With the unfortunate death of George A. Romero this year, now is the best time to re-visit “Night of the Living Dead.” It’s hard to believe what one small mistake could have done to alter history, as Romero’s accidental omission of the copyright sign for “Night of the Living Dead” allowed his horror masterpiece to become public domain, and for his idea of the zombie to become open game for anyone and everyone with an imagination. Just imagine if Romero had copyrighted the concept of the flesh eating zombie and we probably wouldn’t have about eighty percent of the zombie movies we have today.
Tag Archives: Science Fiction
Bride of Frankie (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]
While the Doctor is away, his assistant will play. As the mad-scientist is out, his not-so-mad assistant works on getting his creation a friend. As the friend comes to life, the assistant teaches her how to live and how to love.
The Munsters’ Revenge (1981)
Even in 1981, “The Munsters” are still so damn funny. “The Munsters’ Revenge” is the monster family once again getting in to a misadventure and learning how to beat the bad guy with the help of their twisted magic and family unity. I laughed a lot during this TV movie featuring most of the brood from the original sitcom. Sure, the original three monsters are showing a bit of their age here, but the movie feels like an extended episode with sharp comic timing, some hilarious gags, and a great supporting cast. Best of all there’s Sid Caesar and Bob Hastings who derived the most laughs out of me. In fact, the latter had me bursting in to hysterics as uncle Phantom of the Opera.
Imitation Girl (2017) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2017]
A being falls to Earth and copies the first image of a human it sees. Living as this girl, she starts learning about family, love, and life. As she does, the girl she has copied lives her life in New York, working in the adult industries and slowly losing herself. As their lives evolve, their meeting is unavoidable and may bring them more than they expect.
Un ciel bleu presque parfait (A Nearly Perfect Blue Sky) (2016) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]
Following an accident, a brother takes care of his paraplegic sister while preparing for the arrival of other beings.
This film by artist Quarxx is one of those that must be seen. The story is well-developed and done in just about the perfect way. The way the story approaches multiple issues including gun violence, disability, the burden of taking care of a loved one, and others is tactful and done with care. The script approaches these issues in respectful ways while also given them the room to be properly shown and have their effects be clear. The writing and directing brings these to the forefront while still letting the film be about the people and how these things affect them.
Transmission (2017) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2017]
A man is kept captive; his captor both tortures him and spoils him. What does he want? Why is he doing this?
Written and directed by Tom Hancock and Varun Raman, this short has more questions than it gives answers, creating an odd mystery as it entertains with its proceedings. The two leads are used as nemesis in a way and the story unfolds as an odd game of captor/captive that seems to be going to a definite ending but turns out to be something else entirely. The film’s story keeps most of its action in one location and uses this location to its maximum potential. The small cast actually helps the story in creating a sort of intimate chaos.
Welcome to Willits (2016)
A group of friends goes camping near Willits, CA. There, the locals grow very potent weed and smoke it as well while they are attacked and abducted by aliens on the regular.
The film is written by Tim Ryan and directed by Trevor Ryan who team up here to give the viewer a completely insane experience in which it’s hard to know what is true and what is a hallucination. The film plays with this constantly with only a few characters being sober and all there. The film also mixes in a tv show the locals watch called Fist of Justice which stars Dolph Lundgren. This addition sounds ridiculous at first, but it works in the film’s context. The way it goes back and forth between the two groups of people and the tv show creates a chaotic feeling for the story that works great with its insanity. The way characters created here are ridiculous but feel like real people in their environment and against one another.