Detention Of The Dead (2013)

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Director Alex Craig Mann’s horror zombie comedy would probably like to be considered an amalgam of “Shaun of the Dead” with “The Breakfast Club.” And while those attempts at claiming both territories are admirable, his film never quite lives up to aspiring for both heights at all. Mann’s film starts out respectably, taking beats from “Shaun” with moments of school activity interrupted by zombies lurking in the background and stumbling in to class. And then suddenly everything goes to hell. The problem is while it seems to enjoy “Shaun” very much, it’s never as humorous or clever. When it has the chance to compensate for that flaw by focusing on rich and complex characters, it doesn’t do that as well as it should, either.

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Perished (2011)

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Despite its brutally predictable ending, the Australian short zombie film “Perished” is a grueling and terrifying horror entry. Once again, a storyteller has the idea to feature less zombie carnage and explore the minutiae of survival where every little step dictates whether you live or die by tooth and nail of the walking dead.

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The Battery (2012)

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I wish more zombie movies could be like Jeremy Gardner’s “The Battery.” The problem with most modern zombie films is that the writers forget that the humans should be the centerpiece of the film, and not the zombies. Director Jeremy Gardner’s “The Battery” is the prime example of how to handle this kind of genre entertainment with a low budget. Rather than flood the screen with zombies, the monsters are used sparingly and for great moments of terror and memorable scenes, while Gardner focuses primarily on character, building two complex and unique people we can love and hate, in many ways.

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Zombies Un-Brained 12 Film Flesh Fest (DVD)

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This October, zombie fans are able to scoop up the newest film compilation from Mill Creek Entertainment. With over sixteen hours of classic and not so classic zombie movies, this is for the horror fans looking for more with their bucks. The 1962 shocker “Carnival of Souls” is a classic spook fest, about a young woman who crashes in to a lake and survives to tell the tale. Trying to make sense of the incident, she finds herself being stalked by pale bug eyed zombies, all of whom are identical and desperate to take her. For reasons unknown (until the very end), she can’t escape their grasp.

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A Tribute to Michael Jackon’s “Thriller”

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I was born in 1983, so I was basically a newborn when the craze that was “Thriller” stormed the world and changed the face of music permanently. Every music video since “Thriller” has tried to top Michael Jackson. And they have all failed. However, as I grew up during some of the eighties and the nineties, I do have three very fond memories concerning “Thriller.”My older cousin’s room was located at the end of his house’s hall, and on the front of his door, he had a humongous poster of “Thriller” with Michael Jackson and the entire horde of zombies around him.

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Best Friends Forever (2013)

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I’ll be honest, I’ve been crushing hard on Brea Grant since her days on “Heroes,” so when I heard she had a movie out where she starred, I made it my mission to watch it. Thankfully, “Best Friends Forever” is a low budget but incredibly well realized apocalyptic horror drama with a geek edge that Grant is now known for. Grant is so adorable in “Best Friends Forever,” she may garner a few more fans. “Best Friends Forever” is basically “Harry & Tonto” meets “A Boy and His Dog.” Except with two beautiful women. To boot, it garners immense heart and rather fantastic performances by Director/co-star/co-writer Grant and co-writer/co-star Vera Miao, both of whom play friends uncertain of their future that realize the world around them has no future.

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Afterlife with Archie #1

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Spawned from a mock variant cover last year, “Afterlife with Archie” is another of the many unique attempts by Archie Comics to re-claim their relevance. After wisely acknowledging that there are such things as gay people in their universe, Archie is now embracing the horror genre. Thankfully, this crossover isn’t disastrous like their crossover with The Punisher. This is more demented with a hint of genius like “Marvel Zombies.” I don’t know how long this series can go before it gets boring, but so far I’m loving the dark nature of the Archie Universe.

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