What I watched: "American Zombie"

In case I haven't said this a hundred times already, I love the Netflix watch instantly feature. I have watched many movies and TV shows -- good and bad -- that I would have never rented or put on my queue. Case in point is the movie I watched last night. It's a "mockumentary" called "American Zombie."

From the film's media Web site:

Filmmakers Grace Lee (“The Grace Lee Project”) and John Solomon (“Nonsense Man”) team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Now, anyone who has read even a little of this blog is well aware of my love for all things zombie. And I know I'm not alone in my love. Vampires may be the hot new thing and sexy as hell, but zombies will always be the top monster in my book. The scariest thing about zombies is their complete lack of humanity. They have no regard for family or friends. They kill and eat indiscriminately.

In "American Zombie," those particular zombies are known as "feral zombies." They have lost all humanity. But there are two other types: zombies who have retained enough humanity to do manual labor and "high-functioning zombies" who seem to be just like any other human -- except for their decaying flesh, of course. And none of them seem to have a taste for human flesh -- or do they? (Cue ominous music.)

The film follows four high-functioning zombies through their day-t0-day lives. We see them at their jobs, interacting with girlfriends and co-workers and preparing to attend Live Dead (a kind of Burning Man festival for zombies only). The film makers finally get permission to attend -- despite being living humans -- and film Live Dead, resulting in dire consequences.

It's an interesting take on the zombie genre. Though it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be, I still enjoyed watching the film. For a die-hard zombie fan, like myself, it was a good movie. For everyone else, I'd probably say give it a pass. It starts out slow and has a pretty predictable ending.

All in all, I'd give it a better rating than the 4.9 stars out of 10 IMDb users give it. But, as I said, I have a love for all things zombie, from the super cheesy to the classic.

Giving it a try

Last November, I missed out on the start of National Blog Posting Month and wasn't able to post every day in November. I signed up for e-mails so I would be ready this year. Am I ready to post every day for a month? Probably not. But I'm off to a good start. Right?

We attended a Zombie Halloween Party last night. Here's a picture of my costume:

Yeah, sometimes I look like this in the morning -- minus the neck wound.

I went as a doctor who had been bitten by an infected patient. The S.O. was an intern who got bitten by me. It's important to have a back story, you know.

Good news: The zombies are still hiring!

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From today's Cul de Sac:


I discovered this little gem of a comic strip a couple of months ago. It's weird sometimes but it almost always makes me laugh. I think there's a little preschooler in all of us.

The zombie reference is just an added bonus.
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They know me

A couple of friends gave me zombie-related gifts this Christmas. "The Zen of Zombie" offers "better living through the undead." And the corporate zombies were given to me so I "wouldn't forget what it was like to work in a cubicle."

It's nice to know others share my obsession with zombies and that my friends accept me despite this obsession. In fact, I recently attended a bachelor/bachelorette party, complete with strippers -- "Zombie Strippers." It's not what you think. Well, maybe it is. It's an awesomely bad zombie movie, starring Jenna Jameson and Robert Englund (of Freddie Krueger fame). There's not much plot to the movie, but it has plenty of gore and cheesy humor. It's not for the prudish or easily offended though. But throw in a group of rowdy friends, some pizza and beer, and it was a good time.

On a sad note, my laptop recently joined the ranks of the undead -- it beeps and whirs but it isn't cognitive. I'll be working on a Frankenstein PC until I the laptop is repaired (or indefinitely). It's not that the PC is out-dated, it's just been pieced together. I have a hand-me-down monitor, a brand-new wireless keyboard and mouse and an essentially homemade CPU. But it works ... well.

The thought of being without a computer was scarier than any undead thing could ever be -- especially with four writing assignments coming up. And as a person who works from home, I couldn't imagine not having e-mail and the internet to connect me to the outside world. And it is nice to type on a full-size keyboard and look at a full-size monitor.

The real reason I have short hair

From "The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks:

The simple fact is that ghouls attack by reaching out to grab their victims, pulling them in, then biting. Logic dictates that the less material a person offers up for grabs, the better his or her chances will be. Baggy clothing, complete with pockets, straps, or anything that might hang freely, will be a convenient handle for grasping zombie claws. Anyone who has worked in factories or with some kind of heavy machinery will tell you the importance of never letting anything hang loose. Tight clothing, obviously within comfort limits, will help to eliminate this danger. Hair can be a similar hazard. Many times, victims have been seized and even dragged by their hair to a gruesome end. Tying one's hair back before a conflict may work temporarily. However, a short haircut, one inch or short, is ideal for hand-to-hand combat.

True, I think my short 'do makes me look younger and suits my face better and it's easier to care for, and my hair is naturally curly/wavy and has a tendency toward frizz when it reaches a certain length, and I have an awesome hair stylist. None of those reasons are the real reason for my short hair. It's not about fashion, it's all about survival, people.

If you're a Max Brooks fan -- and who didn't love "World War Z" -- he's at it again. "Those who don't learn from zombie history are condemned to repeat it."

The more you know.

When it comes

Today, I am thankful to have friends who are preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. Because when the Zombie Apocalypse inevitably comes, the human race has a better chance of surviving if more of us are truly prepared.

Apparently, I need to step it up a few notches.

62%
I answered the questions honestly. I think I need to run more, stock up on canned goods and learn to handle a fire arm.

And if you think the Zombie Apocalypse isn't possible, you need to check out this:
5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen

Always preparing

I've thought of a side benefit to training for a 5k run: When the zombie apocalypse comes, I'll have the stamina to outrun them* -- or at least I'll be able to outrun all the people who don't work out, giving me time to get away.





*Of course, if they're the fast-moving variety, I'm still totally screwed.

Zombie love

As I've mentioned before, I have a certain love for movies about the living dead or others of their ilk. Scary, funny, campy, cheesy - I don't care. I love them.

Coming soon:
28 Weeks Later - the sequel to 28 Days Later (not the movie about Sandra Bullock in rehab). Six months have passed and it's time to repopulate London. You just know something goes wrong. I can't find an official site, so here it is at IMDB: http://imdb.com/title/tt0463854/
Black Sheep - Killer sheep. 'Nuff said. Seriously, just watch the trailer:
www.blacksheep-themovie.com
Fido - I just saw this mentioned in passing at www.pajiba.com and had to check it out. Zombies have been domesticated - you just know something goes wrong! Here's the site: www.fidothemovie.com

I can't wait! Wee!

UPDATE: Here's the official site of 28 Weeks Later (with a trailer): www.foxatomic.com/#28wkstrailer

Have a cookie

I have a bit of an obsession with zombies (or the living dead if you prefer that term). It started many years ago when, as a kid, I happened to catch a little gem of a movie called “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things” – it’s real, look it up. It was awful, but the idea of the dead rising stuck with me. Since then, whenever I saw a movie about zombies, I would inevitably have nightmares about being attacked, narrowly escaping or waking just before the bite. As silly as these dreams seem in the light of day, it doesn't change the fact that I would wake in a sweat with my heart pounding. In recent years, I have decided to take this nightmare-inducing subject head on. Face your fears, right?

So I have, with some great results and some dismal results. I have watched “Dead Alive,” “Army of Darkness,” “Night of the Living Dead,” both versions of “Dawn of the Dead” (yeah, I liked the new one, even if zombies shouldn’t be able to run), “Day of the Dead,” “Land of the Dead,” “Shaun of the Dead” (probably my all-time favorite movie), “Resident Evil” and its sequel (maybe not “zombies” per se but still), “28 Days Later” (again, not living dead but the same idea), “Zombie Lake” (a hilariously bad 80s French flick) and most recently “Zombie Planet.”

“Zombie Planet” seemed to have a lot of potential for cheesy living-dead goodness. Unfortunately it was poorly executed. It would have been better if it had been about 75 minutes long rather than its painful 119 minutes.

The premise is awesome – scientists created an enzyme that eliminates cravings for carbohydrates (think extreme Atkins Diet). But something went terribly wrong and the users of this pill started craving red meat to the point they didn’t care where it came from – raw meat, cooked meat, Fifi! Then they die and reanimate and start attacking others, who (as it normally works with zombie films) also die and reanimate, until the whole world is overrun by the living dead. It could have been so cool. The bad acting and the amateurish production quality didn’t bother me as much as the rambling story and the “Beyond Thunderdome” rip off. There is one actor who, at first, seemed fairly natural. He’s not great but he seems to be doing ok until about halfway through. The director must have pulled him aside and said, “Dammit man! We need more acting!”

On the plus side it would be a great movie for a drunken night with friends. I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more with beers and the ’bots.

By the way, plans are in the works to make a movie version of “World War Z." I’m trying not to get my hopes up.