Zombie Jamboree
Oct. 16th, 2003 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursangnomeI went to the movies last night. Normally, I don't write about movies, but this experience was thought-provoking enough to merit a little scrutiny. Normally, I don't go to the movies without my Lady. Normally, I don't go to movies where I'd expect one of the main selling points to be blood and gore. So, last night, while my Lady was at SCA dance practice, I went to see a double feature of zombie movies...
I've been in Boston a long while, but for some reason I've never made it to the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. It's tucked a bit out of the way, and doesn't have a big marquee. Ticket prices are the usual downtown $8.50, but the double-feature was a two for one. The place needs a bit of work on it's audio system, the seats are a bit cramped, and it was pretty darned hot in the theatre. But, the place seems to focus on more artsy movies you won't see elsewhere, and they sell a number of different flavors of ice-cream and sorbet.
28 Days Later...
Okay, technically, they aren't zombies, in that they aren't reanimated dead people. They're still-living people infected with a virus. They don't shamble. Instead they seem to always go from point A to point B at a dead sprint. Still, it's a human being perverted so that their only thought is to kill other humans with thrashing teeth and claws, so I guess they count, as zombie. And, in the end, they aren't the point of the movie.
For folks hoping for a traditional a zombie-flick, all that would add up to a big letdown. For me, it led to a movie that was far more interesting than I was expecting. Sure, there's blood and violence, but the real point of the movie, to me, seems to be to explore what folks do in a tense post-apocalyptic setting, and the movie does that pretty darned well.
While the piece has heroism, the unfortunately plausible behavior of many of the characters leaves one with a rather bleak feeling. Combined with the dark cinematography, and expected shocks, scares, and bloody imagery, I sure would not have wanted to come back home and go right to bed after this movie.
Luckily, there was the second feature...
Versus
Zombies! Gun toting zombies! Gun toting zombies and kung-fu action! And that's only the first half of the movie! This is a low budget Japanese film. It's bad. It's so bad it's silly, and it seems to know that and try to work with it.
The first half of the movie is basic zombie-vs-gun-toting martial artist gangster action, with a few gun-toting zombies tossed in for good measure. While this is going on, the characters (such as they are) are established. Thinking back, they do a lot of work establishing characters. No mean feat when none of them even have names.
There's real meat to this movie that isn't hanging off the zombie's bodies. There's an eternal, mythic, destined showdown between... well, let's say that it's actually more complicated than "good and evil". And when they get down to it, they don't try to shake off the low-budget, bad action movie sillies. I wasn't expecting to be able to laugh heartily for a while after the first feature, but this film solidly broke the funk.
I came away rather refreshed, feeling that I'd had a good time.
I've been in Boston a long while, but for some reason I've never made it to the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. It's tucked a bit out of the way, and doesn't have a big marquee. Ticket prices are the usual downtown $8.50, but the double-feature was a two for one. The place needs a bit of work on it's audio system, the seats are a bit cramped, and it was pretty darned hot in the theatre. But, the place seems to focus on more artsy movies you won't see elsewhere, and they sell a number of different flavors of ice-cream and sorbet.
28 Days Later...
Okay, technically, they aren't zombies, in that they aren't reanimated dead people. They're still-living people infected with a virus. They don't shamble. Instead they seem to always go from point A to point B at a dead sprint. Still, it's a human being perverted so that their only thought is to kill other humans with thrashing teeth and claws, so I guess they count, as zombie. And, in the end, they aren't the point of the movie.
For folks hoping for a traditional a zombie-flick, all that would add up to a big letdown. For me, it led to a movie that was far more interesting than I was expecting. Sure, there's blood and violence, but the real point of the movie, to me, seems to be to explore what folks do in a tense post-apocalyptic setting, and the movie does that pretty darned well.
While the piece has heroism, the unfortunately plausible behavior of many of the characters leaves one with a rather bleak feeling. Combined with the dark cinematography, and expected shocks, scares, and bloody imagery, I sure would not have wanted to come back home and go right to bed after this movie.
Luckily, there was the second feature...
Versus
Zombies! Gun toting zombies! Gun toting zombies and kung-fu action! And that's only the first half of the movie! This is a low budget Japanese film. It's bad. It's so bad it's silly, and it seems to know that and try to work with it.
The first half of the movie is basic zombie-vs-gun-toting martial artist gangster action, with a few gun-toting zombies tossed in for good measure. While this is going on, the characters (such as they are) are established. Thinking back, they do a lot of work establishing characters. No mean feat when none of them even have names.
There's real meat to this movie that isn't hanging off the zombie's bodies. There's an eternal, mythic, destined showdown between... well, let's say that it's actually more complicated than "good and evil". And when they get down to it, they don't try to shake off the low-budget, bad action movie sillies. I wasn't expecting to be able to laugh heartily for a while after the first feature, but this film solidly broke the funk.
I came away rather refreshed, feeling that I'd had a good time.
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aaaa....ear worm!
Date: 2003-10-16 11:08 pm (UTC)Mind you, I didn't know that was something Belefonte had sung as well. I'm stuck with the RockApella version and the Minstrels of Mayhem version. And completely picturing the muppets joinging Belefonte a la the Banana Boat Song. :) -H...