Monday, April 30, 2012

A-Z Challenge: Zombie and Zombieland

Zombies have long been a staple of horror genre, and for good reason.  There's something about reanimated flesh that captures our imaginations.  Even for the non-horror loving folks out there, most religions deal with the dead coming back to life in some way or another; it isn't exactly a new meme.

For all the great zombie movies out there...From the original Frankenstein and Mummy movies to Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later, there are two that really stand out, and not just because they begin with the letter Z.

Zombie is a low-budget movie about someone, I think a girl, who goes to a remote island to look for someone else, maybe her father.  I can't remember, because it's been a long time since I saw this movie and because the plot was absolutely inconsequential.  This movie is about gore, and it delivers.  There's one scene involving the close-up of an eye and a large piece of wood.  It does not end well, for the eyeball or the wood.  I will never forget it.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but for a single scene to stick in my memory after decades...well, that's an impactful scene.  And as horror goes, this scene is truly horrible.  Seriously.  (NOTE: I am not recommending that you do this, but just as an FYI, if you were to search for "Big Fucking Splinter to the Eyeball" on YouTube, you could see what I am talking about.) 

Zombieland, on the other hand, takes the genre and makes it funny, a lot like Shaun of the Dead did but using a title that starts with Z and doesn't compete with Star Wars for inclusion in my A-Z Challenge.  Come for the double-tap, stay for Bill Murray's biggest regret.  Zombieland had a great style, and the acting in it was perfect...the cast played it like it was real without overacting or getting too campy, which can work if done right (see Evil Dead 2), but that's a crap shoot that can kill a movie if it backfires.

Thanks to all who stopped by, especially the dedicated few who stayed for the entire A-Z series!

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10 comments:

Matthew MacNish said...

I've never heard of Zombie, but Zombieland is one of my all time favorites, no question.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Zombieland rocked. And I remember that scene from Zombie.

Johanna Garth said...

I wonder how many people feel like A-Z blogging zombies after finishing this month?

Unknown said...

Johanna's right. I kind of feel like a zombie after this challenge!

ScribblesFromJenn
Congratulations on finishing the A to Z challenge!

dolorah said...

You had a cool theme Rick, and I enjoyed as many as I read :)

I've seen very little of Zombieland, thank goodness. But my kids all loved it, so there's that. I am a fan of well constructed gore though, so I'll go plug in the phrase at u-tube.

......dhole

Jeremy Bates said...

'Zombieland' was fun to watch. The advice given by the narrator made sense and cracked me up.
Great way to end the A to Z

Eric said...

Z-land is a must-see movie. Even if you're not a huge fan of zombies, which I am not. It was absolutely awesome, especially how the words kept being a physical part of the movie. Cracks me up every time I see it. Nice job on the A to Z challenge. It's been a fun month.

D.G. Hudson said...

Not a zombie watcher in general, but I liked your series on movies.

There are some great B movies that turn out to be sleepers. (the ones that don't get the budgets or the cast or the hype).

Congrats on finishing the Challenge! You were one of those dedicated participants, too, weren't you?

The Poet said...

Hello.
Visiting from the Post A-Z Road Trip.

Congratulations on finishing the challenge! I do like the old time horror movies with Peter Cushing, Vincent Price & Christopher Lee, but I'm not too much into gore. Thanks for sharing.

Thoughts Of Beauty In The Stillness Of Dawn...

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