I don’t know if there’s a horror sub-genre more flexible and adaptable than the zombie story. It can do straight horror, gore, comedy, romance, tragedy, and can give us social commentary, or just give us a white-knuckle thrill ride. This time out, it’s a pontificiation on humanity, our treatment of others, growth, and nurturing. Mike…
Tag: zombie
TIFF24: Ick dir. Joseph Kahn
I had a great time with Kahn’s Detention so was ready to happily slip into his latest effort, Ick. A bit of a combination between Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, Night of the Living Dead and The Faculty, Kahn’s film suggests that there is a lot of fun to be had, but it…
Pontypool (2008) – Bruce McDonald
Bruce McDonald directs this unique take on the zombie film which was written by Tony Burgess, which he adapted from his own novel. The film is set predominantly in one location, the sound booth of a radio station, and features strong performances from Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, and Georgina Reilly. McHattie, who is always a…
World War Z (2013) – Marc Forster
I was reticent to watch World War Z when it was first released. Not because it was Brad Pitt, but because I knew there was no way to faithfully adapt and honor Max Brooks novel on which the film is based. So now, ten years later, I was finally ready for it. And while it…
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) – John McPhail
A Christmas Zombie Horror Musical Comedy sounds like a definite win. I missed Anna and the Apocalypse when it played at Toronto After Dark a few years ago, and I was a little bummed about it. But now that the holidays have rolled around, I figured I could take a look at it and figure…
The Dead Don’t Die (2019) – Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch writes and directs this zombie film that is more in line with the Romero created monster than the running creatures that have been made so popular of late. In fact, the entire film plays out at an enjoyably relaxing pace, letting the story brew, the characters breathe, and the oddities, eccentricities, and the…
TAD 2021: Super Z dir. Julien de Volte, and Arnaud Tabarly
Zombie features at Toronto After Dark are never your run of the mill selections. With so many entries in this horror sub-genre, and so many ways to adapt the subject matter to social commentary, it’s unusual to find a unique offering in the field. France’s Super Z is definitely unique. Having its World Premiere virtually…
The X-Files (1999) – Hungry, and Millennium
Vince Gilligan delivers the first monster-of-the-week episode of the seventh season with Hungry, an episode that first aired on 21 November, 1999. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are investigating a strange murder in California, a body is recovered with no brain matter, and a strange hole that Mulder thinks may have been a…
Peninsula (2020) – Sang-ho Yeon
I remember seeing Train to Busan back in 2016, at my fave film fest, Toronto After Dark, and was excited to see it just from the buzz around it at the festival. I was completely wowed,and have since recommended it constantly. I loved what Yeon did with the film, the way the story played out,…
Star Trek: Enterprise (2003) – Impulse, and Exile
Captain’s log: date unknown Johnathan Fernandez pen the teleplay for this episode from a story he developed with Terry Matalas. It first debuted on 8 October, 2003. The Enterprise discovers another anomaly in the Delphic Expanse, when they respond to a distress call from a lost Vulcan ship. When they arrive they find the crew…
The Mind Reels 