous mistakes. he's compassionate, reminding everyone that the person they are about the hack apart was human once too. and although he's a clear leader, he also deferred to glenn, who had a well thought out, although unsuccessful, plan. he is a good man and i, for one, cannot wait until they arrive at base camp.

because back at base camp, shane is proving himself to be a winner. jumping lori, his partner's WIFE, in the woods, forbidding amy to try to rescue her sister, he is rick's polar opposite. the conflict between them made for good reading, but will also make for great television, if these first two episodes are any indication.

there were some departures from the comic books - merle, t-bag, jacqui and morales were all new inventions. my suspicion is that other than merle, they are there to up the eventual body count, to dispatch with characters who aren't pivotal in the books. merle, however, i'm guessing we haven't seen the last of him. michael rooker was cast perfectly in the role and although he was a little over the top, he is a walking, breathing example of why its man that we really need to fear.

also worth fearing? a sudden thunderstorm that'll wash the zombie stink right off you. i say ew. and ew again. 

This entry was posted on Tue, 11/09/2010 - 15:20 and is filed under

.

i didn't actually decide to not watch any horror this week, it just happened. maybe its because the walking dead was just SO GOOD and everything paled in comparison. maybe its because like every first week of november for the last 10 years i was a little jumpy. whatever it was, its over. tonight we're going to watch last night's the walking dead, and sometime later this week i'm going to start my new project. working my way through a director, film by film. 

but just because i didn't watch any horror this week doesn't mean i was living a horror free life. in the past week i:

This entry was posted on Tue, 11/09/2010 - 01:15 and is filed under

.

the walking dead  -  days gone by (1.1)

i've read the comic. i've seen scenes from it. i have more than a vague idea of what's going to take place. and yet i was a nervous wreck while watching the walking dead tonight.

andrew lincoln was perfect as rick grimes. he is all i'd hope for and more from one of my most favorite comic book characters. handsome, compasionnate, and more than a little bad ass. morgan and his son were perfect as well. they all broke my heart into a million little pieces.

all while sitting on the edge of my seat, shouting at the television, "don't go there... NO... not the horse!!!" beautifully shot, well written perfect paced and wonderfully cast with lots of scary moments... now this is good horror.

This entry was posted on Mon, 11/01/2010 - 03:57 and is filed under

.

dead snow (2009)

a group of norwegian friends get the scariest history lesson of their lives during a weekend getaway to the snowy town of Øksfjord, where the party is interrupted by throngs of nazi zombies who once occupied the area. armed with a machine-gun-equipped snowmobile, the gang fights for survival.

gross. fun. if you like gross fun, this is the movie for you. there is not much else i can write without making myself a little queasy. no joke. 

This entry was posted on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 03:59 and is filed under

.

[rec] (2007)

trapped in a quarantined barcelona apartment building with residents, firefighters and a growing horde of ravenous zombies, television reporter, angela, and her cameraman, pablo, record brutal deaths and terrifying events while trying to stay alive.

when i saw quarantine last year it scared the crap out of me. i had no idea it was a remake. i also had no idea that [rec] was even more terrifying.

firefighters and cops trying to do their jobs. a likeable reporter who knows a story when she sees one. her faithful cameraman. an apartment building filled with people who could easily be my neighbors now. add a mysterious virus that seems to be the root of the ever escalating problem and the accompanying paranoia and you've got one really effective movie. 

violent and bloody, although not so much that i couldn't eat my thai food for dinner. tense and upsetting but not so much so that i couldn't sleep. i loved this movie. 

here's a reminder though, night vision is never a good idea. things never end well in night vision.

This entry was posted on Mon, 10/18/2010 - 03:09 and is filed under

.

the crazies (1973)

this week i got into a random conversation with a stranger about george romero. he said he thought that george romero should stop making movies with zombies and just concentrate on politics. i'm here to tell you no, george romero should continue to make zombie movies with politcal themes. the crazies was a political movie with zombie themes and it just didn't work for me.

made with almost no budget, the crazies is about a biological weapon gone awry in western pennsylvania. the trixie virus, as its called, causes insanity, murder, rioting and incest in the small town of evans city. then the army arrives and things really go to shit.

the movie opens with two children, watching their father destroy their home and when they go to wake their mother, they find her bloody and dead. the opening scene was perfect george romero, it set the tone for what should have been a nail biter that never really delivered.

i think that the low budget is partially to blame. the acting is abysmal. the blood? i'm fairly certain it was ketchup.

i also think that george romero may have been trying to do to much, trying to say too much with the crazies. part of why night of the living dead is so effective is its simplicity. he makes his point without much fanfare. when night of the living dead ends, you fear your neighbors and for the future of mankind. the crazies didn't make me fear anything. if anything it just made me happy that there've been such improvements with hazmat suits.

This entry was posted on Fri, 10/08/2010 - 01:32 and is filed under

.

survival of the dead (2009)

on an island off the north-eastern coast of north america, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state. the keep them alive, chained and under "control." seems ok - kind of like shaun & ed at the end of shaun of the dead, without the nintendo. maybe not the best idea though. also, the local residents, they are like the hatfields and mccoys, families fueding over how to actually handle the zombies.

my love for george romero is unparalled. i have loved (almost) every single one of his movies. i even loved diary of the dead and i'm fairly certain i'm the only one. i love his perserverance. making zombie movies is his raison d'être and honestly, even when he's off his game he's still better than most. so, i can do without day of the dead. i'm afraid to admit that survival of the dead falls into the same category. the zombies in the water? pretty great. the reappearance of the army guy from diary of the dead? could've done without it. do i feel like i wasted 90 minutes? no. will i ever watch it again? no.

This entry was posted on Sat, 10/02/2010 - 07:00 and is filed under

.

shana watched her very first horror movie when she was 10 years old. it was american werewolf in london and her mom covered her eyes during the sex scenes.

she started surviving horror to provide people with helpful hints for surviving meetings with zombies, serial killers and oni. (also because her horror movie rants & ramblings scare the crafty readers of her other blog.)

she promises she will never go up the stairs instead of out the front door.

shampton industries udpate

Sign up for e-mail updates on everything shampton!

Previous issues