Please note: Normally I keep the blog and the news section of the site seperate, but I'm making an exception as this might be of interest to both sets of readers- so this appears reproduced from the news page.

Waaaay back in 2005, I produced Trailer Trash IV, a little piece called Sense and Sensibility and Zombies- combining period drama with zombie movie at last. Fast forward to today when I learn (via Slashfilm) that a book called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is to be released in April and that Hollywood producers are allegedly fighting for the rights. It's probably unlikely that the author of the mash up book has ever seen my animation or ever heard of monkey pirate zombie (the Internet is an awful big place) but it does seem like a pretty big coincidence. Even if I did think it was a rip-off there wouldn't really be anything much I could do about it, so I'm justgoing to have to assume it's a big ol' coincidence. And it would make an awesome movie. However I'll be watching out. If this guy's next project is Leprocop, there will be trouble!

Dod gud.

I love zombies, obviously. You should know that by now. So naturally I am looking forward to Dead Snow (aka 'DOD SNO') the first zombie movie that I know of to hail from....um... Norway. two words for you; Zombie Nazis. If you're not sold instantly, there's no hope for you. Even though the English trailer reveals these are running zombies ( a pet peeve of the true Zombie enthusiast) my enthusiasm cannot be dampened. The tagline? "Ein.... Zwei.... Die!" Pure genius. Cannot wait.

Dead Good.

As you may have guessed I am quite a fan of zombie movies, so when a new zombie flick comes out, I'll always at least give it a look. However I'm pretty sure that Dead Set is the first time that the undead have had their own TV series. Mind you, at four half-hour shows and and extended opener it's pretty much a slightly long movie cut into chunks. It's got a killer hook- zombies meet Big Brother, and is written by the hilarious Charlie Brooker, best known for his Screen Burn column in the Guardian Guide. However it's not a spoof, but a full blooded horror, albeit one with a strong satirical edge and excellent writing. It's proper scary and probably the most violent thing I've seen made for TV. The Big Brother angle is smart (the house being an ideal location for a traditional zombie siege) and being made by Channel 4 enabled it to use the actual Big Brother house, and feature cameos from the presenter and some former housemates. As a card-carrying Big Brother hater, the chance to see BB contestants eaten by Zombies was a chance not to be missed. I was even able to forgive the fact the zombies were the modern 'running' kind, so well was it pulled off. There's a cute and spunky female lead too I urge zombie and horror fans to check it out- you should be able to find it on e4's website- or it's coming out soon on DVD


Trailer here:

George Romero, the director of the classic Dead trilogy (and the not classic but fun Land Of the Dead) has returned with a new zombie film that is arriving on Region 2 DVD (and shiny Blu-ray) this week. As a zombie fan, I had to check it out. Not a sequel to the earlier films (despite the name), this one goes back to the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse (the sequels to Night Of The Living Dead all take place some time after the event) but shows in through the eyes (well cameras) of some film students- yep it's a zombie flick Cloverfield style (although they were almost certainly in development at the same time, so it's no rip-off). Much as it pains me to say so, unfortunately George Romero's Diary Of the Dead is a dud. Yes dear reader, it fails in almost every respect- the acting is awful, the 'scares' aren't scary, and while it's interesting seeing the Don Of The Dead trying to keep things fresh, the overall effect is like watching your Dad dance at a wedding*. It would be a great shame if this proved to be his last Dead film. Here's hoping he'll make at least one more that will be able to stand up next to the classics. But based on the evidence here, I'm not holding my breath.



*not my dad, your dad