Sorry about the delay. I was a judge at a 24-hour play competition last night (more about that later tonight on Caliban's Revenge) and I got home way to late to post, so you get 'The Zombie Zone Lite,' this afternoon. So let's get started.
Tonight in Zombie Fiction:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, already slated for a film adaptation starring Natalie Portman, has a prequel. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will be released this Tuesday.
"Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls—a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Or so says the press release on Quirk's site. Now there's nothing wrong with promoting a new book, whether its good or bad. But I've noticed this very bizarre trend of filmed trailers for books.
The first one I really remember seeing was last year, with the release of Stephen King's Under the Dome. Then I remember seeing one for a Steampunk adventure novel. And last week, I stumbled upon the trailer for PP&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (I refuse to type that whole, ridiculous title). I was just sort trolling YouTube for a suitable Clip of the Week candidate and there it was, in all its infinite silliness, complete with bad acting, silly stunt fighting and lots and lots of blood. Check it out:
Tonight in Zombie Fiction:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, already slated for a film adaptation starring Natalie Portman, has a prequel. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will be released this Tuesday.
"Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls—a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Or so says the press release on Quirk's site. Now there's nothing wrong with promoting a new book, whether its good or bad. But I've noticed this very bizarre trend of filmed trailers for books.
The first one I really remember seeing was last year, with the release of Stephen King's Under the Dome. Then I remember seeing one for a Steampunk adventure novel. And last week, I stumbled upon the trailer for PP&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (I refuse to type that whole, ridiculous title). I was just sort trolling YouTube for a suitable Clip of the Week candidate and there it was, in all its infinite silliness, complete with bad acting, silly stunt fighting and lots and lots of blood. Check it out:
What do you think? I the acting is my favorite thing about that trailer.
In Zombie News:
From True/Slant (via) comes this excellent essay by Mark Dery on Zombies, the econopocalypse, modern society and the loss of individuality.
"The zombie is a polyvalent revenant, a bloating signifier that has given shape, alternately, to repressed memories of slavery’s horrors; white alienation from the darker Other; Cold War nightmares of mushroom clouds and megadeaths; the post-traumatic fallout of the AIDS pandemic; and free-floating anxieties about viral plagues and bioengineered outbreaks (as in 28 Days Later and Left 4 Dead, troubled dreams for an age of Avian flu and H1N1, when viruses leap the species barrier and spread, via jet travel, into global pandemics seemingly overnight. Which may be why the Infected, as they’re called in both the film and the game, move at terrifying, jump-cut speed, unlike their lumbering, stuporous predecessors.)"
A truly fascinating read and one of the best essays I've read on the topic.
And tonight's Zombie Clip of the Week:
From True/Slant (via) comes this excellent essay by Mark Dery on Zombies, the econopocalypse, modern society and the loss of individuality.
"The zombie is a polyvalent revenant, a bloating signifier that has given shape, alternately, to repressed memories of slavery’s horrors; white alienation from the darker Other; Cold War nightmares of mushroom clouds and megadeaths; the post-traumatic fallout of the AIDS pandemic; and free-floating anxieties about viral plagues and bioengineered outbreaks (as in 28 Days Later and Left 4 Dead, troubled dreams for an age of Avian flu and H1N1, when viruses leap the species barrier and spread, via jet travel, into global pandemics seemingly overnight. Which may be why the Infected, as they’re called in both the film and the game, move at terrifying, jump-cut speed, unlike their lumbering, stuporous predecessors.)"
A truly fascinating read and one of the best essays I've read on the topic.
And tonight's Zombie Clip of the Week:
Yes, it's Lucio Fulci's Zombie 2, featuring the infamous Zombie Vs Shark scene. I remember seeing this in a theater filled with people who spent so much time screaming at the screen, we couldn't hear a word that was being said (not the dialog was all that good, or even important), so we left and got our money back. And Tisa Farrow is indeed Mia Farrow's younger sister. Tisa made a handful of crappy Italian horror movies and then retired from acting at the tender age of 29, to be forgotten and never heard from again. Years later I finally got to see Zombie 2 on VHS and learned that I really hadn't missed much. Some gruesome effects didn't make up for the movie's overall craptitude. I have no idea why this 1979 stinker is so revered. A bad movie is a bad movie, no matter what the genre. And Zombie 2 is bad, bad movie. What say all of you?
More, next week.
Prospero
More, next week.
Prospero
No comments:
Post a Comment