Movie Review: Night Of The Living Dead – 1990 (* *)

Okay, this NOTLD is the movie I thought I’d recorded back in August, but that one turned out to be a 3D remake.  That one was a stinker, so how was the first remake?

Tony Todd (Candyman) and Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5) play Ben and Barbara.  The story starts much like the original with Barbara and her brother traveling to the middle of nowhere to visit their mother’s grave just in time for the dead to rise and start munching on anyone nearby.  Barbara escapes to a nearby farmhouse where she meets Ben, as well as the resident zeds.

Barbara remains nearly catatonic for an awfully long time, leaving Ben to provide pretty much all of the dialogue.  While understandable, it does detract from the movie.  The two of them manage to kill the two zeds in the house, then discover that several people have been hiding out in the basement.  Much interpersonal conflict ensues.

Apparently, everyone hangs around all day, waiting until nightfall before deciding to board up the doors and windows.  Duh.  At least, Barbara notices that the approaching zeds are moving so slowly that they could walk to safety, but her suggestion is overruled by Ben and ignored by the others.   So they wait until dark before boarding up the place and Barbara finds some backbone that’s a nice change from the original.

Zeds flock to the house and try to force their way in while the survivors bicker and barely manage to keep them out.  A failed effort to gas up the truck and escape was nicely handled and I did like the ending.

Overall, two out of five stars.  Not great, but also not a waste of time.

Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead 3D ( no stars)

Okay first off, Comcast On Demand listed this as only as Night of the Living Dead and I thought it was the 1990 remake which I’ve heard good things about.  This wasn’t it.

Like the original, this one had a cast of about a dozen actors total.  The zombies were slow and pretty wimpy.  Even Barbara could push them around as long as there was only one or two.  The outbreak was localized, not global.  And several times, scenes from the original NOTLD appeared (on a television) in the movie.  The best part of the plot was that the people watching NOTLD on tv referred to it as why they didn’t believe Barbara about the zombies.

I’ll have to be more careful when looking for the 1990 remake next time.

Book Review: World War Z (*****)

What can I say that hasn’t already been said?

As far as zombie books go, this is the gold standard.

The thought of Hollywood, considering their track record, trying to turn this into a movie fills me with trepidation.  I would like to see it on the big screen, but sincerely doubt that it will be done well.

Book Review: Plague of the Dead (*** )

Just finished reading Plague of the Dead (The Morningstar Strain) by Z A Recht.  The book received good reviews on Amazon and is book 1 of a new series which could provide continuing reading pleasure.  So did it?

SPOILERS:

Well, first the good news:  the description of the virus, how it’s spread and the logical presence of both fast and slow zombies.

The novel starts with emails between the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease and the Pentagon requesting extreme travel restrictions into the US to prevent a possible pandemic, and the refusal of the request.  Then the narrative jumps to Africa where we see the first zombie appearance and the start of the epidemic.  Unfortunately, the novel moves quickly to the quarintine of the entire continent.  There is no buildup, just a jump to the US and allies blockading Africa by sea and air, with a massive (?) troop buildup along the Suez canal.

The fast zombies are infected, but still alive and similar in behavior to 28 Days Later.  Once killed, they eventually return as the traditional Romero zombie that can only be killed by destroying the brain.  The speed of infection depends on the location of the point and its proximity to the brain.  The speed of resurrection depends on the severity of the infection at time of death.

Here’s the first hint of the major problem with the book.  A 3 star general is in personal command of the troops along the Suez.  He knows about the undead aspect of the virus, but is unable to share it with his troops which provide the last line of defense for the entire world.  He doesn’t even order them to focus on head shots.  The first group to encounter the zombies is nearly eradicated learning about the undead.  The general arrives with reinforcements after the fact and admits the truth, plus the following bad news.

A group of 10,000 infected people has been spotted by satellite, following a speeding truck from Cairo to the Suez, yet the zombies arrive at the canal about the same time as the truck.  Other than one Huey and one Apache, the great general uses only troops with personal weapons to prevent the mass of infected from crossing the canal.  Needless to say, they don’t succeed.

That account for about 1/4 of the book and the remainder is similar.  Some interesting parts with okay characters, but stupid actions resulting in massive losses.

Final Opinion:  Check it out from the library, but save your money.  Or read World War Z again.