Not Quite Dead

A remake that’s…pretty good! Dawn of the Dead is already a zombie classic, and while this version doesn’t update much, it does place us squarely in the early 2000s. Special guests High on Film’s Brad Davis and Chris Maxwell join us for this action-packed episode! 

Before he was releasing cuts of DC movies, Zack Snyder directed the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Featuring the iconic mall setting and a creepy little zombie baby, it’s a modern classic! 

Discussion points include: mall theft, power-tripping security guards, and the saddest chess game ever. 

Lupita Nyong'o stars as the cutest zombie killing teacher ever in the Hulu-released horror-comedy flick Little Monsters (2019).

Slacker Dave joins his young nephew on a field trip strictly to get closer to his cute teacher, Miss Audrey. Dave quickly learns he needs to take at least a little responsibility when the field trip has to face a horde of zombies.

Discussion points include: disrespectful houseguests, the slacker-to-hero storyline, children's entertainers.

Train to Busan was director Yeon Sang-ho's gift to the world in 2016. Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead fame calls it the best zombie film ever made - and who are we to disagree?

Gong Yoo (known now for Squid Game) plays Seok-woo, a hedge fund manager who prioritized work over his family - until a zombie apocalypse traps him and his young daughter on a high speed train. They are up against zombies and the selfishness of their fellow passengers, making for a thrilling horror film.

Discussion points include: undead animals, Korean horror themes, multiple villains.

Edgar Wright wraps his love of the zombie genre in many layers of era-specific humor in the buddy horror comedy Shaun of the Dead! Guest Jason Burk from Hemispheric Views joins us again to reminisce on this not-so-cult classic.

Shaun is your typical Gen X slacker who shirks responsibility at every available opportunity. That is, until a zombie apocalypse arrives in his garden. With the help of his equally lame best friend, Shaun embarks on a quest to save his mum and ex-girlfriend, and maybe do a little bit of growing up along the way (but, probably not).

Discussion points include: the loser hero's journey, hot skeletons, witty dialog, and - oh, wait, you've got red on you.

Director Danny Boyle reinvigorated the zombie genre with 2002's 28 Days Later.

Cillian Murphy wakes up alone and naked in a hospital bed 28 days after a rage virus decimates England. Zombies, lack of resources, and some really gross military dudes round out some real horror in this episode!

Discussion points include: how quickly men become terrible in a disaster, falling in love in an apocalypse, how to flag down help.

NQD couldn't kick off a Zombies season without George Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead!

Bringing the zombie genre to life, Romero shocked 1960s audiences with his tale of the undead. It's gruesome, it's seminal, it's a ghoulish good time!

Discussion points include: earlier zombie movies, a useless woman, space radiation.

The Grudge came out hot on the heels of global interest in J-horror, and is one of the better American adaptations!

Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in Sam Raimi's 2004 ghost horror story as an American exchange student attempting to solve a haunting.

Discussion points include: Japanese horror history, onryo, the ghosts' rules.

Smile (2022) may be director Parker Finn's feature length film debut, but it has the style and scares to feel like a veteran effort.

Psychiatric therapist Laura already has a lot of baggage - workaholic, abusive childhood, a strained relationship with her sister - when a delusional patient seems to transmit a terrifying curse onto her. Is it all in her head, or is there an entity really after her?

Discussion points include: homages to other horror films, a useless fiancé, poor trauma processing. 

The 2007 Spanish film The Orphanage has horrors of multiple levels: a missing child, playful ghosts, and home renovations.

The J.A. Bayona horror flick was a smash hit internationally, bringing acclaim to the Spanish film industry. Not Quite Dead gets into the details of a woman buying the orphanage she grew up in with her family, only to be plagued by ghosts and the loss of her son.

Discussion points include: abandoned beach-front real estate, watching the wrong movie, Peter Pan references.

Episode edited by Megan Prior-Pfeifer. Music by Zach Pfeifer.