The Undead Symphony

"The Walking Dead Meets the Revenant." That is how they describe it. Lofty. Delusion of grandeur much? 

When a virus ravages a mountain community the survivors must flee from the monsters it created into the barren wilderness. Scavenging, freezing and dying one family will fight for their lives against marauders hellbent on revenge. A humanity clings to hope, their only chance for survival is forming an alliance with the monsters that came calling.

Disclaimer - this doesn't sound like the movie, there is no alliance, and until 1 hour and 33 mins we had seen 1 zombie, and that was in the opening scene.

It was snowy, it was well photographed, but it was bleak and the characters were either too inconsistent, being McGuyver one minute and the Marx Brothers the next, too much of the shouty kid. How have these people survived for so long in the apocalypse when they are so incompetent and noisy?

It felt like a lost episode from season 2 of Black Summer, with the snow and the cinematography and the bleakness of it all. Ethan, the lead male, who also co-wrote and co-directed this is a more masculine version of Lance from Black Summer. Remember him? A fuckwit who somehow survived season 1 only to be bitten, turned and killed in the opening scenes.

The villains (Desree and Lionel) are too villainous. The kid is too shouty. The flashbacks are unnecessary. But, all that said, it wasn't awful. I don't need to rewatch it and I wouldn't recommend it, so by default it is less than 5/10. So I will score it 4/10, almost the same as IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes and the Guardian, who described it as a scenic zombie adventure that lacks bite. How true. 

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

In 1992 the movie genius that is Peter Jackson gave us this cult classic, Braindead, aka Dead Alive. Renamed in the US because of a Bill Pullman movie Brain Dead. It is messy, gory, fun, a classic tale of a Sumatran Rat Monkey (stop motion) infecting humans in 1950s Wellington, New Zealand, with its bite.

If you like your blood in tidal waves, and your intestines with a mind of their own, if you don’t mind seeing zombie babies ripping their way out of a woman's head, or exploding pustules bursting and the rancid output being eating with custard then this is for you.

With Simon Pegg listing this as one of his influences for Shaun of the Dead (you can see it with the tram scene with Lionel and the homeless guy and the pigeon and the bus in Shaun), it can be seen why this was one of the major players in the comedy zombie horror genre.

Was it a game changer? I don't think so. But it's influence was huge, and can be seen in Zombieland, Bed and Breakfast, Shaun and many more.

A solid 6.5/10 from me. If you haven't seen it, then you really have to.

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

It was blasted for being misogynistic, basic, unoriginal,  stealing from Shaun of the Dead, and a poor competitor when compared to Lesbian Vampire Killers (seriously?  with James fucking Corden), but some class this the 2009 Doghouse Danny Dyer, Noel Clarke, Stephen Graham and Lee Ingleby as a guilty pleasure and one of their go to horror comedies. 

Is it original? No. 

Is it misogynistic? Absolutely.

Is it entertaining? It is.

And it is a 6/10 for us.

When we get to the country, we are gonna piss up all the trees to mark our territory, then we are gonna find a pub and get so drunk we can't remember how to speak, and we'll communicate in grunts like neanderthals, before passing out in the woods!

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

I don't know where to start. Small mercies? The movie isn't long. Conceptually? It is a funny premise. The Church of Scientology are trying to remove all other religions by creating tailored viruses that turn the believers into unkillable zombies. Their weakness? The things they weren't allowed to do in life due to their faith? That whole Mormons not swearing, no caffeine or alcohol thing. 

The execute? Piss poor. It sits uneasily between Pro-Wrestlers v Zombies (2.5/10) and Johnny Z (3/10) for us. Michael wanted to give it 2.51/10 but I overruled that as it would ruin my uniform scoring spreadsheet. It is worse than Ibiza Undead, but better than Pro-Wrestlers v Zombie. And I make it sound much better than it was.

Watch it at your peril. The opening credits are arguably some of the worst I have ever seen.

And it scored a more than generous 3/10 from us

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

The second half of the cancelled Netflix Ferris Beuller meets TWD The World Beyond, a young adult post apocalyptic zombie show that is as much Lord of the Flies as it is Dawn of the Dead. Actually scratch all that, it nothing like any of those. It can't compare. It has none of the depth. But what it does have is witty banter, great characters, and fun. It isn't 28 Days Later as Mickey Dolan says in his input. It isn't but it is still good.

The real tragedy is that the ghoulies, the adults, are turning into something nasty. Broderick's Principal Burr and Miss Crumble both are turning into something. But it not explored, and barely hinted at.

In this, the second 5 episodes of the show, we had filler for a good couple of episodes that we didn't need. We had a terrible show within a show Miss Crumble psychotic break that meant everyone was in a sitcom directed by Angelica. We had a whole episode dedicated to Josh trying to have sex with and eventually dumping Sam. And we learn he is a petty and awful ill-educated individual. We had flashbacks, dream sequences, dead parents, and cannibalism. 

There was a lot to dislike in the second half of the show. Less Anglica being awful, fewer one liners, more filler and more Josh being just Josh and just boring.

I was angry by it being cut from the schedule when I first watched it, as I wanted a second season, like I did Cowboy BeBop and Dirk Gently, but during the last third of this watch I was kinda glad it was binned. It ended with more of a whimper than a bang, despite the nuclear bomb they set off.

6/10 for all the right reasons.

WITH NEW ADDED INPUT FROM GOLF TEAM GARY PLAYED BY THE WONDERFUL MICKEY DOLAN

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Navigating a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and "Mad Max"-style gangs, a teenage outcast searches for his lost love orrrrr Living his best life in post-apocalyptic LA, a slacker strives to find the girl of his dreams while outwitting mindless ghouls and cliquish gangs.

Set in a post-apocalyptic Glendale where a biochemical attack has turned all adults in blood thirty ghoulies and left the kids alone slacker and Canadian Ferris clone Josh Wheeler lives his best life, running into an assortment of characters including pacifist street samurai Wesley and genius with questionable morals Angelica, and all the while trying to find his long lost love Sam Dean.

Parts 1-5 in which, well, we discover the kids are in gangs, the cheerleaders in one, the jocks led by Turbo, a Mad Max-esque gang complete with spiked shoulder pads and vehicles, farmers, mathletes, the fashionista. And Josh, Angelica and Wes have to forge alliances as they take over the Mall and battle the evil child eater Baron Triumph.

Starring Colin Ford, Matthew Broderick, and Alyvia Ayn Lind, and our beloved Chester Rushing, this teen/high school/young comic book based show was cruelly killed by some ass clown at Netflix before it could reach it's potential. Shame on you.

6/10 

WITH WONDERFUL INSIGHTS FROM THE SUPERB AS EVER CHESTER RUSHING AKA TERRY OF THE GOLF TEAM

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

From Wikipedia

"Set in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, struggling writer James Bishop grapples with the emotional shrapnel of a recent breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Emily. As James holds up in his Hollywood Hills home with writer's block, his eccentric best friend Bruce shows up with bad news. The city has plunged into chaos by an unusual and hilarious zombie outbreak, courtesy of tainted soy milk.

With the streets of Los Angeles swarming with the undead, James, Bruce, and Emily come together to barricade themselves in the house while reconciling their personal struggles. And occasionally, letting in the only food delivery service still operating, Abracadabra."

We loved this 2023 random find. The movie had zero promotion in the UK and that is criminal. I feel it would do really well on Netflix as a one off, like that Jamie Foxx vampire thing. It is crisply filmed, well written, superbly acted and criminally overlooked.

Starring Mike Castle and Oliver Cooper, this rom zom com should really be a rom com with zoms, as the zombies are there, but it is the caustic romantic comedy you follow as Castle's James tries to get over a break up, and his friend Oliver comes to look after him as the apocalypse unfolds.

Hardcore zombie fans will poo poo it, and TBH they are a missing out as the banter and the movie nods would win them over. Rom Com fans will be deterred by the zombie elements, but they are really soft peddled. 

In short both Michael and I recommend this movie. It is on Amazon in the UK. And definitely worth a watch.

6/10  

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

"Viral," a 2016 sci-fi thriller directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, follows the story of two sisters navigating a world consumed by a mysterious outbreak. 

The film delves into the complexities of sisterhood against the backdrop of a viral epidemic that transforms humans into aggressive creatures. As the infection spreads, the sisters, played by Sofia Black-D'Elia, who is married to Joost, and Lio Tipton, struggle to survive and protect their bond. 

Despite a lot of bad reviews I think the movie skillfully blends elements of horror, drama, and suspense, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. With its tense atmosphere and compelling character dynamics, "Viral" explores the human condition under extreme circumstances, making it an intriguing subject for a podcast discussion on themes of survival, family, and the unpredictable nature of infectious threats."

A lot of people slagged it off, but I felt once it had switched from being a high school outbreak drama to a survival horror movie it picked up, with half a dozen jump scares.

Was good seeing Dawn 2004's Michael Kelly and Sofia Black-D'Elia's Emma and Evan were great as the teen leads (despite being in their mid 20s).

Parasites are probably my least favourite cause of zombification after voodoo, but I needed to give this a go. Compared to most of the shit we see this was well acted, well filmed, well written, had some jump scares too. People moaned it was PG-13 but outside of more graphic gore I don't think you lost anything.

For me the 2016 Viral is a 6/10, a little above the IMDB of 5.5 and Rotten Tomatoes 53% but worth an easy watch.

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

In this episode we are joined by Hannah from over at Hordes of Horror for a fun Japanese live action adaptation of the Kengo Hanazawa manga I am a Hero starring Yo Oizumi as Hideo Suzuki or Hero.

The put-upon, down-on-his-luck manga associate producer has a shotgun license, and a girl friend who has had enough of his day dreaming. But when the ZQN virus decimates his city, turning people into zombies our hero needs to buck up his idea, and take that shotgun and license on the road with Hiromi.

With the checklist of zombie tropes ticked this movie is a well produced adaptation with a killer ending, piles of bodies and The High Jumper, probably one of my favourite new zombie villains. 

My usual preamble has all the watch along spoilers, commentary and minimal swearing and then Michael and I chat with Hannah about all things zeke. 

A very strong 6.5/10

You can find Hannah and her work on Instagram as HordesOfHorror but more importantly on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@HordesOfHorror where her recaps and reviews are a thing of beauty. We cannot wait to catch up with her again on something obscure and Japanese.

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.

The Children (also known as The Children of Ravensback) is a 1980 American horror film, directed by Max Kalmanowicz, and starring Martin Shakar from Saturday night fever, and the chuck Norris action movie, like he does anything else, Invasion USA, leave it to beaver’s Gil Rogers, and the multitalented grammy award winning singer songwriter and author, Gale Garnett. 

It follows a group of five children in a small New England town when they are transformed into zombies who, after being exposed to waste from a nuclear plant, microwave any living thing they touch. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.

Upon its theatrical release in 1980 The Children received generally negative reviews. The Los Angeles Times called it a "despicable movie" that "reeks of a nasty, ill-defined dislike of humankind."[4] The Orlando Sentinel deemed the actors "the ugliest bunch of folks we've seen assembled on any screen at any one time."[5] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette criticized the writing, directing, acting and special effects; the latter slammed for burned bodies looking "exactly like a leftover pepperoni pizza, complete with black olives and anchovies.”

Jesus what would they think Passion of the Christ or Terrifier 2?

Personally this lands slap bang in the middle of a batch of movies from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Not as good as Dawn 78, or Nightmare City, or Dead and Buried, better than Creeping Flesh, Flesh Eaters and Zombie Lake and probably on par with Shock Waves. A definitely 5/10 for me.

I'd love to hear from my dear listeners. Recommend a zombie movie or show I haven't covered, or some on and chat all things zeke. Or just like and share.