Saturday was just one of those days. One of those days where I really couldn't be bothered doing anything at all. So I grabbed a six-pack and a pack of cigarettes, parked my ass on the couch and decided to just watch movies all day. I have these days every now and then, so I've decided to use them as a chance to blog and do some short mini-reviews of the movies I watch.
On today's menu: Zombies & Nazis.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
An absolute classic. I'm sure I don't need to go into the details of the plot, so I won't. I've always been a bit unsure on how I feel about this movie. My personal idea of what a zombie should be is basically what was shown in Night of the Living Dead. A mindless, shambling, reanimated corpse which acts purely on instinct. The zombies in ROTLD are very different. They are reanimated corpses but they can talk, use tools and even formulate plans. Despite these problems however, I can't help but love this movie. The awesome soundtrack provided by bands like 45 Grave, The Cramps, TSOL and The Damned. The famous naked graveyard dance. And of course the movie gave us Tarman, who is one of the most badass zombies ever. This is one of my favorite zombie movies, and if you haven't seen it then make sure you do.
ZOMBIE LAKE (1981)
Wow. Going from ROTLD to this was a bit of a shock to the system. I'd never actually seen this before and I really hope I never have to see it again. ZOMBIE LAKE is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the previous movie, and is a strong contender for worst zombie movie ever made. It's about a bunch of Nazis who's bodies were thrown into a lake after they were killed by the French resistance. They return as zombies. I think. Basically they just look like men with a bit of patchy green paint on their faces. You can easily see some of them take a deep breath before they go underwater, and all they really seem to do is bite peoples' necks and then leave the bodies lying there. No flesh eating or brain eating. And then there's the ridiculous subplot which involves one zombie reuniting with his daughter. No joke. And I have to mention the horrible acting and of course the terrible dubbing. The only good part was all of the gratuitous female nudity. Stay far away from this.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD Part II (1988)
A military truck transports the 2-4-5 Trioxin barrels from the first film. They fall out of the back and one tumbles down into a river. Kids find the barrel, open it and unleash the Trioxin within.
Obviously this sequel was aimed at a teenage audience, which isn't good because it means there is a lot less gore than in the first movie. The inclusion of James Karen and Thom Matthews playing different characters than in the original film is pretty cool. They even refer to this fact, saying something along the lines of "I feel like we've been here before"
The soundtrack is pretty lousy (except for the inclusion of Anthrax) and there is no nudity. With basically the same storyline, you're better off watching the first movie. This sequel isn't too bad (better than Zombie Lake at least) but it's not great either.
OUTPOST (2008)
A guy hires a group of soldiers to escort him to a secret underground Nazi bunker. He promises that it will be an easy in-and-out job. But of course it isn't. They find the bunker, inside which are a bunch of bodies and one survivor. Before long they find themselves under attack from an unknown enemy. It turns out that the bunker houses a machine which the Nazis developed to create a race of unstoppable zombie/ghost/ghoul soldiers.
It's a good concept, but poorly executed. The inconsistencies in the enemy were terrible. At one point they can sneak in and out completely unseen, walk through locked doors and never set of a single trip wire or claymore. Then suddenly towards the end they come bumbling down to the bunker, tripping all of the wires and can't get through the locked doors. What the fuck? Apart from that it is a fairly good film and I believe there is a sequel on the way. Let's hope they address the problems from the first movie.
SHOCK WAVES (1977)
I'd never seen this before, but Peter Cushing? John Carradine? Nazi zombies? How could it possibly be bad?
A small group of vacationers are taking a boat trip around a group of islands. Suddenly out of nowhere comes a massive ship and sideswipes the small boat. They end up stranded on a reef with a damaged hull and when daylight comes they find themselves not too far out from an island. The island is inhabited by Peter Cushing who was a Nazi commander in charge of the 'Death Corps", a group of undead soldiers which can survive underwater. The undead soldiers return to the island and slowly start killing everybody off.
I was a bit disappointed. There was basically no gore, the zombies didn't look undead enough and Peter Cushing's German/British accent was terrible. It's a fun movie, but not a must-see.
On today's menu: Zombies & Nazis.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
Wow. Going from ROTLD to this was a bit of a shock to the system. I'd never actually seen this before and I really hope I never have to see it again. ZOMBIE LAKE is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the previous movie, and is a strong contender for worst zombie movie ever made. It's about a bunch of Nazis who's bodies were thrown into a lake after they were killed by the French resistance. They return as zombies. I think. Basically they just look like men with a bit of patchy green paint on their faces. You can easily see some of them take a deep breath before they go underwater, and all they really seem to do is bite peoples' necks and then leave the bodies lying there. No flesh eating or brain eating. And then there's the ridiculous subplot which involves one zombie reuniting with his daughter. No joke. And I have to mention the horrible acting and of course the terrible dubbing. The only good part was all of the gratuitous female nudity. Stay far away from this.
A military truck transports the 2-4-5 Trioxin barrels from the first film. They fall out of the back and one tumbles down into a river. Kids find the barrel, open it and unleash the Trioxin within.
Obviously this sequel was aimed at a teenage audience, which isn't good because it means there is a lot less gore than in the first movie. The inclusion of James Karen and Thom Matthews playing different characters than in the original film is pretty cool. They even refer to this fact, saying something along the lines of "I feel like we've been here before"
The soundtrack is pretty lousy (except for the inclusion of Anthrax) and there is no nudity. With basically the same storyline, you're better off watching the first movie. This sequel isn't too bad (better than Zombie Lake at least) but it's not great either.
A guy hires a group of soldiers to escort him to a secret underground Nazi bunker. He promises that it will be an easy in-and-out job. But of course it isn't. They find the bunker, inside which are a bunch of bodies and one survivor. Before long they find themselves under attack from an unknown enemy. It turns out that the bunker houses a machine which the Nazis developed to create a race of unstoppable zombie/ghost/ghoul soldiers.
It's a good concept, but poorly executed. The inconsistencies in the enemy were terrible. At one point they can sneak in and out completely unseen, walk through locked doors and never set of a single trip wire or claymore. Then suddenly towards the end they come bumbling down to the bunker, tripping all of the wires and can't get through the locked doors. What the fuck? Apart from that it is a fairly good film and I believe there is a sequel on the way. Let's hope they address the problems from the first movie.
I'd never seen this before, but Peter Cushing? John Carradine? Nazi zombies? How could it possibly be bad?
A small group of vacationers are taking a boat trip around a group of islands. Suddenly out of nowhere comes a massive ship and sideswipes the small boat. They end up stranded on a reef with a damaged hull and when daylight comes they find themselves not too far out from an island. The island is inhabited by Peter Cushing who was a Nazi commander in charge of the 'Death Corps", a group of undead soldiers which can survive underwater. The undead soldiers return to the island and slowly start killing everybody off.
I was a bit disappointed. There was basically no gore, the zombies didn't look undead enough and Peter Cushing's German/British accent was terrible. It's a fun movie, but not a must-see.
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