Tagarchief: Zombies

De beste zombie games voor de iPhone en iPad

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

De zombierage die in 2002 werd ingezet met ‘28 Days Later’ is anno 2012 nog steeds niet over; een 10-jarig jubileum dus! Om dit te vieren keek @JKleyngeld naar de beste (en beroerdste) zombie games die te vinden zijn voor je smart Phone of iPad.

Stupid Zombies
Prijs: 0,79 €
Uitgever: GameResort LLC

Het is een schaamteloze rip-off van ‘Angry Birds’. Zelfs de titel is een direct afgeleide. In plaats van varkens neermaaien met vogels schiet je bij deze game kaatsende kogels af om stomme zombies bloederig om zeep te helpen. En dat is helemaal geen vervelende bezigheid! Qua verslavendheid staat het spel gemakkelijk op één lijn met ‘Angry Birds’. De verschillende manieren waarop de zombies uit elkaar vallen, ontploffen, onthoofd worden en verbrijzeld worden gaat nooit vervelen; voor je het weet zit je dit spel uren te spelen. Een goede investering voor 0,79 cent.


Zombieville USA 2
Prijs: 0,99 €
Uitgever: Mika Mobile, Inc.

Doet qua karakters en setting wel denken aan de klassieke zombiefilms van George A. Romero. Je bent een soort redneck en loopt door een met zombies vergeven stad gewapend met – onder andere – een pistool, shotgun en honkbalknuppel. Het is een leuk spel, maar wel vrij moeilijk. Je zult hierbij echt de tijd moeten nemen je in de gameplay te bekwamen.

Plants vs. Zombies
Prijs: 2,39 €
Uitgever: PopCap

Nu al een klassieker; ‘Plants vs. Zombies’ is hét strategische zombiespel dat je gespeeld moet hebben. Leg een tuin aan vol met cactussen, zonnebloemen, paddo’s en ander vegaspul terwijl een zombie-invasie losbreekt. De uitdaging is om de goede keuzes te maken in je flora en te allen tijde snel te handelen. Dit is de beste bezigheidstherapie sinds tafeltennis. Het enige nadeel; je hebt hem vrij snel uitgespeeld.

Zombie Gunship
Prijs: 0,79 €
Uitgever: Limbic Software

Dit fotorealistische spel heeft een simpel concept. Bescherm een bunker en vluchtende burgers van een zombie invasie. Hoe meer zombies je vanuit de lucht afschiet, hoe hoger de score. Prima vermaak. Voor de echte fanatiekelingen is het ook een mooie uitdaging om via Facebook de strijd aan te gaan met medekanonniers.

Zombies vs Ninja
Prijs: Gratis
Uitgever: Hwa David

Ook gratis is er op zombiegebied best wat te vinden. In ‘Zombies vs Ninja’ wordt de eeuwenoude vraag beantwoordt; in een strijd tussen zombies en ninja’s, wie wint er? Aan jou de eer om de ninja te beheersen en met werpsterren en bommen verschillende soorten zombies definitief naar een andere wereld te sturen. Het snelle swipen gaat echter al snel vervelen en de gameplay is daarmee niet geweldig. Visueel is het wel goed gedaan. Plus; had ik al gezegd dat het gratis was?

Plan 9 from Outer Space

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Written by: Edward D. Wood Jr., Alex Gordon
Cast: Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Duke Moore, Tom Keene

Year / Country: 1959, USA
Running Time: 78 mins.

According to Tim Burton’s biography Ed Wood, this is Edward D. Wood Jr.’s favourite movie. It is easy to see why. It is his most epic film if you will, containing all the elements that made his movies so bad in spades; the minimalist sets; the casting of non-talents or over the hill B-stars; the archive footage and the hilarious action.

The story revolves around a hostile alien race that wants to resurrect an army of the dead to march on the capitals of the world, hence the original title Grave Robbers from Outer Space. So far, the aliens only managed to create three zombies, but that doesn’t bother them.

Fans of Ed Wood’s movies will have a riot with Plan 9 guaranteed. This is the movie that set his name in stone as the world’s worst filmmaker. All of Ed Wood’s favourite cast members are present; Vampira, Chriswell, Tor Johnson and Bela Lugosi. For Lugosi, this is his final film. For the first two scenes that is. After his death, he was replaced by Wood’s chiropractor, who holds a cape before his face the whole film. Hilarious.

There are many, many more extremely funny things in Plan 9. The airplane cabin; the army footage that doesn’t match at all with the rest of the film; the flying saucers that are obviously hubcaps; the sudden transitions from night to day in the same scene, etcetera, etcetera.

The beauty of it is that Wood was being serious. There is actually a message in this film about human stupidity for messing with nuclear power. Maybe this is not the most convincing work that tries to bring that message across, but Wood deserves respect for trying. And his tombstone credit sequence IS excellent filmmaking.

Rating:

Biography: Edward D. Wood Jr. (1924, New York – 1978, Hollywood) is widely considered as the world’s worst filmmaker. His low-budget movies, usually mergers of science-fiction and horror, are mostly complete disasters in terms of production values and continuity. In 1994, Edward D. Wood Jr. became the subject of an amazing biopic directed by Tim Burton called Ed Wood.

Filmography: The Sun Was Setting (1951, TV short), Trick Shooting with Kenne Duncan (1953, short), Glen or Glenda (1953), Crossroad Avenger: The Adventures of the Tuscon Kid (1953, TV short), Boots (1953, short), Jail Bait (1954), Bride of the Monster (1955), The Night the Banshee Cried (1957, short), Final Curtain (1957, short), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), Night of the Ghouls (1959), The Sinister Urge (1960), Take It Out in Trade (1970), The Young Marrieds (1971), Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love (1971)

Day of the Dead

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: George A. Romero
Written by: George A. Romero
Cast: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joe Pilato, Jarlath Conroy

Year / Country: 1985, USA
Running Time: 102 mins.

In George Andrew Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) the dead were resurrected and started a crisis. In Dawn of the Dead (1978), the zombies were taking the upper hand. Now in 1985’s Day of the Dead, there are barely any humans left. A small group of survivors consisting of soldiers, scientists and civilians, are holed up in a military complex with hundreds of flesh-eaters roaming around on the outside.

There has been a time leap since Dawn, so the zombies are slowly decomposing and are looking more gray and green than in the previous ‘Dead’ movies. The different groups living in the claustrophobic complex are each dealing with the situation in their own way. The scientists are searching for a way to ‘control’ the zombies, while the soldiers want to wipe them all out. The few civilians on the other hand, just want to enjoy the time they have left.

The lack of any prospects starts to create tension within the group. Especially with the psychopathic Captain Rhodes (Joe Polito) who commands the small military force. Before long, their infighting leads to a final clash with the zombies. Romero shows us once again that humans are a greater danger to themselves than any outside threat.

Romero called Day of the Dead his favorite entry in the series, even though it was derided by critics upon release. Today the film got more of a cult status. And justly so. As a film basically showing total apocalypse, it succeeds brilliantly. The only problem is that it’s pretty depressing. From Dr. ‘Frankenstein’ Logan conducting gruesome experiments on zombies in his underground lab to the unpleasant characters: it all contributes to making this film pretty hard to sit through. In Dawn, the shopping mall location lended itself well for some inventive humor. The funniest thing about Day is the ‘intelligent’ zombie Bub who even utters some dialogue in the film (A..llli….ciaaaa…).

Romero’s golden touch, the fantastic special make-up effects by Tom Savini and the dark atmosphere make this a must-see for horror fans. The successful military satire is another good reason to see Day of the Dead. However, dejected types might be better off not watching this. Like the other ‘Dead’ films its concept may well be brilliant, but it is still a nasty and depressive movie. Twenty years later Romero would continue his series with Land of the Dead.

Rating:

Biography: George A. Romero (1940, New York), who lived in Pittsburgh, made his feature debut with Night of the Living Dead. It was a low budget zombie movie that was both groundbreaking and shocking in its time. Quickly, it became a major horror classic. He then directed some smaller, personal films in which he often combined horror and social commentary. In 1978 he topped the success of Night of the Living Dead with his brilliant follow-up Dawn of the Dead. In the eighties his career stagnated a bit when he created the third part in his zombie series Day of the Dead. It was a failure both commercially and critically. In 2005 Romero made a small comeback with Land of the Dead. Romero died in 2017.

Filmography (a selection): Night of the Living Dead (1968) / There’s Always Vanilla (1971) / Season of the Witch (1972) / The Winners (1973, TV episodes) / The Crazies (1973) / O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose (1974, TV doc) / Martin (1977) / Dawn of the Dead (1978) / Knightriders (1981) / Creepshow (1982) / Day of the Dead (1985) / Monkey Shines (1988) / Two Evil Eyes (1990) [with Dario Argento] / The Dark Half (1993) / Bruiser (2000) / Land of the Dead (2005) / Diary of the Dead (2007) / Survival of the Dead (2009)

Night of the Living Dead

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: George A. Romero
Written by: John A. Russo, George A. Romero
Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman

Year / Country: 1968, USA
Running Time: 96 mins.

Director George A. Romero, who would dedicate most of his film career to making zombie movies, lays much of the groundwork right here. His feature debut would become an example of how to make a low budget horror movie; unknown actors, one central location and elements of social satire that appeal to the more intellectual viewer.

John and Barbra are visiting a graveyard where their father is buried, when John notices a strange phenomenon in the sky. Soon after they are attacked by a living dead man. Barbra manages to flee to a seemingly deserted farmhouse, leaving the annoying John behind as a zombie snack. In the farmhouse, Barbra soon gets company from both the living and the dead.

A possible explanation for the catastrophe is radiation that was released as a result from a NASA operation whereby a satellite was blown into bits. Romero’s message comes to the surface: not only are humans the cause of the major crisis, they are unable to deal with it once it’s there.

What works so well about this concept is the notion of crisis that erupts once the zombies are there. Their insatiable lust for human flesh and their large numbers make them a major threat. However, they are not nearly as scary as humans can be; narrow-minded, cruel and incapable of collaboration. A crisis of this scope would undoubtedly destroy us all.

There are many other elements that Romero would repeat and elaborate on in the zombie sequels that would follow. These include a lot of infighting among the ethnically mixed group of survivors, many panicky TV- and radio broadcasts, and quite a lot of graphic violence. Certainly considering the time in which this film was released.

Then there is the unexpected twist at the end that contributes to Night of the Living Dead’s status as a groundbreaking classic. The only thing I found lacking was the humour that its sequels contained. However this is still a film that is as tense as it is relevant. Maybe even more so in present times than back in 68’.

Rating:

Biography: George A. Romero (1940, New York), who lived in Pittsburgh, made his feature debut with Night of the Living Dead. It was a low budget zombie movie that was both groundbreaking and shocking in its time. Quickly, it became a major horror classic. He then directed some smaller, personal films in which he often combined horror and social commentary. In 1978 he topped the success of Night of the Living Dead with his brilliant follow-up Dawn of the Dead. In the eighties his career stagnated a bit when he created the third part in his zombie series Day of the Dead. It was a failure both commercially and critically. It is more appreciated nowadays. In a recent feature by Empire – The 25 Best Zombie Movies Of All Time – it is ranked second only after Dawn of the Dead. In 2005 Romero made a small comeback with Land of the Dead. He died in 2017.

Filmography (a selection): Night of the Living Dead (1968) / There’s Always Vanilla (1971) / Season of the Witch (1972) / The Winners (1973, TV episodes) / The Crazies (1973) / O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose (1974, TV doc) / Martin (1977) / Dawn of the Dead (1978) / Knightriders (1981) / Creepshow (1982) / Day of the Dead (1985) / Monkey Shines (1988) / Two Evil Eyes (1990) [with Dario Argento] / The Dark Half (1993) / Bruiser (2000) / Land of the Dead (2005) / Diary of the Dead (2007) / Survival of the Dead (2009)