Horror Movies

[DJ]

Not a lot. I blame that on a poor sports program at my alma matter. I dabble though.

And your alma mater is?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

And your alma mater is?

University of Idaho.

 

[DJ]

Here comes the opening of WWZ....

It's fucking awesome.

 

[jakedog56]

Even though it was flawed, the experience is at the top of the Z genre no matter what gripes you have with it. Gotta give it a 1-2 point bump based on that alone because I have given far inferior z films a 6-7 pt range lol.

With that said, I'd give it a 8/10, or a floor of 7.5.

I don't know about top of the genre. It is towards the top but I would rate the following near the same level or above it:
Night of the Living Dead
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Day of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake)
Return of the Living Dead
Re-animator
Shaun of the Dead
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead
Dead Set
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Dead Girl
Cooties
Zombi 2
Slither
Siege of the Dead
Cemetery Man
The Horde
Train to Busan
Dead Alive
Zombieland
REC
REC 2
The Serphant and the Rainbow
Demons
Pontypool
Quarantine
Army of Darkness
The Girl With All the Gifts
Night of the Comet
Dead Snow
Night of the Creeps
Planet Terror
I Am Legend
Brain Dead (Dead Alive)
Resident Evil
Black Sheep
Colin
Juan of the Dead
Fido
Dead and Breakfast
Doghouse
Undead
Dance of the Dead
Deadheads

........not a complete list. Didn't go back to the early flicks like White Zombie or I Walked with a Zombie, I didn't touch on all of the cheesy like Astro-Zombie or Troma made stuff, and I just listed a few of the many foreign ones. But it covers quite a few of the "classics".

WWZ is a visual experience. Great fxs. But certainly some story flaws and the fact that it went completely away from the book was disappointing.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't know about top of the genre. It is towards the top but I would rate the following near the same level or above it:
Night of the Living Dead
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Day of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake)
Return of the Living Dead
Re-animator
Shaun of the Dead
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead
Dead Set
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Dead Girl
Cooties
Zombi 2
Slither
Siege of the Dead
Cemetery Man
The Horde
Train to Busan
Dead Alive
Zombieland
REC
REC 2
The Serphant and the Rainbow
Demons
Pontypool
Quarantine
Army of Darkness
The Girl With All the Gifts
Night of the Comet
Dead Snow
Night of the Creeps
Planet Terror
I Am Legend
Brain Dead (Dead Alive)
Resident Evil
Black Sheep
Colin
Juan of the Dead
Fido
Dead and Breakfast
Doghouse
Undead
Dance of the Dead
Deadheads

........not a complete list. Didn't go back to the early flicks like White Zombie or I Walked with a Zombie, and didn't touch on all of the cheesy like Astro-Zombie or Troma made stuff, and I just listed a few of the many foreign ones. But it covers quite a few of the "classics".

WWZ is a visual experience. Great fxs. But certainly some story flaws and the fact that it went completely away from the book was disappointing.

Wow, you cast a broad net my friend! I wasn't even considering horror comedies.

I think I've seen about half of these lol. But I don't think I would consider over half of those in the same league as WWZ. But that of course is just an opinion and not sayin who's right or wrong!

 

[jakedog56]

Wow, you cast a broad net my friend! I wasn't even considering horror comedies.

I think I've seen about half of these lol. But I don't think I would consider over half of those in the same league as WWZ. But that of course is just an opinion and not sayin who's right or wrong!

Well, as we both know I am a bigger fan of the zomcoms than you are. I also have a tendency to forgive the lower budget fare of cheesy badness while I held WWZ to a higher standard. My issues with it:
-As already noted, book is much, much better.
-Storyline is too Hollywood cookie-cutter for the masses.
-Family is annoyingly stereotypical.
-Zs climbing each other on a tower. Cool effect but it would collapse as all of the bones broke from the weight.
-Zs were deterred by smelling virus? WTF? Did the human nose somehow magically evolve to be able to smell A VIRUS above the overwhelming stench of rotting corpses?

Of course the last couple of points can be argued against the fact that it is a Zombie movie. They rose from the dead, are superhuman killing machines, and can't be harmed by bullets, so you shouldn't take other ridiculous anomalies so seriously. But these points certainly do diverge from the accepted zombie mythos and make little sense if you think about it even a little. So turn off the brain and enjoy the ride!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well, as we both know I am a bigger fan of the zomcoms than you are. I also have a tendency to forgive the lower budget fare of cheesy badness while I held WWZ to a higher standard. My issues with it:
-As already noted, book is much, much better.
-Storyline is too Hollywood cookie-cutter for the masses.
-Family is annoyingly stereotypical.
-Zs climbing each other on a tower. Cool effect but it would collapse as all of the bones broke from the weight.
-Zs were deterred by smelling virus? WTF? Did the human nose somehow magically evolve to be able to smell A VIRUS above the overwhelming stench of rotting corpses?

Of course the last couple of points can be argued against the fact that it is a Zombie movie. They rose from the dead, are superhuman killing machines, and can't be harmed by bullets, so you shouldn't take other ridiculous anomalies so seriously. But these points certainly do diverge from the accepted zombie mythos and make little sense if you think about it even a little. So turn off the brain and enjoy the ride!

Definitely cookie-cutter, with some flaws. I thought the Z's smelling the virus was a really cool take in that it focused on the virus' biology in finding acceptable hosts. Something that I had never seen before. Going along with the typical apocalyptic nature of casualty by numbers growth, it was unique to give the virus a more wicked & malicious nature. I mean yea its a little silly to assume that the human nose could pick that scent up, but to me it was more of a symbolic thing for the viewers to grasp that concept. How else would they have gotten that point across? Maybe havin a Z grab hold of an unacceptable host and grope it until it makes the decision? Seemed easier to do the nose.

 

[jakedog56]

Definitely cookie-cutter, with some flaws. I thought the Z's smelling the virus was a really cool take in that it focused on the virus' biology in finding acceptable hosts. Something that I had never seen before. Going along with the typical apocalyptic nature of casualty by numbers growth, it was unique to give the virus a more wicked & malicious nature. I mean yea its a little silly to assume that the human nose could pick that scent up, but to me it was more of a symbolic thing for the viewers to grasp that concept. How else would they have gotten that point across? Maybe havin a Z grab hold of an unacceptable host and grope it until it makes the decision? Seemed easier to do the nose.

I always take issue when the movie suddenly gives zombies super powers like being able to see at night, or the aforementioned ability to sniff out a person. I don't know why except that, again, it goes against the standard zombie lore. But it makes even less sense when you consider I enjoy all other types of creatures and monsters and their weird abilities. So I guess it is just me being picky for some reason.

But specifically with the WWZ situation, the Zs are running at the people full speed yet somehow mange to smell the virus and differentiate the infected in less than a nanosecond. It makes no sense at all. If they attacked and then realized I could have bought into it but to run at high speed towards the victim only to completely ignore them as they passed by was a huge stretch in my book. It just happens way too fast.

But it is an excellent fast action zombie movie. Some very good scenes. However I wasn't a fan of Brad Pitt in it. Fight Club is an all time fav of mine, and 12 Monkeys is high up the list also, so I don't dislike him but for some reason I just can't put a finger on I just felt that it could have been better with another actor.

To me the best scene wasn't even one of the huge fxs scenes either. Being trapped in the apartment building with family and the rooftop escape is my fav scene in the movie.

 

[Chef99]

WWZ is visually fun but a severely flawed movie.

The book is so look much better. Try reading that sometime.

I will. And I agree about the movie; too much "Hollywood High Profile" and not enough downright horror for me.

 

[Chef99]

Horror movies gonna be all over the airwaves. You know this! And if you're lucky, the classics return to the theaters.


About to turn 2!! We're pretty sure he started his "terrible 2's" early .

He's great though! Wife's been off for the summer so she's been soaking up a lot of time with the little man. Made me jealous. Can't wait for the kid to get his b-day present. He's been really getting into cars so we bought him one of those ride-on car toys for him.

Spoiler

He's gonna go wild over it.

That is just awesome.

Damnit, I wish you were MY dad!!

 

[Chef99]

I don't know about top of the genre. It is towards the top but I would rate the following near the same level or above it:
Night of the Living Dead
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
Day of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake)
Return of the Living Dead
Re-animator
Shaun of the Dead
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead
Dead Set
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Dead Girl
Cooties
Zombi 2
Slither
Siege of the Dead
Cemetery Man
The Horde
Train to Busan
Dead Alive
Zombieland
REC
REC 2
The Serphant and the Rainbow
Demons
Pontypool
Quarantine
Army of Darkness
The Girl With All the Gifts
Night of the Comet
Dead Snow
Night of the Creeps
Planet Terror
I Am Legend
Brain Dead (Dead Alive)
Resident Evil
Black Sheep
Colin
Juan of the Dead
Fido
Dead and Breakfast
Doghouse
Undead
Dance of the Dead
Deadheads

........not a complete list. Didn't go back to the early flicks like White Zombie or I Walked with a Zombie, I didn't touch on all of the cheesy like Astro-Zombie or Troma made stuff, and I just listed a few of the many foreign ones. But it covers quite a few of the "classics".

WWZ is a visual experience. Great fxs. But certainly some story flaws and the fact that it went completely away from the book was disappointing.

I'd take the top 9 over it in a heartbeat, not to mention Train to Busan; for pure horror and characterization, that has become one of my personal favorites.

No shout out for Land of the Dead?

 

[Chef99]

And what about ZomBeavers?

Dangit, even zombie beavers need some love!!

 

[UVA_Guy81]

No mention of the Uwe Boll "classic" House of the Dead?

 

[jakedog56]

I'd take the top 9 over it in a heartbeat, not to mention Train to Busan; for pure horror and characterization, that has become one of my personal favorites.

No shout out for Land of the Dead?

Land of the Dead was another good one. RIP to Mr. Romero

 

[jakedog56]

And what about ZomBeavers?

Dangit, even zombie beavers need some love!!

Lol!

I forgot that it was a Zombie movie despite it being right in the title!

If Black Sheep is on the list, then Zombeavers has to be in there also.

 

[jakedog56]

No mention of the Uwe Boll "classic" House of the Dead?

I actually liked it better than most people did but I am a zombie aficionado. Certainly not a good movie but I wouldn't say the worst either. If you want to see the absolute worst zombie movie ever made try Zombie Nation by Uwe Boll's lower budget German counterpart Ulli Lommel. Truly the worst viewing experience I have ever had.

Zombie Nation isn't even Lommel's worst rated movie. The guy has at least 3 on the IMDB bottom 200 list. He makes Ed Wood look like Hitchcock.

Zombie Nation! I put out a challenge to anyone here to watch it all the way through without sticking a sharp object into their frontal lobe to try and stop the suffering. Just be warned that once you see it you can't unsee it!

 

[jakedog56]

Ok. I'm going to describe some of the worst badness in Zombie Nation. It is truly the worst thing I have ever seen (and I have seen some BAD movies in my time!).

-Ropes people in with cool cover artwork and the title implication of many Zombies. But the artwork is not related to the movie in any way at all and there are only 5 "zombies" who aren't even really zombies! (I'll get to that.)

-Main antagonist is a muscular Austrian actor who can barely speak English. He somehow is an LA cop. Seriously, I can barely understand this guy!

-Main protagonist (if there is one) plays an idiot rookie who is confused on what he should do when he suspects his partner (aforementioned marble-mouthed bad guy) of murdering women. I mean that when they pull over women his partner arrests them for no reason, takes them to a deserted warehouse, tells the rook to wait in the car, and then reappears sometime later without the women but instead is carrying a duffel bag that he tosses in the trunk of their crappy non-police car looking police car, it is ok. But only later when the same women are reported missing does this knob start to think maybe something could be wrong! Ugh. This character mysteriously disappears with no explanation at some point. I have to assume that the actor realized what a shitshow this was and just stopped showing up to the shoots?

-Sets are bad. Police station looks like a partially painted warehouse with a couple of cubicle walls and a desk. Visible spotlights are in the background at times. It seems to also double for several other locations.

-Acting is horrible. I think these poor LA wannabes became aware rather quickly what a horrible mess they were in and gave up. But even proper direction and motivation wouldn't have helped this talentless lot.

-The "zombies" of the murdered women are awoken by some gypsy priestess with a snake. Even though they are buried and submerged they are not decomposed. In fact they somehow have very clean and stylish clothes on. They also converse lucidly. The only indication that they are "zombies" (a debatable point) is a ton of eyeliner that makes them look like raccoons. Pretty much EVERY Halloween costume I have ever had since I was a little kid was better than this dreck!

-Pretty "zombies" with designer clothing and black eyes drive around in convertible. They do kill a couple of guys. Eventually these undead raccoons somehow become police officers!

-Quick flash scenes of a old dude getting spanked. It has nothing to do with the story. A baffling addition.

-Schlock director Ulli Lommel appears in a "tribute" to Marathon Man, saying "Is it safe" over and over again for no reason.

-Bad directing, bad acting, bad dialog, bad fxs, bad editing and no cinematography to speak of, music that doesn't fit the mood. Just general badness.

The only movie I have ever given a 0 out of 10! Again, I DARE anyone to watch this all the way through! I dare you!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Ok. I'm going to describe some of the worst badness in Zombie Nation. It is truly the worst thing I have ever seen (and I have seen some BAD movies in my time!).

-Ropes people in with cool cover artwork and the title implication of many Zombies. But the artwork is not related to the movie in any way at all and there are only 5 "zombies" who aren't even really zombies! (I'll get to that.)

-Main antagonist is a muscular Austrian actor who can barely speak English. He somehow is an LA cop. Seriously, I can barely understand this guy!

-Main protagonist (if there is one) plays an idiot rookie who is confused on what he should do when he suspects his partner (aforementioned marble-mouthed bad guy) of murdering women. I mean that when they pull over women his partner arrests them for no reason, takes them to a deserted warehouse, tells the rook to wait in the car, and then reappears sometime later without the women but instead is carrying a duffel bag that he tosses in the trunk of their crappy non-police car looking police car, it is ok. But only later when the same women are reported missing does this knob start to think maybe something could be wrong! Ugh. This character mysteriously disappears with no explanation at some point. I have to assume that the actor realized what a shitshow this was and just stopped showing up to the shoots?

-Sets are bad. Police station looks like a partially painted warehouse with a couple of cubicle walls and a desk. Visible spotlights are in the background at times. It seems to also double for several other locations.

-Acting is horrible. I think these poor LA wannabes became aware rather quickly what a horrible mess they were in and gave up. But even proper direction and motivation wouldn't have helped this talentless lot.

-The "zombies" of the murdered women are awoken by some gypsy priestess with a snake. Even though they are buried and submerged they are not decomposed. In fact they somehow have very clean and stylish clothes on. They also converse lucidly. The only indication that they are "zombies" (a debatable point) is a ton of eyeliner that makes them look like raccoons. Pretty much EVERY Halloween costume I have ever had since I was a little kid was better than this dreck!

-Pretty "zombies" with designer clothing and black eyes drive around in convertible. They do kill a couple of guys. Eventually these undead raccoons somehow become police officers!

-Quick flash scenes of a old dude getting spanked. It has nothing to do with the story. A baffling addition.

-Schlock director Ulli Lommel appears in a "tribute" to Marathon Man, saying "Is it safe" over and over again for no reason.

-Bad directing, bad acting, bad dialog, bad fxs, bad editing and no cinematography to speak of, music that doesn't fit the mood. Just general badness.

The only movie I have ever given a 0 out of 10! Again, I DARE anyone to watch this all the way through! I dare you!

Wow that looks criminally bad. Makes you wonder how some movies get “produced”.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Wow that looks criminally bad. Makes you wonder how some movies get “produced”.

Have you seen the disaster artist? Basically shows how The Room was made. When it comes to bad horror, I think it's just too easy to produce something with some studios. I don't know how much they can get on direct deals with netflix or other companies, but there must be a market out there for it.

 

[Taddy Mason]

damn, phillies game went into delay and i'm too drunk to watch anything worthwhile, so i wanted to see how bad that zombie nation movie was, but don't see it streaming anywhere. if you actually paid to watch a piece of shit, i'd give it a lower ranking as well.