“Train to Busan” is very much steeped in the idea of humans using the warped concepts of segregation and isolation as a means to survive, not only from the menaces lurking outside our doors, but inevitably from one another. Sook-woo is a hopelessly disconnected workaholic who is confined to his office desk and is still reeling from a bad divorce. Trying to rebound from a bad business deal with a local corporation, and re-connect with his estranged daughter Soo-ahn, he submits to her birthday plea of taking her to Busan on train to see her mother. Despite protesting against it initially, he accompanies her to see her mom. But much to his, and everyone’s surprise, a viral outbreak has exploded on to the train station turning the infected in to rabid, running, flesh eating zombies.
Tag Archives: Zombies
The Return of the Living Dead (1985): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
It’s not often that filmmakers strive to set themselves apart from what’s been widely embraced by the horror community and manage to properly redefine a subgenre. Before “Return of the Living Dead” fans accepted the walking dead shambled slowly toward you and ate flesh, but Dan O’Bannon transformed his zombies in to undead crack heads. Said undead crack heads bolted toward their prey like lightning, were devilishly clever, and craved human brains as a source of nourishment. Though “Return of the Living Dead” has a remarkable sense of humor and will inspire a lot of uneasy laughs from the audience, it’s through and through a creepy horror thriller about groups of people fending off undead monsters from every corner while trying to escape Kentucky as it’s ravaged by brain eating ghouls.
Creature Feature (2015)
Creature Feature was written and directed by Chase Smith, based on a story by himself, Lance Paul, and Edward Boss. Smith usually works in independent film where, as can be seen his this film and his other work, he makes the most of his low budget and crafts possibly his most fun title to date. The way he builds this film is fun and entertaining. He takes multiple classic horror and Halloween character, gives each a story to star in, then adds fodder for these to play with, and interconnects it all in a way that works really well, something that is not easy to do.
On Halloween night, friends go to a party and tell horror stories. The stories here are imbued with the spirit of Samhain and interconnect through characters and timeline, making it hard to tell too much about them without giving too much away. Part of the stories involves a clown, a zombie, a werewolf, witches, and a certain Jack. The characters are well written, the dialogue is decent, and none of the separate stories overstay their welcome. Being the writer and director of all the stories, it’s easier to keep them coherent in storytelling, visual style, and mood.
The cast for all those characters is good, none of them doing badly. However, with such a big cast, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. That being said, this reviewer particularly liked the performance by Chase Smith regular Lance Paul as one of the partying storytellers, Jackson. He has a twinkle in his eye as he tells his story that just makes his presence shine. The rest of cast does well, looks good, and goes for it with their all in a lot of scenes. It must be noted that a few of the ladies have no issues being topless, showing what Mother Nature/God gave them (natural boobs alert here!), adding to the general fun and the Halloween film spirit.
As this is a monster film and a horror movie, there is gore and blood, quite the good amount of both. Most of the effects look to be practical, something that is always appreciated, and were done by Alex-Michael Petty, Amber Actaboski, Benji Dove, and Andrea Joe. These effects look good and not just “for the budget”; they look good and add a lot to the film. Practical effects always seem to be gooier and better to this reviewer. There is plenty here and it’s much appreciated. Adding to all this is the music by Brian Popkin which adds to the mood and atmosphere of the scenes it highlights.
Creature Feature is a fun, entertaining romp of an anthology set at Halloween time making it perfect for a seasonal or party setting viewing. It has a couple of issues but is a nice popcorn horror film which makes it easy to overlook those issues. If brings some scares but not enough to keep casual horror watchers away and the ambiance of it is not of dread, more like a spooky Halloween night. The stories have connections to classic tales making it easily accessible and they are often more than what they seem at first. The look and effects transcend its budget and the spirit of Samhain running through it will capture the attention of most viewers.
It’s yet another recent release From Spirit World Films to add to the Halloween playlist for this year and years to come.
The Walking Dead: Alien
This is the story of Jeff, a visitor to Barcelona Spain. Furthering my idea that there are endless stories to be told in Robert Kirkman’s universe, Brian K. Vaughan takes on a one shot about the story of a tourist named Jeff and how he fared in the zombie apocalypse. Jeff is not the solid and heroic kind of man, and unlike his family, Jeff is one with a Peter Pan complex seeking a future of his own. Though many have theorized that the zombie apocalypse was unleashed in the US, Vaughan explores how it ravaged Europe just like it did in the South.
Five Great Films Set Over The Course of a Night
One of my current favorite directors Richard Linklater has currently released his spiritual sequel to his hit 1993 film “Dazed and Confused” entitled “Everybody Wants Some!!”, another drama comedy about a group of young people trying to survive the seventies. After his heavy and meaningful “Boyhood,” it’s nice to see Linklater coming back to a breezier departure that promises to be just as raucous and funny as its predecessor “Dazed and Confused.” Since I’m excited for “Everybody Wants Some!!” and consider “Dazed and Confused” a favorite of mine, I thought I’d list five great films that unfold over the course of a single night much like “Dazed and Confused” does. What are some of your favorites?
The Top Ten Most Shocking Moments of “The Walking Dead” Season Six
Despite the fact that the season finale was nothing but build up and hype leading in to a basic goose egg of a final scene, season six of “The Walking Dead” was pretty damn great. What with Rick and co. earning their place at Alexandria, they finally cemented their spots as important pieces of the town and made it their business to help the towns folks master surviving the world of the walking dead. Despite some of Rick’s harsh methods, he aims high to bring Alexandria to new areas of development, which include a humongous plot to derail a massive onslaught of the dead from leaking out of a local quarry. Though the plan fails thanks to an attack by the vicious clan of the wolves, Rick and co. do their best to bounce back from the botched mission, and everyone pretty much evolve, learning something new and defining about themselves.
My Boyfriend’s Back (1993) [Blu-Ray]
Say what you want about Bob Balaban’s horror comedy “My Boyfriend’s Back,” but it’s one of the more pleasant and twisted films to ever come out of the nineties. This was a decade where horror almost died, and what horror there was was deadly serious. “My Boyfriend’s Back” is a funny and sometimes demented take on acceptance with Andrew Lowery giving a bang up performance as Johnny Dingle. Dingle is a love starved high schooler who has the deepest affections for his lifelong love Missy McCloud. To win her heart, he stages a fake grocery store robbery to save her, but things go awry when an actual robbery ensues, and Johnny is murdered. Mysteriously, he comes back from the dead and is told that he can lurk around, but only in the confines of the town cemetery.