The Zed Word is a weekly updated blog focusing on all things ZOMBIE! Here you will find news, original reviews and lists, as well as links to interviews, video and art.
About Me
ZedWord
I'm a teacher, writer, zombie enthusiast, and volunteer organizer for the Hamilton Zombie Walk.
Screw the hotly awaited and hotly debated Left 4 Dead 2 that was released today.
I want Eric Ruth's fan-made, 8-bit version of Left 4 Dead on the NES!
Taking the popular cooperative zombie shooter game and turning it into a top-down style game, Eric Ruth of PixelForce has created a cute directional action/shooter version of Left 4 Dead with a resolution of 256 x 240, 16 colors, and a 4 sound channel soundtrack.
Check out the video of the game play! We wish Eric Ruth all the best as he scratch-builds this game from level to level and campaign to campaign.
Directors: Phil Pattison and Jeff Beckman
RATING:
3/5 zedheads
Vs. the Dead from RABIDOG FILMS is like a steak prepared by an verdant but inexperienced chef. The meal may not be perfect -- some parts are a little tough and chewy to get through -- but once you get to the tender meat, it tastes so sweet.
I attended a screening of the very new and very independent film Vs. the Dead during Horror in the Hammer's November 6th screening of the film that kicked off the Hamilton Film Festival. It was our NIGHT OF THE INDEPENDENTS, and our screening of Vs. the Dead was only its third public screening. Previously, it premiered for two showings at The Movie Palace theatre.
Of specific interest to me, Vs. the Dead is a zombie film shot and set in the city I now call home: Hamilton, Ontario. On the one hand, I'm happy to report that Vs. the Dead is a stylish and technically impressive film as a low-budget independent feature. It showcases some amazing special makeup effects by Carlos Henriques. On the other hand, it's overly long, and its plot and characters barely work to sustain a feature-length project.
Vs. the Dead begins with a fun premise: a canister of a dangerous military toxin is lost on transport through the city of Hamilton, Ontario. The chemical in question is used in warfare to reanimate dead soldiers so they can return to attack the enemy. For the most part, the zombies will only attack the people they hated in life. Unfortunately, the canister is mistaken for tattoo pigment by a skeevy and drunk tattoo artist named Scratchy Dan. He uses the toxin to sink some infectious ink into the skin of the locals. In particular, a group of tattooed slackers convince a local pizza parlor owner to get a tattoo at Scratchy Dan's by promising that if he gets inked there then the slackers will never set foot in the pizza parlor again. Zombies and gore ensue as the slackers must face off against the dead.
Vs. the Dead is truly independent. According to co-director Phil Pattison, Vs. the Dead was filmed on a budget not even close to what most studios pay for craft services. You wouldn't expect a very low budget, however, because the film looks impressive and is stylishly edited. Carlos Henriques' special makeup effects in particular add some truly fantastic-looking zombies to the film. There are also brief yet bright moments of truly sharp and funny dialogue. The film's strengths are best demonstrated in a zombie battle scene within Scratchy Dan's health-code-violation of a tattoo parlor. The blood and quips fly in a brisk sequence that is smartly edited and a pleasure to watch.
You can get a real feel for the film's cinematic potential in its official trailer:
Unfortunately, there's a lot of dead space in Vs. the Dead between the good parts. I wish more of the movie could have been as tight and well-paced as the trailer and zombie scenes. Frankly, there is a lot of wasted opportunity in the movie. In particular, the story and characters are weakly developed. Character sequences run on for far too long and very little happens to further the story. Too many unnecessary characters are introduced that divert attention away from the arcs of the established characters. These same arcs fizzle out early on and never progress. In particular, an employee at a pizza shop (Dave Montour) is introduced as a key character who is conflicted about whether to be professional at his job or cater to his slacker friends that his boss hates. A love interest for him is briefly hinted at when a group of hot girls drop by for pizza. Neither the character's growth nor his connection to his love interest go anywhere. The hot girls never reappear. The film places each character of the cast on a narrative path, but those paths are never meaningfully or satisfyingly explored. As a result, the narrative stalls and becomes repetitive. The middle of the film just drags on into a anti-climactic conclusion.
Okay, so it's not zombies, but any horror fan worth her or his salt at least has a passing familiarity with Lloyd Kaufman's The Toxic Avenger. Toxie's been in movies and children's cartoon shows, and now he's poised to become a musical star in Canada too. The Toxic Avenger Musical has come to Toronto. I hope I will get to see the show and tell you all how The Toxic Avenger Musical interprets Kaufman's cult classic antihero for the stage.
Read on for the press release...........................
Dancap Productions
Presents
The Canadian premiere of
THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL
Book & Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music & Lyrics by David Bryan
Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s “The Toxic Avenger”
The Music Hall, Toronto
Toronto – Dancap Productions Inc. would like to give fair warning to all of Toronto; the Toxic Avenger is going to “kick kick kick kick kick your ass”. THE TOXIC AVENGER MUSICAL is on stage now at The Music Hall, 147 Danforth Avenue.
A toxic love story, with a rock and roll score by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan, THE TOXIC AVENGER is directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando and stars Dora Award-winner and Tony Award-nominee Louise Pitre, Brittany Gray,Jamie McKnight, Daren A. Herbert and Evan Alexander Smith as the titular Toxie.
This in’toxic’cating musical has it all; a mutant freak super hero, a beautiful blind librarian, a corrupt New Jersey Mayor, two guys who play EVERYONE ELSE, and even an environmental cause.
Evil-doers and polluters can run and hide, but the Toxic Avenger will prevail!
Dancap Productions Inc. presents
THE TOXIC AVENGER
Book & Lyrics by Joe DiPietro
Music & Lyrics by David Bryan
Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s “The Toxic Avenger”
Directed by John Rando
Starring Evan Alexander Smith, Brittany Gray, Daren A. Herbert,
Jamie McKnight and Louise Pitre
The Music Hall, 147 Danforth Avenue (at Broadview Avenue)
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