Fear the Walking Dead: NOT SO MUCH 2015 3 out of 10

I'm five episodes into the 6 episode first season of  Fear the Walking Dead and I'm about ready to quit.  

This isn't the zombie show I was looking for.  The Walking Dead has become so good that it had become one of my favorite shows on TV, so I was looking forward to Fear the Walking Dead.  This show was going to take us back to the exciting time of the zombie apocalypse that we missed on the original show.  This show was going to show us how the apocalypse begins in a major city like Los Angles.  Instead we get the slow moving zombie show with no zombies.   Where are the zombies?  I've never seen a zombie movie or show with such a lack of zombies since Disaster LA (one of the worst zombie movies out there).   Five episodes in and this show is just slow and boring.  It is unbelievable in it's complete and utter lack of zombies.  It seems the producers bit off more than they could chew.   This zombie show has no flesh and five episodes in I don't care about any of the characters.  I feel no connection with the main family and their fake Johnny Deep on heroin character. 
 I definitely don't care about the immigrant that likes to torture people for information.  They could kill off the entire cast and start over for all I care....and maybe add some f---ing zombies to the cast while they are at it.  I was trying to give it a chance--after all it took me awhile to start enjoying the original show ---but with one episode left I just don't care.   I don't care about the flickering light that the stupid wife decides to go out of the safe area to investigate (for no logical reason).    I just feel disappointed at this point.....
The only positive thing about this show is that it makes me miss the original Walking Dead that returns in a few weeks.   I can't wait to watch a good zombie show again.

So do I Fear the Walking Dead.......Not in Los Angeles I don't. 

 Follow my movie facebook page here

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brads-Super-Fantastic-Terrific-Page-of-Movies/178708865473822

To hear our Zombie Themed Podcast that we did last year 

http://shoutengine.com/TheSuperFantasticTerrificShow/super-fantastic-terrific-show-2-zombies-4712

Battle of the Damned 2013 4 out of 10 (Zombie Movie Review # 7)

 Battle of the Damned  2013  4 out of 10

Fresh off of recording our Zombie themed podcast

http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/super-fantastic-terrific-2-zombies/

 I came across this  Zombie movie on Syfy  "Battle of the Damned"

The movie is a mix of a whole bunch of other movies and never really stands on its own.   It kicks off with Dolph Lundgren (cashing in on the coat tails of the Expendable movies as much as he can) getting a military assignment to go into a quarantined Zombie area.  His mission  in to rescue some rich businessman's daughter.......Hmmmm that plot sounds familiar... (Escape from New York anyone).   The producers must have been sitting around thinking  "Hey lets just make Escape from New York,  but with Zombies and robots ----oh and Dolph Lundgren can limp around like the an old grandpa in military gear".    Well that is exactly what they did.    It is such a direct rip-off of Escape From New York that they didn't even change the name of one of the characters???  (Lazy)   The main leader of the survivors in this area is named The Duke straight out of Escape from New York.  

The rip-off plot starts out okay as Dolph and a crew of no name Expendables wannabes are running around taking out Asian Zombies with minimal Zombie makeup.   His crew is basically all killed off except for him -- because he still has a mission to complete.   We then meet the feisty rich dudes daughter named June ---whose character acts and looks like Juno from the movie Juno  (lazy again).   The movie and its stolen plot still could have been good --but it comes to a screeching halt --due to lack of budget.  It gets bogged down in a bunch of of dull dialogue as the group of about 6 survivors that she is apart of  (that is all they could afford).    Dolph tries to help her escape and the Duke doesn't like it and handcuffs  poor old Dolph to a street lamp to suffer a fate of  death by zombies.    Luckily only about 7 Zombies show up which he is able to beat down before being rescued by one of the survivors.  Dolph and the guy that rescued him run across a rag tag group of Zombie killing robots that look like failed designs for Cylons which they recruit after some terrible dialogue to help them escape before the whole region is fire bombed.   The best line in he film from Dolph is "Zombies.....Killer Robots ..... Nice town you got here " It was a decent concept despite its complete lack of originality.  It's  limited budget turned it into a very slow moving plot with only a few interesting yet poorly executed zombie scenes. We really don't even get a good Robot vs Zombie battle ---because they just couldn't afford it.   All in all it was a waste of potential that could have been a lot better if they had bothered to get beyond the concept stage and actually written a story.

Day of the Dead 1985 6 out 10 (Zombie Movie Review # 4)

Day of the Dead 1985   6 out of 10

I saw that Day of the Dead was showing on Chiller the other day and it has been at least 20 plus years since I had seen this zombie movie.   Of the three movies in George Romero's zombie series that started with the Classic  Night of the Living  Dead 1968   (a movie that created the modern zombie genre)  Day of the Dead was my least favorite.  Re-watching it all these years later,  I actually appreciated it more than the first time around.    The movie takes place sometime after the events of Dawn of the Dead in focuses on a military base in which the some scientists are trying to learn more about the Zombies and what makes them tick, while some scraggly looking military guys are trying to protect them.    Here is the rundown of the good and bad about Day of the Dead.

List of what I liked in the movie:

1.   The zombie effects and blood and gore of the film was excellent including scenes with a guy getting his head slowly ripped off his body. 

2.   The soundtrack at times had a cool John Carpenter style vibe to it

3.  The dialogue and acting were really cheesy, but that isn't always necessarily a bad thing.    (also see this as something on the  What I Didn't Like list)

4.    Looking at this movie years later,  I was able to reflect on its contributions to   the genre.   One of the focuses of the movie not seen in the previous films was the notation of trying to understand what makes the zombies the way they are and working towards either a cure or a way to control the zombies.   As far a zombie films or shows like the Walking Dead..... you have to give props to the movies that set the foundation for the genre. 

5.  Bub the zombie that can learn and remember a part of his former life was an obvious inspiration for the storyline in The Walking Dead in Woodbury where the scientist was trying to figure out if any of the former person was still in the undead creatures.    Bub is a classic big screen  zombie

Here is Bub trying to make a phone call

   

.

Things I didn't like:

1.   The pacing of the movie was way too slow and you really don't get much good zombie action until the third act of the film.  The movie is more about the people which works great in a TV show like the Walking Dead where we have the time in each episode to explore the characters and their relationships and motivations.  In a stand alone movie this drags the story down and was clearly the reason I didn't like this movie many years ago.    Coming on the heels of Return of the Living Dead....which spun the Zombie genre off into a whole new direction and was relentless and entertaining throughout, the slow pace of Day of the Dead was a disappointment 

2.  The acting and the dialogue could have been straight out of the Toxic Avenger.

Of course this may be a reason to put it on the like list.  

3.   Despite the great and gory special effects the sense of peril wasn't at a level that it should be.   I mean the zombies are slow and plodding and just don't strike the terror that the Zombies of The Walking Dead do.   Maybe part of that is not having a connection with the lackluster characters in the movie,   but again I feel it struggles in comparison to Return of the Living Dead or its own predecessor   Dawn of the Dead,  which had one of the setting ever for a Zombie movie.

All in all it I give it about a 6 out of 10  which is a better rating than the first time 

around mainly because of its contributions to the genre.  

Coming Soon look for my Top 10  Zombie Movie List 

 and follow me on Facebook at 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Super-Fantastic-Terrific-Page-of-Movies-TV-and-Entertainment/178708865473822 

The Walking Dead Returns: And is as good and Deadly as Ever

The Walking Dead Returns....and it is as good as ever.

Honestly at this point there is really no reason to go and ever see a Zombie movie in the movie theaters anymore.  No movie can capture the level of emotion and tension and back story and character development that this great TV show has now achieved.   It took me awhile, but this show continues to grow in its greatness and its audience appeal the longer it is on the air.    Why see World War Z starring Brad Pitt that looks like a digital mess when you can tune into this amazing world of zombies on TV.   The interactions between the different groups of survivors are just as interesting if not more so than the zombies themselves.   It is like great sci-fi show  where the sci-fi itself is just he backdrop for some really deep and amazing human stories that are told like on Battlestar Gallactica or the original Star Trek.

Resident Evil: Afterlife 2010 5 out of 10

Resident Evil: Afterlife  5 out of 10

The movie continues the story of Alice and her battles against the umbrella Corporation and the zombies they created.   The opening sequence is great, but unfortunately the movie doesn't hold up to the level of its opening sequence.   It just becomes a heavy metal music video of the video game with a few good action sequences and not much else.  With the Walking Dead and its complex zombie world....this video game movie series just doesn't hold up anymore.  The best parts of the movie are the parts that are a rip off of The Matrix.

Bring out your Dead......And let them Walk

A Walking Dead Update:    Season 1 started out and while I was excited that there was a Zombie show on TV I wasn't sold yet.  The plot moved a little too slowly for me.  The Zombie scares were few and far between, but I stuck around for some reason letting the show develop.    By Season 2 the show was hitting its stride and I sold hook line and sinker.  By season end it had reached the quality of  X-Files at its peak...(before Mulder left and the show stayed past its welcome and became a mess).   When X-Files was clicking on all cylinders it was better than any horror or thriller movies in the theater.  Why go and see a horror movie it the theater when X-files delivered every week.   The Walking Dead at the end of Season 2 hit that same stride... There are no horror movies and especially no Zombie movies that have come out lately that can match the intensity and excellence that The Walking Dead has achieved by the first couple of episodes of Season 3.  

 Season 2 ended with  a bang ....Season 3 started with a full scale prison invasion and Zombie take down...followed by a thrilling Zombie clear out and showdown with surviving prisoners.  The show is a tour de force at this point...each episode is thrilling and shocking and a great look into the breakdown of humanity during the Zombie Apocalypse.  Despite the  buckets of gore and Severed heads rolling around it is much like Battlestar Gallactica or other good Sci-fi where it really digs into the human emotions and points of view --both good and bad.  The decisions  the characters must make to survive and how those decisions shape and change them.   As a TV series the characters have had the time to develop great depth and you realy care for them at this point.  The show keeps you on edge because main characters can die at any moment and with over 2 seasons behind them you have much more emotional attachment to the characters than you ever could in a single movie.

For my movie and TV Related Facebook page go here

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brads-Super-Fantastic-Terrific-Page-of-Movies/178708865473822

Survival of the Dead 2009 3 out of 10 I barely survived this zombie movie (Zombie Movie Review #1)

Just because it says George  Romero's  Survival of the Dead does not mean that it is good.    There is a zombie uprising and there is this one island of the coast of the U.S. where everyone is Irish for some reason.  The O Flynn's and the  Muldoon's who have of course been bickering for many decades.   Well now they are bickering over whether zombies should be killed or rounded up like cattle waiting for some type of cure.   The one Irish dude is kicked off the island -but later returns with a couple of random U.S. Military folk. This is one dumb zombie movie.  Irish cowboys and some clan dispute.   Really George?   I don't think you should have put your name on this one.

Horror movie lessons learned: #1 When Zombies are hungry they will run

Lesson learned in  Return of the Living Dead  from 1984...

Until then Zombies pretty much just kept their pursuit in search of brains to a slow stroll.

With Return of the Living Dead--we got introduced to Zombies that could run and dive tackle victims.

Which brings us to  2011 --where they now have Zombie  5K's.   Run Zombies Run.

I will be doing the one in San Diego next year.

http://runforyourlives.com/