COMIC TITLE: DCeased #1 (2019)
Trevor Hairsine and James Harren– Artist
Tom Taylor–Writer
May 1, 2019
DC Comics
One of the most exciting books to come out this week comes to us from DC Comics and it’s the latest horror injected miniseries they are doing. There are a lot of great first issues that have come out this week, but DCeased #1 is the comic book that caught my attention and I had to have it. To be perfectly honest, it was Yasmine Putri ‘s movie variant cover that really caught my attention as they did a parody of 2017’s IT movie poster with The Joker as Pennywise and Robin as Georgie. In the issue, the Justice League has just defeated Darkseid and all of his minions or so they think they have defeated him, but Batman notices that Cyborg is missing. When Darkseid returns to his home planet, he activates the anti-life equation and when he is returned to Earth, the equation links itself to all digital devices and begins turning the citizens into rabid zombies. Now, it is up to Superman and co. to try and figure out how in the heck can they stop this virus before it’s too late. For more information on the comic and anything else DC related, you can find out by visiting their website here.
What I truly love about this story is that they take what all of society is addicted to and they make it our worst nightmare. To avoid being infected, you have to avoid all forms of social media and television. Darkseid has literally sent the world into the dark ages if you think about it because how are you going to get the news if you can’t use your phone, tablet, or TV? As simple of an idea as it is, it was definitely a smart route to go because we are always exploring the dangers of technology and we always have through films and comics. I feel as though this comic starts right where Justice League 2 the film would have ended if that was still going to be a thing for the DCEU. Darkseid was going to be the main villain and this definitely explores the aftermath and how we are foolish for thinking we’ve won the war. The artwork to the comic was definitely phenomenal and I can not wait to see what they bring to the table in issue #2. This could definitely be one heck of a ride moving forward. Check out my grades below:
Grades:
Story/Plot: A+
Artwork: A+
Character Representation: A+
Entertainment Value: A+
Kelli Maroney (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) was recently local to me when she appeared at Rock And Shock in Worcester, but unfortunately I did not get to meet her. I had seen her in many films, but the one film that I did not get to see her in until today was the 1984 horror comedy Night Of The Comet. All of California and most of the country I believe is excited because a rare comet is about to pass the Earth. Everyone is making a big deal about it except for two sisters in Samantha (Maroney) and Regina Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart). When both sisters wake up the next day, they realize that everyone is gone and that they have been turned to dust thanks to the comet, but whoever was only exposed a little bit is being turned into zombies and there is a group of evil scientists looking for survivors who weren’t exposed. The film also stars Robert Beltran (Lone Wolf McQuade) as Hector, Sharon Farrell (Arcade) as Doris, Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000) as Audrey White, Geoffrey Lewis (Bronco Billy) as Dr. Carter, Peter Fox (Simon & Simon) as Dr. Wilson, John Achorn (Teen Wolf) as Oscar, Ivan E. Roth (Dead Heat) as Willy, Michael Bowen (On The Line) as Larry, Devon Ericson (Quincy M.E.) as Minder, and the film was directed by Thom Eberhardt (Captain Ron).
There are movies that are just too awful that they are not enjoyable to watch and then there are films that are campy and cheesy, but they are so enjoyable to watch. This is one of those films that is campy and cheesy that is so much fun to watch. I have always thought that Geoffrey Lewis was a great actor, but he looks like Andy Warhol trying to be a scientist in a film with that ridiculous wig on his head. Every time I saw him on screen, I giggled a little bit. I loved the idea of what happens to Earth if it’s only survivors are two valley girls from California and I believe this movie best represents that. I thought it was also funny that they couldn’t get the rights to have Cyndi Lauper’s version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun so they used a cover of the track for the film by Tami Holbrook (voice of Tommy Pickles of Rugrats). I definitely believe that the make up and special effects artists deserve some kudos for a job well done on the zombies and the people that slowly are turning into zombies. I think that was more creepy than the full blown zombies in the film. I thought the writing was great because they knew exactly what kind of a film that they wanted and they went for it. The acting was also a highlight because a film like this is not enjoyable if the acting sucks. I had a lot of fun watching this film so I am going to give it an A- for a final grade.
The film that I chose for today was inspired by a visit to my local theater last night. Last night I believe was the last chance you had to see the 50TH anniversary screening of Night Of The Living Dead and it was awesome. That is when I decided that I wanted to see a zombie film and I figured I would check out the fourth film in the Return Of The Living Dead series entitled Return Of The Living Dead: Necropolis which was released in 2005. When Zeke Borden (Elvin Dandel) goes down in a motorcross accident, his friends go searching for him, but the only problem is that he is not at an hospital, but at a research facility. When they go to rescue him, they unwillingly unleash the undead. The film also stars John Keefe (Here We Go) as Julian, Aimee Lynn Chadwick (Las Vegas) as Becky, Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles) as Cody, Jana Kramer (Friday Night Lights) as Katie, Peter Coyote (The Legend Of Billie Jean) as Uncle Charles, Alexandru Geoana (Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud) as Jake, Diana Munteanu (Seed Of Chucky) as Mimi Romero, Toma Danila (The Devil Inside) as Carlos, Gelu Nitu (Icon) as Boris, Boris Petroff (The Prophecy: Uprising) as Crusty, and the film was directed by Ellory Elkayem (Eight Legged Freaks).
I only have one rule when heading into a zombie film and that is you do not change the science of how to kill a zombie. George Romero set the guidelines in 1968 that you either burned them to ash, disconnected the head from the body, or you hit him with a bullet to the brain or you stab the brain. That is how you kill a zombie and for the most part they followed it with some of them in the beginning of the film, but then they ignored it with just shooting them anywhere or snapping their necks like you’re in a kung fu movie. To top that, one of the zombies was fully conscious and he could kick your ass for the most part which while it was annoying, I got over it. They had everything from regular zombies to have borg (Star Trek) like zombies armed with heavy artillery which just made no sense to me, but it is a research facility so I’ll let that one slide. With the certain actors they had in this film, I was quite surprised at how cringe worthy their acting was especially from Peter Coyote who I thought was great in so many films. Cory Hardrict, I have seen in many films, but this was not one of those brilliant performances. Overall, the film was just a recipe for disaster and I was trying to figure out where in the hell in the world were they? This is definitely a film that you may want to think twice about and just enjoy the original three films in the series that were brilliant. I am going to give the film an D+ for a final grade.
When there is a ton of buzz surrounding a film, I immediately feel like I have to see it for myself to naturally see what hall the buzz is about. There was recently some buzz surrounding a horror film from South Korea that was apparently getting a sequel based off the success of the first film, but I had never seen Train To Busan and thanks to Netflix it is today’s film. The film stars Yoo Gong (Goblin) as Seok-woo, a funds manager who is always too busy at work to realize what is happening right in front of him. After realizing that he hasn’t been there for his daughter Soo-an (Su-an Kim), he agrees to take her by train to Busan. The only problem is that this day isn’t like any other day because there has been a breakout and zombies are on that train. Yu-mi Jung (A Bittersweet Life) as Seong-kyeong, Dong-seok Ma (The Good The Bad The Weird) as Sang-hwa, Eui-sung Kim (Assassination) as Yon-suk, Sohee (Hellcats) as Jin-hee, Gwi-hwa Choi (A Taxi Driver) as Homeless Man, Seok-yong Jeong (The City Of Violence) as Captain of KTX, Soo-jung Ye (The Thieves) as In-gil, Myung-shin Park (Lady Vengeance) as Jong-gil, and the film was directed by Sang-ho Yeon (The King Of Pigs).
One thing that I have always given Asian cinema as far as credit is concerned is that they are great story tellers. I have never left an Korean or Japanese film and not said that the film had an amazing story behind it. I mean they cover all their bases as far as the story is concerned with a main story line, tons of great sub-plots, and plenty of are you kidding me moments as well. One of the elements of the film that struck me was the moment when they’ve all made it safely to the last car to join with the others, but as soon as one of them says that they are infected, they treat them like dirt. It’s the idea of how fear can force people to make brash decisions without any rational thoughts to them. That is what happens in the film and what causes lives to be lost in a time when they should band together. I think the special effects were pretty bad ass especially when the zombies are attacking and creating formations to better themselves make up department deserves some praise as well. There is a point in the film where you think that it’s over, but then there’s more chaos that leads to a rather tragic ending. This was the first Korean Zombie flick to top the box office there and I am not surprised at all. Now I want to check out the sequel to the film cause I want to see where they go with it. I am going to give Train To Busan an A for a final grade because it had a great story, great cinematography, and the right amount of gore to make a point.
Yesterday we talked about great Italian horror filmmakers as we checked out a film from one director and today I decided to do the same. Lucio Fulci is one of the most legendary Italian directors who directed films like The Black Cat, The Beyond, The House By The Cemetery, and so much more. In 1979, he would go on to direct today’s film known as Luico Fulci’s Zombie here in the states, but it was originally entitled Zombi II. All Anne Bowles (
Much to my surprise, I am certainly glad that I went out of my way to watch the film because this was very enjoyable. For the most part, you feel as if the main characters are walking into danger the closer they get to the island and that there is no hope for them unless they can get home. There is only one problem with that and that is that Fulci will crush your hopes and dreams in an instant. I loved that about the film because he reminds you of what happened in the beginning of the film and that it will come back to bite you in the you know what. I have to give Auretta Gay a lot of credit in this film because she goes scuba diving with a string thong and no bra and then has to battle a shark and an underwater zombie which was one of the coolest sequences of the film. I also want to give credit to Ramón Bravo for that scene because he has to go underwater for probably a while. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was crazy about the makeup and the way the zombies looked, but they have been living as corpses so their skin won’t be in great shape. The sets were great and the cinematography was excellent, but I have to give one department credit. That department that deserves credit is the screenwriters because I loved the idea of this doctor not believing in voodoo and rather trying to prove what is happening with science. It’s a classic case of religion vs science that we’ve seen plenty of times since 1979. Check out this classic for yourself, I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
Back in 2009, a little known horror film called Dead Snow would take the horror world by surprise with Nazi Zombies attacking poor Norwegian kids in a mountain cabin. With that being said, I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out the sequel Dead Snow 2: Red Vs Dead (Død snø 2) for today’s film. Poor Martin (Vegar Hoel) has survived the horrific events of that unfaithful night, but he is being held by the police in suspicion of the murders of his friends. He soon discovers that Herzog (Ørjan Gamst), the leader of the Nazi Zombies is still on the hunt and he plans to kill everyone in a small Norweigan town. Martin has to escape and he has to figure out a way to stop them and he does with the help of a couple of Americans. The film also stars Martin Starr (Knocked Up) as Daniel, Jocelyn DeBoer (5 To 7) as Monica, Ingrid Haas (Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) as Blake, Stig Frode Henriksen (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) as Glenn, Hallvard Holmen (The Other Side Of Sunday) as Gunga, Amrita Acharia (Kiss The Devil In The Dark) as Reidun, Derek Mears (Friday The 13TH) as Stavarin, Kristoffer Joner (The Wave) as Sidekick Zombie, and the film was directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow).
What a movie this was from beginning to end, it was just very cool to watch. The film takes the zombie genre and they bring it to a whole new area. The film has all the horror you would want from a zombie film and they throw in some kick ass action and some comedy to go along with it. The final battle scene at the end when Martin, The Zombie Squad, and the Soviet Zombies take on the Nazi Zombies is a bad ass sequence that is definitely worth watching. The film has all the blood and guts any gore fan could possibly want out of the film as well and we see some inventive ways to kill zombies too. One thing that I want to remind you all going into this film is that it’s a zombie movie, so don’t expect Oscar winning performances. Expect a film that is fun to watch and knows that it’s a silly idea that absolutely works. That is what truly makes the film great is that you can tell that they had fun with the idea. I mean I don’t want to give this away, but spoiler alert, there is a sex scene at the end between a zombie and a human. That should definitely say it all right there. If you haven’t seen the first Dead Snow, you should, but you can get away with not because this gives you a brief recap in the beginning. Check this out on Netflix right now as we speak. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it was fun and I enjoyed it.