The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) – Wes Craven

My exploration of the zombie genre with DK Canada’s eminently enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book continues with this over-fictionalized adaption of a real anthropological exploration and documentation of real-life zombies by ethnobotanist Wade Davis. Director Wes Craven used Davis’ book of the same name as the launching point for his horror film starring Bill…

Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead (2009) – Steve Perry

Haiti 1943. Steve Perry pens the last (to date) canon novel in the Indiana Jones series, that is set five years after The Last Crusade, and takes place in the midst of the Second World War. Indy is older now, in his forties, he is working for the OSS, and he is joined by his…

Hot Docs 2014: Doc of the Dead (Alexandre Philippe)

Zombies. The zombies are taking over tonight at 11:59pm at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema with the international premiere of Philippe’s highly enjoyable, and extremely entertaining look at the world of the undead. Starting with its cinematic roots, the film journeys back to White Zombie, where we are introduced to the voodoo zombie before George…

Hot Docs: Fatal Assistance – Raoul Peck

Fatal Assistance is a complex film discussing the nature of foreign aid in disaster situations and its actual practice, Peck gives the viewer a glaring indictment of the actions of international aid organizations and their impact on Haiti after the horrific earthquake of 2010. He shows us a broken system. Instead of funneling the aid…