Holiday of the Dead an anthology

published by Wild Wolf Publishing 2011

"Holiday of the Dead" is a remarkable collection of stories from a wide variety of authors about our favorite scare, zombies.  There are as many types of zombie stories in this anthology as there are stories and there are lots of them.

All of these stories are absolutely wonderful!  They are well written and tons fun to read.  I'm sure that readers will enjoy each and every one of these tales.  They are gruesome, scary and even a few of them are very sad.  They'll evoke an even wider variety of emotions depending on the story. I loved all of them.  Some of these stories really stand out, though.  The ones that really captured my imagination and earned the highest marks are "Dark Inside" by Shaun Jeffrey which cleverly tells from a zombies point of view and is set on a cruise ship.  "Cherry" by Tony Wright was also in that number and warns the reader of the consequences of misdeeds during a zombie outbreak.  "A Side of Cranberries" stands out because it is a great tale of revenge and the results of a guilty conscious.  "Thanksgiving Feast" is a story that will make the reader chuckle and was a true delight in reading.  Tonia Brown gives the readers another zombie treat in "Naked Fear" which has an unusual way of facing a phobia.  Other stories that make exceptionally high marks are "Storm Coming Down" by Iain S. Paton, "Zombie World:Death Perception" by Calvin A. L. Miller, "Rockets Red Glare" by Bowie Ibarra, "Larry and Hanks Big Dead Fishing Adventure" by Eric S. Brown, James Cheetham's "Wabigoon" and "Where Moth and Rust Destroy" by Thomas Emson which is particularly grisly.

The stories that weren't mentioned were also very interesting and made for the very best in zombie reading. Each of these stories have characters that are captivating and unforgettable. These stories are  excellent, outstanding  and I thoughly enjoyed reading each of them.  I've read many anthologies and this one has to be the best one by far. It had so many talented writers and had a huge array of living dead exquisiteness.  This book is a very rare treasure for the mind's eye.

"Holiday of the Dead" is available in E-Format from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Cover art by Peter Fussey

The Living End

A zombie novel by James Robert Smith

On occasion I have the privilege of setting down with a good zombie novel and proceed to engross myself into the character/characters and world the author has created. While each are good in some areas, there are others who exceed in areas a reader would not have expected. This is refreshing and I always enjoy getting into the writers head and seeing a full blown zombie apocalypse from their respective point of view.

I had originally intended to do a review of another film until one of my friends had mentioned this movie in a Facebook posting. This is one of those movies that you hear about, but forget about until someone reminds you about its existence. I’m writing this preface before I watch the movie.

Let me give you a little backstory about this film, which has no descriptions on it other than “mockumentary” and “horror”. The director is credited to John Erick Dowdle, the same guy who is credited as a director for Devil, Quarantine (the remake of the brilliant Spanish zombie horror [Rec] ), The Dry Spell, and Full Moon Rising. He also wrote this film and the screenplay for the aforementioned movies (except Devil which was written by M. Night Shyamalan). He’s also credited as a writer for Quarantine’s sequel. With all that said, I’m sure I know what I’m in for.

I avoid reading plot descriptions or spoilers before I watch movies, so this is what I caught skimming though the descriptions. I found the whole movie streaming on youtube, and on Google Video. I’m unable to provide an Amazon link but that’s no fault of mine. Hell, I’d love to give you a link to buy this movie, but there is none. Seriously. I even went on Netflix to try to rent it, all I found was a TBA note and nothing else. Note that this movie was released in 2007, and we are in 2011.

As someone who studies criminal behavior in general I wondered if the film had anything in common with the Poughkeepsie Murders, lo and behold it did, but the similarities end at the murders. This would be like saying the movie “From Hell” is a factual account of Jack the Ripper. A fictional account of true events. (As good or bad as that analogy may be, I’m sticking to it.)

I’m going to sit down and watch the movie. This From the Grave will be a bit different. I feel it in my blood.

Here's a poster to tide you over.

I didn't think I was going to see Vanilla Sky again.

This is me after watching the movie. I was tempted to write the review as I watched the movie, however I’d rather not spoil the fun for those of you who will hunt down this rare piece of Horror Filmmaking and watch it for yourself. Going in with what I knew about the film only made the movie somewhat weirder. Because I know most of the main cast is used again in Quarantine (no joke, look up the cast), and most of the film takes place in the form of ‘Found Footage’ that is “mandatory viewing” to students of Forensic Profiling.

This has elements of 70’s Grindhouse filmmaking with some complex psychological horror mixed in.

Not to break reality here, but any required material might just be kept under wraps. What is shown is supposed to drive the people who watch it insane, really. None of it drove me nuts. I will say that the movie itself is quite effective at keeping you on the edge of your seat at times, simply because you know what’s going to happen. That anticipatory suspense is by far the worst.

There are some things in the film that I will go back and point out as just weird. I had initially intended on mentioning Amber Alerts, but they were not put into full effect until around 2001. Which was after the events of this movie. Assuming that the killer in this movie was practicing his trade for a long time, I’ll have to say that the scene where he kills a child is kind of odd and unnerving. But the scene is very Reservoir Dogs in the sense that you don’t actually see him kill her. You just hear *THUD* and then you see him scurry off like Zoidberg. I just find it too uneasing that the 911 operator would say “if it’s a missing persons we’ll have to wait 24 hours” when the mother is on the line screaming and pleading “MY BABY’S BEEN TAKEN OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!” It’s just…not right.

I’ll stand by the comment that at any given time there are about 50 estimated serial killers in the United States (sometimes more depending on who you ask, I’ve heard that there is at least one in every zip code). That’s something I have heard numerous times, but some officials are afraid to admit that because it’s: “Scary.”

I would nitpick on little criminal profiling things, but it’s a movie. …(bites fist…restrains…then screams)….Okay! I’ll zone in on the multiple profiling montage towards the end. This irritated me since it really seemed to make a mockery of the whole process and show that there really isn’t a difference between profiles. If you get a hold of this movie, watch this scene and try not to laugh. That seemed almost a moot point by the time they got to it anyway. The main killer is a f**king psychopath. Let it be and don’t show him as being anything more than a Sociopathic killer. What should have been there is a criminal psychologist talking about all the facets of Antisocial Personality Disorder and showing how this character fits that description based on the videos.

It seems that the most work was put into writing 25% of the movie, and it was scattered around when the director finished doing his (possibly) 2 hours of “home video” footage and edited it in. I have seen far worse than what is on this video. When the little girl is hit, you just hear it and don’t actually see anything. And no the woman who plays Cheryl actually has her hand, she was in Quarantine. Don’t believe me, here’s her IMDB linkhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm1089340/.

Bam. Boom. Zip. She was probably the one of the better actresses in the whole movie anyways, besides this guy.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0582239/

The killer. Ed. It struck me with how well he pulled off the lines and the torture scenes. Then I saw his IMDB page and I realized that he’s kind of typecast into the character. Ben Messmer, I'd love to give him a role as something other than an "Enthusiastic Stalker."

Now I’m going to lay off railing the movie and get into what I think should be said about it.

I like how they pointed out when he chloroformed the chick in the car and the camera was held at a near impossible angle. That was pretty good. I actually enjoyed how that was explained that away. The black and white dismemberment shots were pretty nice, and artsy. But in that good way. I actually liked how 70’s film noir they seemed.

This movie should not be so hard to find. Even though it does add to its ‘aura’ it still is kind of irritating. Okay, it’s very irritating. I know that the compression artifacts add to making some scenes difficult to make out and having your imagination fill in the gaps, but this just doesn’t feel right. I’d like to actually see some of what’s going on. I will put this movie a step above the Last Broadcast because it kept the same pacing, and mood throughout most of its run.

Not only those things, but because some actual thought was put into how sadistic this killer was going to be. I can see influences from almost every horror movie killer I’ve ever watched and from almost every serial killer I’ve ever studied. The only things not present in this killer are: cannibalism and…he seems to not enjoy showing his face. Hmmmm….

With all those tapes you're bound to find some Balloon porn in there, oh wait. 
There is Balloon porn on some of the tapes.

I think the man needs to get his taste buds tuned. This is not a snuff film. It’s actually pretty damn good when you look past my nitpickings. I’m sure that had this movie not been buried by whoever buried it (be they the production company or the writer/director himself) we would have a much better film. But to be quite honest with you, for how well it’s made and its overall appeal (sure as hell beat the human centipede in my book) I’ll have to give it a:

Drumroll

9/10.

Yep, you read right, a 9 out of freaking 10. I’m not a critic. I’m a reviewer who loves to be entertained, and it’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve been this entertained. This movie is even worth doing a rifftrax over. Which I may do, provided there's a demand for it.

And how the hell did he get off framing that cop anyways? If someone can actually let me know exactly how he got someone else’s genetic secretions onto a female body then you get a free download code for one of my albums.

Memorable Quotes:

“There are probably hours and hours of these tapes that nobodys watched except me. Like, for example, there’s over a hundred hours of weird balloon stuff on these tapes.” –Simon Alray (the tapes guy) Holy crap did you ad lib that yourself?

“I think torturing and murdering turn him on.” – Felton Lewis (the FBI Profiler) You think?

*The whole dismemberment chat.* - Jason Ribling (dismemberment guy) – The way this guy does his monologue is just nicely done. It seemed authentic for a guy who does this kind of job all day and then is called in for an interview and realizes that he’s just too crass about it.

“Why did you call me officer?” - Ed (the killer) I chucked there.

“Because I’m not a cop” – Ed (the killer) heh…

“You’re not (a cop)?” – Samantha (the victim) duh…winning.

“Don’t you know about assumptions, they make an ass out of You and Me.” – Ed (the killer) – Actually this whole scene is great. And kind of like…whoa…well done.

(And no the woman who plays Cheryl actually has her hand, she was in Quarantine. Don’t believe me, here’s her IMDB linkhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm1089340/.)

Bam. Boom. Zip. She was probably the one of the better actresses in the whole movie anyways, besides this guy.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0582239/

The killer. Ed. It struck me with how well he pulled off the lines and the torture scenes. Then I saw his IMDB page and I realized that he’s kind of typecast into the character. Ben Messmer, I'd love to give him a role as something other than an "Enthusiastic Stalker."

Now I’m going to lay off railing the movie and get into what I think should be said about it.

I like how they pointed out when he chloroformed the chick in the car and the camera was held at a near impossible angle. That was pretty good. I actually enjoyed how that was explained that away. The black and white dismemberment shots were pretty nice, and artsy. But in that good way. I actually liked how 70’s film noir they seemed.

This movie should not be so hard to find. Even though it does add to its ‘aura’ it still is kind of irritating. Okay, it’s very irritating. I know that the compression artifacts add to making some scenes difficult to make out and having your imagination fill in the gaps, but this just doesn’t feel right. I’d like to actually see some of what’s going on. I will put this movie a step above the Last Broadcast because it kept the same pacing, and mood throughout most of its run.

Not only those things, but because some actual thought was put into how sadistic this killer was going to be. I can see influences from almost every horror movie killer I’ve ever watched and from almost every serial killer I’ve ever studied. The only things not present in this killer are: cannibalism and…he seems to not enjoy showing his face. Hmmmm….

Space Dust, yes it’s space dust that caused the zombies. Wait, this isn’t another Days of Darkness review, this is another movie. No, not the Andromeda Strain (an awesome, non-zombie, book). This is another movie that was suggested to me during my zombie horror binge. This is Fido. Released in 2006, I nearly forgot about this movie. A Canadian Comedy about zombies.

Let’s look at the poster before I continue with the actual review.

I’ve seen a couple posters, so I’ll post the posters I found for Promotional and Reference purposes.

Whoa grandpa, you scared me!

The movie starts off with an American black and white propaganda film very similar to those in the 1940’s-50’s. This short film lays out the “zombie rules”. “Zombie rules” are what I like the call the guidelines that the writers base their zombies on. You know, the basic questions: “Are they dead?” “How does one become a zombie?” “How do you kill them?” You know, the basics.

Be sure to walk your zombie at least twice a day!

These zombies were brought on by Radioactive Space Dust that coated the earth, causing the dead to…get up and live (*cough cough*). These zombies don’t just want your brains, they want your flesh. They’re killed by destroying the brain, a la headshots. There’s a catch though, a company called Zomcon devised a way to control the undead and make them “as gentle as a household pet,” which brings us back to the title: Fido.

A film screened at Sundance and about three other indie film festivals, I have to say that this niche movie is up on my (currently non-existent) list of zombie movies. As slow as it is at times, it makes up for it with its humor. I would call this a family movie, but with all the gore it’s not really a family movie per se.

Things turn bad when Fido bites the mean old neighbor after his collar turns off and his hunger for flesh is awakened for a brief moment. I had one of my friends comment on how this movie even more supported the theory that zombie movies are a statement on how some of us are slaves to our society. I couldn’t argue with him seeing as the zombies in the movie are, essentially slaves. But please man, don’t pull me away from my dream that one day I will have my very own zombie pet, and if that doesn’t work out. Then I’ll have myself a panda.

"Relax honey, he's just smiling."

We see a nice little 1950’s style zombie massacre in the middle of the movie using revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. It’s pretty neat. I won’t ruin the movie for you, but like any family movie it has its ups and downs. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you wish that tomorrow you’ll have your own privately owned zombie servant.

The soundtrack is pretty damn good. Good luck finding the songs on it, you might have to buy them each off amazon or itunes, and retag them yourself. When I googled ‘Fido Soundtrack’ I only found the one song “Ninety Nine Pounds of Dynamite” on Amazon as a search result. So you may need to jump over to IMDB and look up the soundtrack there if you feel inclined to pick up the songs one by one.

The movie does a good job at giving a different look on the zombie genre. Instead of the horrific monsters, we see these horribly misunderstood creatures. Well, that’s partly due to the collars, but let’s just ignore that and appreciate some good comedy here. You're going to love the ending.

8/10 – It’s worth a good watch. I would like to say your kids can watch it, but it is Rated R for a reason.

Notable Quotes:

“I’d rather be a zombie than dead.” - Indeed Timmy.

“Just because your father tried to eat you does that mean we all have to be unhappy…forever?” - Thank you for summing up a majority of the character!

“That’s Mr. Bottom's lamp.” - Wait…you have a neighbor named Mr. Bottoms?

*Camera shows a decapitated head in formaldehyde.* “That is uncle Bob.” - Whoa, man...whoa...zombie obsession duly noted.