Cinema Crazed

2005

Rated: Unrated

Genre: Horror Comedy Short

Directed By: Bill Whirity

Running Time: 12 Minutes

Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.

Review Date: 9/18/06

ZOMBIE ISLAND

Bill Whirity’s “Zombie Island” is set in a reality, where a local town attracts tourists by inviting young hunting aficionados to a small little island off their coast. This particular tourist attraction happens to be an island filled with zombies. Three young guys looking for a good time beg to go on the island, and do so by a boater who hands them firearms and handheld weapons. At first, the tourist attraction seems more like a tourist trap, but as the zombies start popping up, the game no longer becomes fun. “Zombie Island” is sixty percent horror and forty percent comedy (look for the subtle very funny reference to “Saved by the Bell”), and Whirity balances both aspects well. How did the zombies get on the island?

Where did they come from? Who cares, Whirity’s low budget zom-com is funny, creepy, and worth the time spent. It’s one of the more competent indie zombie movies I’ve seen in a while, and I enjoyed every goofy offering in this short. In only twelve minutes, Whirity composes more creeps and laughs than Uwe Boll’s “House of the Dead” put together, and loves to raise the level of sheer carnage. The zombie population on the island is not so much thrown together, but Whirity suggests that a large portion of this population is from dumb tourists looking for a good time. It’s a great way for this town to keep the attraction going and increase the numbers for future tourists to continue the fun. Normally, zombie movies made on such a low budget, end up really stupid, or just a massive waste of time, but I found myself spooked by this, and Whirity takes his resources and uses them well.

Whirity does a great job here, constructing a funny comedy, and a rather creepy zombie movie that relies on its cast, and story to get it going along. "Zombie Island" is very creepy and a really good horror film.

For More information about “Zombie Island,” visit the official homepage: http://www.myspace.com/zombieisland

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