Blood Comes From Your Throat
For the better part of a decade now, I've been working on a series of songs based on Zombi 2. There are several of these written and recorded in many forms, but I'm not finished yet.
This is a song about Susan. I originally wrote it faster and heavier, but was never really happy with the arrangement and my vocals. It kinda sucks. So I reworked the whole song, and even made a little video to go along with it that follows the story.
The Zombie Combat Manual
My friend Roger Ma from the Zombie Combat Club sent me his new book, The Zombie Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead. And I've happened to see it on the shelves of Borders and at Amazon.com, which is very cool.
I love this book. It's a comprehensive, entertaining guide for zombie fighting, written in a military style. In this well-organized and well-written manual, Ma covers everything you need to know about fighting the living dead, complete with helpful illustrations and "Combat Reports" -- interviews and accounts of encounters with zombies. It's a great blend of straightforward instruction and short storytelling.
The first section covers the facts about zombies: what they are, what they aren't, and how they function. I was particularly thrilled with the first misconception discussed: that zombies can run.
Next, the focus is turned to those fighting the zombies. Physical fitness, health and wellness are discussed in terms of zombie combat, so that those confronting the living dead can prepare as much as possible. A lot of time is spent on weapons of all kinds -- traditional battle weapons, swords, knives, blades, clubs, etc. -- as well as weapons that can be found in certain settings: the farm, the garage, the kitchen, and more.
Ma brings it all together with the final section, Combat Strategies and Techniques. Your chances of success in a skirmish with the undead will soar as all kinds of techniques and situations are covered.
"For those who have never encountered a walking cadaver, the techniques described in this section may seem vicious, brutal, perhaps even excessive and gratuitous."
Of course, the humor is implicit. The straightforward, deadpan delivery of the manual and conversational tones of the Combat Reports are inherently funny when the subject is zombies.
It's a great read. Roger Ma's zombie knowledge is unparallelled, and I can only hope to have him at my side during the next zombie outbreak. Go buy The Zombie Combat Manual right now.
Rating: 10/10
Bled White (2009)
I love independent zombie movies -- they've been slaying their big-budget Hollywood counterparts for years now. Bled White (2009) caught my attention during its production, and the good people at CU There Productions sent a DVD over for me to check out.
The movie takes place after the zombie apocalypse has struck, and what's left of society is reordering itself to deal with the flesh-hungry "zombies." People are doing whatever it takes to survive, and we follow several plot lines that intertwine. We follow two hit men, a family, and a couple running a hotel. The scenes aren't necessarily chronological, creating a darker kind of Pulp Fiction feel. Things happen at the beginning of the movie that don't quite make sense until it's connected to something else later on.
The filmmakers explore some interesting territory and have come up with some original ideas -- a big plus in my book. We see the conflict between those who believe in "killing" the zombies and those who want to them" live" in hopes of a cure being discovered. Themes of cannibalism, cheating, and survival vs. killing are also in the mix.
The characters are pretty nicely developed, and the actors perform much better than I was hoping for. Some are excellent (the lead hit men), some are mediocre, but none are bad.
On a technical level, they did a great job with a low budget. The whole movie is high-contrast, allowing for a lot of lights and shadows. They managed to film the whole thing during the winter, something not often seen in zombie movies. It works really well. Overall, the shot selection and cinematography were well done. The suspense they've created is wonderful. The editing and pacing, along with the good score and sound effects, make for great atmosphere.
Now for the zombies. Even though they run, they look good: pale with lots of blood and light blue cloudy eyes. The makeup is good -- they must have spent a fortune in blue contacts. Nothing looked fake. However, the zombies growl and roar and sound demonic -- a little too over-the-top for me. This could have been just as scary (probably scarier) with slow zombies.
The effects were good, and they kept it mostly practical. They used some digital effects -- fire, gunshot flares, clouds going over the moon, etc. -- but they don't overindulge in digital effects like a lot of low-budget movies tend to do.
All in all, this is a very good low-budget movie -- fun and gory. Also a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated zombie movie market.
Rating: 7/10
Dark Has Arrived
I'm very proud to announce the release of Dark, a horror anthology. It features a short story, "Redemption," by yours truly. And there are a lot of other authors in the book whom I'm honored to be alongside.
Order your copy from CreateSpace or Amazon, or check out the official web site.
Cinema Wasteland
This year's Cinema Wasteland just outside of Cleveland was the first one I've ever been to. I was really impressed with both the guests and the crowd -- everyone was great.
A special thanks to Jason from SRS Cinema for really hooking me up this weekend! It was great to meet and hang out with him.
Kyra Schon was the first guest I talked to, and she was really nice. She was selling really cool, high-contrast Karen Cooper posters, and I couldn't resist picking one up.
Howard Sherman played my favorite zombie: Bub from Day of the Dead (1985). Great guy!
Ian McCulloch was the lead actor in Zombie (1979), and is completely astonished by the popularity of the movie. One thing that surprised me about Mr. McCulloch is that he told me he's never seen any of Romero's zombie movies -- he said he just doesn't have the desire to. He also told me that he met Romero recently, and Romero refuses to watch Zombie (or any of its sequels) because he thinks they're all ripoffs of his work.
Al Cliver played Brian in Zombie. I learned some fascinating things from Mr. Cliver -- namely that Brian's voice in Zombie is not his. All his lines were overdubbed, and he doesn't know who did them. Also, I asked him what it was like to work with Lucio Fulci. He responded, "He was a son of a bitch." He explained that despite Fulci's reported temperament, they became good friends and made many films together.
You know who Ottaviano Dell'Acqua is, whether you realize it or not. He's the iconic Conquistador zombie that appears on the majority of Zombie materials (including my shirt). He was a really fun guy, and very energetic.
I also talked with Richard Johnson, who was really cool. For some reason I didn't think to snap a picture with him. I love his first line in Zombie: "The boat can leave now. Tell the crew."
Beatrice Ring played the lead role in Zombi 3 (1988), and is every bit as beautiful as she was when she made the movie. Zombie 3 is notorious for the nightmarish production it went through -- Lucio Fulci directed most of it, but later on, Bruno Mattei stepped in to finish it at the insistence of the studio. I asked Beatrice about how crazy the process was, and she said that it wasn't as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be. She worked with Fulci the whole time, and wasn't even aware of Mattei's part in it. "It happens all the time, in lots of movies," she explained when she talked about reshoots and studios bringing in a different director to finish a film.
When I was at Horror Realm last fall, I somehow missed speaking with Jim Krut, the helicopter zombie from Dawn of the Dead (1978). So I made sure that I got to meet him this time around, and I'm glad I did. He's very tall, and fun to talk to.
Gary Ugarek is the creator of Deadlands: The Rising and Deadlands 2: Trapped, and was there to support Jim Krut, who also starred in Deadlands 2. I ended up talking to Gary for a long time, and he's a really down-to-earth guy.
This is the second time I've met Tom Savini. I'm a huge fan of his work, and he's truly a master of what he does. Despite that, I haven't been very impressed with him personally. Both times I've talked to him, he seems annoyed that I'm there -- it's like he doesn't want to be there at all. Disappointing.
It was a blast hanging out with Tom Berdinski and the cast/crew from The Italian Zombie Movie. Tom is a good friend, and I was excited to meet him and others whose passion went into these unforgettable films. They truly know how to have a good time. And if you haven't seen parts 1 and 2 of The Italian Zombie Movie, you're definitely missing out on something special -- so go buy it!
Speaking of good friends, here's one that you'll all know -- Misfitboy. He's every bit as cool as he comes across in his reviews, and I was honored to hang out and have a few drinks with him and Mrs. Misfitboy.
This double 8-string electric guitar made specially for Saw V is a thing of beauty. It belongs to Sonny Lombardozzi, whose shredding skills are inhuman. He's a really cool guy, and now that I've checked out his music, I'm a huge fan! Find out more about Sonny at his web site.
I almost had my jugular ripped out.
What happens at Cinema Wasteland stays at Cinema Wasteland.
My first story ever published is in Dark: A Horror Anthology. Buy it!
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