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I'm honestly still not sure what to even make of this short zombie film
even hours after seeing it. It's ridiculous, ultimately pointless, and
just loud, but... it's also creepy, brilliantly directed, and the zombie
effects are some of the best I've seen in a while. "Paris by Night of
the Living Dead" is a pretty straight forward zombie short film that
doesn't pretend it's anything other than an excuse to show zombies being
massacred, mutilated and blown up in about as much excessive ways as
humanly possible. It's just fast paced and insanely absurd, but I
couldn't stop watching it. It's almost like a more serious version of "Zombieland"
or a smart version of "Resident Evil." A young man and a young woman are
getting married in an empty picturesque church with a priest who is
joyously reading them their vows. Though they're happy you can sense
something is amidst as their joy is cut with an undertone of sadness. As
they proclaim their love for one another they head off down the aisle
and turn to see... the priest being devoured by rabid zombies. From
there the movie goes on auto drive as this young couple literally fights
on their wedding day to make it out of the church and out of Paris as we
learn Paris has been destroyed and is a wasteland for the walking dead.
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The zombie effects are fantastic
as every single shambling monster has their own unique
feature and morbid characteristic that makes them just eerie
to look at. From there on in the movie features the young
couple fighting through groups of the dead with various
weapons. Chainsaws, machine guns, swords, and even a missile
launcher aids them in their quest to fight the walking dead
and live at least one day as a married couple. |
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Gregory Morin's direction is pretty damn
stellar as he depicts the action sequences in such a brisk manner that
make these gore sequences so compelling and disgusting to watch, and he
never hesitates to get creative featuring our young femme lodging a
machine gun in to a zombie's eye, unloading, and reloading only to blow
his head in to smithereens in a mere second. Things get tragic as a
twist turns the couple against one another and as the events unfold,
we're left with a sickly comical and tragically romantic closing scene.
The shocker comes when Morin cuts to the credits only to feature yet
another couple in yet another massive location alluding to a possible
sequel that--frankly--I am excited to see if it develops in to something
as entertaining as this. Morin's direction is top notch and this is a
zombie epic that you can sit and watch without feeling guilty about. I
especially love the second Easter egg in the end of the closing credits
that is an obvious homage to Thriller.
As far
as story goes, it's basically slim pickings, and it's not much for
brains (a flashback to something that happened five minutes before?) but
for what it is, "Paris by Night of the Living Dead" is a wicked, wild
rollercoaster of a zombie action flick with fantastic special effects,
disgusting zombie make up, and a clever finisher that will definitely
leave you wanting more.
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