Movie review of Zombie Movie

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Zombie Movie

May 28th 2007 00:04

The other night Orble film nut John Doe and myself indulged in a mini horror fest; we watched five movies back to back … I guess I’m a nut too. The first in the marathon screening was a short Kiwi gem I’d not heard of (and being a New Zealander this somewhat perturbed me); the title is simply Zombie Movie (2005).

Being a short film its never had a theatrical run, but its won a couple of awards (best horror-comedy short film at the Screamfest L.A. International Horror Film Festival and best short film at the New York City Horror Festival), and I can see why; it’s a smart and blackly funny take on the zombie predicament and because the two filmmakers behind it – director, actor and co-writer Ben Stenbeck and writer, cinematographer Michael J. Asquith – were part of Peter Jackson’s WETA special effects team on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the zombie and gore effects are top notch.

Every day's a bad hair day!

Paul (Simon Niblett), Darryn (Des Morgan) and Sam (Ben Stenbeck) are three bogans (mulleted, metal-lovin’ petrolheads, or thereabouts) trapped in a filthy car surrounded by shuffling groaning zombies somewhere in New Zealand in 1986. They pass the time with wisecracks and the occasional gripe, until Darryn discovers a can of petrol in the back of the station wagon, “Geniuses! Just like Sabbath!”

All hail the zombie sabbath!

But, one must remember in the realm of the zombie movie Murphy’s Law reigns supreme. Where Darryn thought the petrol tank was located … it wasn’t. They drilled a hole and poured the petrol straight through the car’s floor. A couple of days pass and Sam’s had enough. He insists the other two kill him, put him out of his misery. Darryn asks if they can cook and eat him. Seems like a reasonably half-witted idea.

But killing Sam isn’t that easy either. And to add insult to injury Paul’s zombie bite infection has gotten a whole lot worse. The potato chip rations have almost run dry. The back of the car is full of plastic bags of urine. And there are no more cigarettes.

Pretty much the entire 15-minute film takes place in the car. It makes sense then that the car itself is credited in the cast list; a 1965 Holden EH Station Wagon (a classic Kiwi bogan vehicle). The performances and characterizations of Simon Niblett and Ben Stenbeck are easily the strongest, and their dialogue is frequently very funny, albeit riddled with crude expletives.

zombies to the left, zombies to the right

The background zombies are only really glimpsed at, but they look disgustingly convincing; yellow skin, dark pus-oozing eyes and slimy gaping wounds. The cinematography is suitably shadowy, yet swamped in the sickly shades of a colourful bruise, further heightening the sense of claustrophobia.

This is a most oily comedy indeed, of the vehicular kind. I’m sure if George Romero saw this he’d have a chuckle or three, and if Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg saw this they’d be laughing their tits off. In fact Zombie Movie would make a great pairing with Shaun of the Dead (2005) … yeah, fully, ay bro!

You can download the movie for free at Asquith and Stenbeck’s 2chums website! Enjoy!

* the images on this page are courtesy of www.roberthood.net

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

14 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by David

May 28th 2007 00:14

Bryn ...

One night I was watching late-night TV and saw this half-hour show about four washed-out demons sitting at an American diner reminiscing about the 'good old days' ...

Do you have any idea what it was? ...

I'd love to see it again ...

David ...

Comment by Damo

May 28th 2007 00:28

we watched five movies back to back

That is beyond the limits of human endurance.
Are you sure that you are still human?

To get away with that I would have to promise to watch at least a dozen Chick Flicks back to back as punishment.

I know which zombies are worse?
Chick Flick Zombies

Comment by Tracy

May 28th 2007 00:44

Movies and Life

Isn't that about ten hours viewing? Gosh.....how did you do it? Did you eat inbetween or during?

Comment by Bryn

May 28th 2007 02:41

Horrorphile

David, I'm intrigued ... can't say I know it ... That it was only half an hour long makes it that much harder to identify. What channel was it on? Do you remember if it was part of an anthology series ie Twilight Zone ...??

Damo, five chick flicks back to back would officially rate as a nightmare in my books!

Tracy, well the first flick was only fifteen minutes long and another was only an hour long, so all up it was around 6 or 7 hours viewing ... We ate pasta during the first feature (a deeply twisted Italian gorefest, yumyum!), and then had the munchies later on ... lol

Comment by Tracy

May 28th 2007 06:42

Movies and Life

Aha.....sounds like you had the food all sorted.....

Comment by Cibbuano

May 28th 2007 16:05

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

sounds brilliant Bryn, I'll download it now! Great find...

Comment by JohnDoe

May 28th 2007 22:03

Film & TV on DVD

It was a great night Bryn,

Zombie Movie was a gold.

A mighty marathon of necrophilia, beastiality and numerous other onscreen taboos, what a night.

Comment by Nickoftime's Sanity Corner

May 28th 2007 22:36

Bryn,

sounds like you two had a blast! I'd of had to take some kind of break though or I'd of gone blind!

LOL

Great review!

Take care,

Nick

Comment by KylieW

May 29th 2007 02:22

Celebrity Obsession

Bryn,

This sounds great. I shall download it and watch it.

5 movies back to back. I'm impressed. I haven't done that in a while. Sounds like fun though.

Kylie

Comment by Bryn

May 29th 2007 05:31

Horrorphile

Yeaaah, we cine-partners-in-crime had some fun fer sure .... tip o' the iceberg really.

Comment by Ruby

May 30th 2007 14:09

The Rubik's Cube

Bryn, the only back to back shows I've ever watched was The Simpsons Halloween Special. Gawd damn! 8 hours straight.

Anywho.... this movie looks ridiculously intriguing enough. Definitely will try to download it later in the week.

Cheers!

Comment by D. Armenta

May 30th 2007 22:34

The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.

Oh man, I am SO all over this one..love love love the whole "Dead" series, "Dawn of the Dead" being the funniest!

I was all ready to ask you what you thought of "Shawn of the Dead" but you got me in the last paragraph, LOL!

I've gotcha beat..9 hours of movies back to back--during hurricane Georges here a few years back. Cable was out....

Love you posts! Reading on.