Dead Shack (2017)

Colin, Summer, their parents, and Colin's best friend Jason all go to a remote cabin for a weekend getaway. The parents want to get drunk and the teens just want to have fun, but their unhinged neighbor has other plans for them.

Dead Shack is a zombie horror comedy that features family at its center. Colin's family on the surface is pretty dysfunctional. The parents struggle financially and seem to be stuck in their college years with binge drinking and partying all the time. Summer and Colin don't get along with each other or their parents. It all seems like a mess. In contrast, the nameless neighbor woman is taking care of her zombified family which includes finding food for them. Colin, who has pretended to be poor almost the entire film, reveals that his parents are rich, but his dad is abusive to his mother. Colin's family has what the other families don't: genuine love and care.

The comedy of the film is the strongest element next to the heartwarming family aspect. The whole concept of taking care of a zombie family is played hilariously here, especially the neighbor in her full body armor to keep herself safe. The children being more responsible and logical than their parents and going a step further to protect them from zombies plays off well as well. The physical comedy is on point along with the balance between the comedy and sappiness. My favorite scene is when the father tells Colin how much he loves and cares about him while Jason and Summer are beating in zombies heads close by. I personally didn't like the crude teenage boy humor of Colina and Jason, but it was a fairly minor part of the film.

Dead Shack is a pretty hilarious, light zombie comedy. It's a simple formula in an isolated location that works rather well. The only lacking part was the stepmother being completely stereotypical and one dimensional as an Asian woman only with the dad for financial gain. She has no redeeming qualities or character development and becomes a zombie. In contrast, Summer is the most resolute, strong character of the film. At least there is some variance in the female characters, but it's still disappointing to see this gross stereotype. Other than that, this is a really fun watch.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Cotton Crossing by Lilith Saintcrow

Cotton Crossing is a dead end of a place. It's a small town with little opportunity, but Ginny Mills is gaining experience as a librarian in the county system in order to be more competitive in a bigger city after a year or two. Lee Quartine, on the other hand, lives there to have a simple life after military service. He has a crush on Ginny and checks out loads of books to have an excuse to talk to her, only to chicken out every time. When a slew of people get sick and weird things are all over the forest, a missed connection and a job are the least of their worries.

Cotton Crossing portrays the start of a zombie apocalypse started by the US government on accident. It isn't the first time that something extra has been added to the year's flu vaccines that has been proven to benefit the population in some way. This one was supposed to make people heal faster, but it somehow made them into zombies instead. At first, it appears that there just happens to be rioting in some major cities until those cities are then quarantined and cut off from all communication. City after city goes dark, leaving Cotton Crossing a little puzzled. They go on with their everyday lives until it isn't possible anymore. Throughout the book, small vignettes from the perspective of a minor character show who they are, what they're doing, and how they turn into a zombie. I loved these micro-stories because each one is like a small piece of the mosaic that makes up the town to show how the infection is moving.

The zombies are fairly standard. They have grey, blind eyes, foam at the mouth, and have ability to move quickly. My favorite part of these zombies is the familiar mixed with the horror of undead. Many point out clothing or a trait typical to that person only to have it marred by the rotting flesh and animalistic need to eat people. The disease starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever and vomiting until it progresses into convulsions that lead to their death. Many people's criticism of fast moving and quickly infected zombies is that it simply wouldn't go beyond a city or two, but in this case, those flu vaccines went all over the US. It's hard to tell how far the infection has gone, but it's definitely all over the US.

The main characters are interesting, nuanced people. Ginny is marking time in the small town, dreaming of bigger, better things, and dealing with her overly dramatic family. She's frantic once she loses contact with them and vows to find them in one of the quarantined areas. I personally think the plan is horrible as she doesn't know survival or fighting skills, but I understand the need to care for family. Lee, on the other hand, has no family connections and is just trying to enjoy a simple life. When people are shot in the streets and zombies attack in broad daylight, Lee switches modes. He keeps cool, commands panicked people, and keeps them as much out of harm's way as he can. He also recognizes the frazzled state of the military, indicating that the situation is much worse than he sees. Lee is mostly quiet and keeps to himself, but his warm, caring actions towards Ginny and other civilians really shows what kind of person he is.

Cotton Crossing is a good start to a zombie series. So far it has 3 books and is still going. If you'd like to receive it chapter by chapter as a serial, go here and subscribe. I personally like purchasing the books, but I'm intrigued at the series as a whole. Everything from the mode of infection to the characters is well done and establishes a world where the zombie apocalypse is just starting. I especially like the small references like the underground government organization being called Umbrella Corp. The zombie scenes are scary and suspenseful while feelings bloom between Lee and Ginny. It's a nice balance and I want to know what happens.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

I Am a Hero Omnibus 1 by Kengo Hanazawa

Hideo Suzuki is a manga artist plagued by visions of ghosts attacking him as well as people to either lord over and humiliate or debate ideas an an intellectual equal. He is socially awkward, works long hours to complete projects before deadlines, and talks to himself a lot. As he's going though his everyday life, a fire occurs at a nursing home. People are increasingly out sick and random attacks start happening until society can no longer function with the influx of zombies.

I Am A Hero has an intriguing premise: seeing the zombie apocalypse start with an unlikely protagonist. Unfortunately, Hideo himself is awful and iinsufferable to read. He is not successful as a manga artist and finds every way to lash out and blame others for his failures. His self image oscillates from being completely confident and arrogant to being insecure and threatened by anyone successful. In addition to all this, Hideo hallucinates frequently. Sometimes his anxieties take visual form and haunt him, but he mostly sees two people to have conversations with. One is Yakima, a pathetic worm of a man that Hideo can humiliate, lecture, and feel superior to. The other is nameless and looks like a more put together and attractive version of himself who he views as an equal to debate with. I like the conceptual idea of this as it shows how Hideo really is. However, he's prone to long, masturbatory speeches about the value of his manga and disgustingly degrades Yakima.

The biggest problem I have with this manga is how women are portrayed. Tekko, Hideo's girlfriend, seems nice on the surface, but always falls short of his expectations. She's constantly talking about her ex, refusing sex, and getting belligerent and abusive when drunk. The other named woman is Mii-chan, Hideo's co-worker. She is beautiful and has illicit affairs with her boss and others of the staff. This is all that is literally known about her. In the background, a show called Boob Morning is shown on television multiple times, which features cleavage baring women reporting the news. Hideo hates beautiful reporters because he thinks they don't value the news and would save themselves in the event of a disaster. Every man in the book objectifies women and treats them like sex machines only to insult them when rejected. During this scene at a singles mixer, the men all lie about their age and actually have girlfriends. I was hoping all this would mean something more later like Hideo would see the error of his ways or something, but all of this misogyny and objectification goes without anything to counter it and gets worse.

The origin of the zombies isn't explained. The disease is transmitted through bites and the afflicted become mindless. They are able to say small words and phrases, but attack anyone. The first instance is when a car strikes a pedestrian who gets up and keeps walking with a broken neck. Very effective. The best part of this manga is the scene where Hideo peers through Tekko's mail slot and she gets closer and closer to him. These panels are two pages wide and have the same effect as Sadako coming through the TV in The Ring. The zombies are killed on odd ways. Caving in their skulls doesn't seem to work while slitting their throats does. It doesn't make sense to me. Unfortunately, the zombie plague seems to only be the opportunity for Hideo to see women reduced to what he believes they are and then to kill them. Tekko becomes the perfect, thoughtful girlfriend and only says she loves him, even though she's trying to bite him. On the other hand, Mii-chan is a bloated corpse and only says "penis" while trying to fellate any objects near her mouth. This portrayal was particularly disgusting and shocking. I almost stopped reading right there. Maybe it was meant to be funny, but it shows how women are literally viewed by people like this. In life, both women were disappointing to him.

I Am a Hero as a title is a complete joke. No one is represented well here. All of the men are portrayed as liars, cheaters, and misogynists while all of the women are greedy, manipulative, or sex objects. No characters are more than a stereotype unfortunately. The zombie aspects don't come in until the end of the omnibus and the rules didn't make much sense. This book failed on almost every level. I normally wouldn't read the next one but I bought them at the same time.

My rating: 1/5 fishmuffins

September Zombies 2018!

It's that time of year again! All zombies! All the time! Fast, slow, brain eating, campy, serious, new, old, deep stories, shallow stories, science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between. If you have any suggestions for this month that I can squeeze in, email me. I'm including books, movies, experiences, and more! I hope you stay with me in the month of flesh-eating and stay on through the horror extravaganza in October.

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You Part 4

* Mon Mon Mon Monsters



This film premiered at Fantastic Fest and looks like a bunch of bullies during a zombie apocalypse. The Women in Caskets podcast compared it more to Deadgirl and how the humans are much more monstrous than the zombies. It looks light hearted and almost parody like, but they warn that the bullying can be hard to watch.

* The Walking Dead Season 8



This is the Comic Con Walking Dead Season 8 trailer. I hope this means it will be more action packed and fast paced, but editing is a deceptive thing. The trash people are back (boo), Negan threatens Father Gabriel (boo), and everyone seems united together against Negan and the Saviors. The end with old Rick seems super weird. Maybe it's pointing to the end of the series? It's a huge cash cow, so I doubt that. It starts October 22 and I will be watching.

* iZombie Season 4



I was lucky enough to see most of the Comic Con panel and Seattle is walled off as a zombie city. Check out my full report on the new things coming next season here. Very excited to see what's going to happen! No official release date yet, but expect it early 2018.

* Ash vs. Evil Dead Season 3

Ashley Williams returns! No teaser yet, but it's set to release in February 2018, which seems totally ridiculous since the first two season came out in October. Bruce Campbell states that the prophecies surrounding Ash and the reasons for them will be the focus of the season. Can't wait!

Anything I missed? Let me know!

The Remaining

Captain Lee Harden is waiting in a bunker with his faithful dog, not for the first time. Usually, he waits for a few weeks or so, receives a call and goes on with his life. This time, the call doesn't come. He figures it might be a mistake, so he waits and still nothing. Finally, he watches the required video that tells him of a pandemic of epic proportions. His mission is to save who he can, restore order, and basically restart civilization, a tall order for one person. Fortunately, there are other people in bunkers across the US as a contigency with the same commands, but can they combat the diseased and unhinged people with any success?

Lee Harden is ex-military and without family. He figures his special assignment is nice for extra money worth going a little stir crazy every once in a while. When the time comes when his contact can no longer respond, he goes through a period of denial. Lee opts to drink and play video games to cope with the knowledge that something horrible wrong happened to the world. Once he pulls himself together, he breaks protocal to investigate his house, leaving his bunker earlier than planned. He encounters both diseased people and deranged humans. At first, he sees the infected as needing a doctor instead of a bullet in the head, but he has to protect himself from their attacks. He has much less sympathy for people taking advantage of lawlessness by shooting the innocent for fun. His decisions may to always be right, but he tries his hardest to make moral decisions, save those who need help, and punish the ones doing harm.

The zombies in the story are caused by a bacteria called FURY, the cause of major plagues throughout human history. The disease goes through 4 stages. First, asymtomatic stage can last 24 to 48 hours and be very contagious. Second, the prodromal stage is marked by fever, salivation, extreme hunger and thirst, insomnia, and loss of fine motor skills. Next, the illness stage holds loss of speech and cognition, hallucinations, loss of sensation, hyperaggression, uncontrollable screaming and yelling, and insatiable appetite. The late illness stage lowers reaction time, unsteadies the gait, and may lead to blindness. The disease essentially eats the inessential parts of the brain so only the aggression, hunger, and thirst are left of the person. Some can still speak, but usually repeat words over and over while attacking unpredictably. These are closer to the 28 Days Later rage zombies and I'm curious to see if these ones will deteriorate over time in later books.

The Remaining is an exciting book that really takes off when he leaves the bunker. It took a little too long to get there and in the dragging parts, I thought of ways to rephrase some sentences to make them sound better. The infodump of the zombie disease was a little jumbled for me, but once the action commenced, the writing improved. Other than these minor problems, I am eager to continue the series. So far, there are 6 books and I want to know what happens, how larger swaths of the US are handling the disease, and how time affects the zombies.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You Part 3

These are zombie movies shambling  your way soon!

* Anna and the Apocalypse



Anna and the Apocalypse is a high school zombie comedy musical. Before you get all, musicals aren't horror and that sounds awful, this looks like crazy fun and people whose opinion I trust like the Women in Caskets podcast tweeted about how good it was. It looks like a full choreographed type musical that just happens to have zombies. I'm excited to see the scene where presumably Anna is practicing her routine as people fall and die around her. The snowman zombie kill is hilarious and gory. The only think I'm weary about is the actual songs. The one in commercial is a bit generic, but I hope it's an outlier in the soundtrack. I can't wait for the film's release, but it was just shown at Fantastic Fest, so it might be a while.

* Les Affames or The Hungry



There is so much creepy in this trailer. Creepy kids who are probably zombies, abandoned neighborhoods, running zombies, tied up women, hiding from zombies in a field, zombies standing ominously, zombies building some sort of structure (???), zombies screaming, and fighting zombies in the fog! Color me excited. The trailer tells us to stay be silent, be armed, and above all run. This French Canadian zombie movie looks incredibly tense and I can't wait to see it. It's playing in LA at Beyond Fest, but no distribution information yet.

* The Cured



This is the only thing I could find on this movie besides the io9 article about it. From the conversation above and the article, the cured zombies are being reintegrated into society. Can you forgive someone who has killed someone you love? They weren't in control at the time, but it's a hard question to ask of someone. Another issue is that the cured are not in danger from zombies if they get loose and attack again. I want to see a real trailer to get a better idea of if it's going to be mainly a drama or if there will be zombies onscreen. Still eager to watch it either way. I'm glad to see a variety of different stories told. This just screened at Fantastic Fest, so no distribution information yet.

Zombie Tunes Part 2

More songs to nom brains to!

* Vicarious by Tool



This song has a lot of horror imagery with mentions of supernatural creatures like vampires and zombies. The post-apocalyptic imagery is definitely zombie tinged with living while the world dies and devouring to survive. Be prepared for a bleak view of the world with Tool's signature meter changing melodies that keep the song feeling just a little off kilter.

* Zombies, March! by GWAR



This song is from the point of view of the Zombie king who controls the zombies and uses them as slaves and an army. He also bemoans his own blight of unending hunger and not so intelligent soldiers. The video goes between a Night of the Living Dead type black and white film with a modern twist and GWAR singing in their over the top costumes. The zombie parts have some fun twists like a woman screaming at one zombie, waiting to be eaten, and then a whole crowd come and steal his meal. The zombies eventually come into the set and eat all of the rude producers and agents in. The song and video have a great sense of humor.

* She Was a Teenage Zombie by Murderdolls



It's just another story of boy meets undead girl and falls in love with her. I'm not a huge fan of the singing, but the lyrics, story, and beat are fun. The scene they set is delightfully funny and surreal with this guy taking her on a date like she's a normal girl. It's subversive and uses fun puns like drop dead gorgeous.

iZombie Season 2

The second season of iZombie has a lot of twists and turns plus it keeps the show moving forward and the characters changing. Liv Moore continues using the visions she gets from brains to solve murders every episode. The brains she eats are prepared in much more creative and delectable looking ways like Her behavior changes drastically to fit the person's brain and visions are usually triggered when she sees or does something similar to the dead person. The most hilarious instances are Old Man Liv and Frat Boy Bro Liv. She decides once and for all that her relationship with Major can't work and finds new love in Drake, a mysterious zombie with a double life. In some episodes, Liv is a little to zealous and uncaring about protocol and stealth, so she learns the hard way that being cautious can be better.

The character that really grows this season is Major Lilywhite. I found him pretty insufferable last season and he doesn't improve at the beginning hooked on drugs and refusing help. Once he cleans up his act, he works as a trainer at Max Rager, the company headed by the new villain Vaughn du Clark. Vaughn forces Major to kill zombies on his list or he will kill Liv. Instead of murdering people, he sedates them and puts them in a deep freeze to be thawed out when it's safe. I gained a lot of respect for his character doing the best he can in a horrible situation and not becoming a murderer. One new ability of his, created when he was cured, is getting goosebumps when zombies are around, making his Chaos Killer (as he is dubbed by the media) duties easier. I hope Major improves in the next season as well.

This season has a few people being cured and then reverting back to being a zombie due to Ravi's experimental cures. It gets a little old after a while, but Liv is never cured, mostly because other people are in a more urgent state than her and the show wouldn't really be the same if she weren't a zombie. The newest cure causes memory loss, resulting in a much more tolerable and nice Blaine, a refreshing change from his Barney Stinson-esque stint running a funeral home while selling brains and dealing drugs out of it. So, after the his legal troubles, Major has to decide if he values being human over having his memories.

Max Rager and its CEO Vaughn du Clark are the main villains of the season. I really enjoyed his weird macho but affable version of evil. The company doesn't care that it created zombies and only wants to destory them to save themselves from being blamed or having to shut down production. Zombies are experimented upon in the underground labs of Max Rager, causing full blown zombie apocalypse situation where zombies are in full mindless rage hunger mode and can't be brought out of it. The ending is a huge game changer as Vivian Stoll bought Max Rager in order to save zombies and make Seattle into a safe have for them. She unfortunately seems to an absolutist view which could prove bad for Liv and company next season.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

The Living Dead Boy

Josh Rondell loves all things zombie and even trains with his group of zombie hunter friends to be prepared when zombies appear. His home life is a bit strained and he gets in trouble for his zombie fascination especially because of his whiny, annoying little brother. One day, riots break out around the country. Josh glimpses some footage on the news and he knows in his gut that it's zombies. He tries to tell his family and friends but they figure it's his imagination going wild and his zombie obsession at work again. At school, all hell breaks loose as zombies attack. Josh takes it upon himself to keep his friends and family safe.

Josh is just a regular kid with a zombie obsession. He fights with his little brother, complains about chores, and plays in a treehouse with his friends. His home situation isn't the best. His father went to war and came back a changed person. He's struggling to find work, leaving his mother to support most of the finances by herself. Josh has many more responsibilities than he used to because his family needs help. Like a typical twelve year old boy, he complains, fights with his brother, and shirks his duties. When the zombie apocalypse hits, he grows up fast. He realizes he has to step up and make hard decisions to protect his family.

I love Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies series which is targeted more for adults. I was worried that she would reign in the zombie violence too much for a younger audience, but she didn't. Josh's perspective focuses on the difference between being a zombie fan, enjoying zombie stories and the harrowing experience of seeing people you know being turned into zombie or being eaten by zombies. Emergency situations bring out the best and worst in humanity. Josh steps up to save as many as he can, but he sees some people acting deplorably, not saving the weak or vulnerable and only looking out for themselves. Others can't handle reality at all and refuse to accept it, leading to sometimes fatal consequences.

The Living Dead Boy is fast paced and exciting. It's similar in a lot of ways to Sick by Tom Leveen, but faster paced, much more zombie violence, and younger characters. I only had some small criticisms. The title and cover made me thing this would be about a zombie child and it wasn't. Also, the ending felt a little false in that it was too perfect. I hope for this part to be resolved soon since Rhiannon Frater is currently writing the sequel.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Ash vs. Evil Dead

After all his epic adventures with Deadites and thirty years later, Ashley Williams still works at ValueShop. lives in a trailer park, and goes to dive bars to pick up women. To woo a woman, he stupidly reads from the Necronomicon and brings the Deadites back. As Ash leaves a trail of possessed and dead people behind him, detective Amanda Fisher chases him across the country while he travels with his two young coworkers Kelly and Pablo to return the Deadites to where they belong.

I was never a super huge fan of the original Evil Dead films. I understood why they were important to the horror genre and their innovation in horror comedy and practical effects. I decided to give the show a try and I'm so happy I did. It has almost everything from the original films merged with a compelling story and likeable characters. The show brings back Bruce Campbell to his iconic role as undeservedly arrogant Ash with his chainsaw hand, one liners, and brash attitude. The only difference from Ash from the films is that he's now aging ungracefully and refuses to see it. He has a simple mentality: shoot now, think never. He's much older, pathetic, not very smart, and completely unapologetic.but he's so charismatic and fun that you still root for him through all his bumbling and mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, he thought it would be a great idea to summon a demon to fight the Deadites, but didn't think about the aftermath.

The new characters fit well with the show. Pablo and Kelly provide a voice of reason to Ash's antics. Pablo is desperate to be cool in Ash's eyes and in love with Kelly. He was raised by his shaman uncle who prophesied of a man who fights evil called El Jefe. Pablo is absolutely convinced this is Ash and believes in him even when Ash has his own doubts. Sometimes even Ash's most deplorable actions get even Pablo to judge him badly. Kelly, on the other hand, is less eager to join the group. She is focused on running from her past, but finds a kind of family with Ash and Pablo. She judges Ash harshly, but still follows him and works to beat the Deadites with him. Pablo and Kelly provide different perspectives on situations and give Ash some perspective at times.

The Deadites are back to their old tricks. Regular zombies are bad enough when someone sees a loved one rotting and attacking them. Deadites take it to crazy lengths. One minute they will spew obscenities and insults and the next weep at the attacks in a perfect imitation of the loved one. These are living or dead people possessed by Kandarian demons who have a hive mind. Not all of them are zombies, but the majority of them end up that way. At their core, they are dark tricksters who delight in mayhem and chaos. In the show, they have a mysterious leader and an ultimate goal that concentrates their efforts, making them even more dangerous than before.

The show is hilariously disgusting with blood and vomit splattered liberally. Unfortunately, the effects are primarily CGI instead of practical effects. The effects are the most revolutionary thing about the original films and it's disappointing to see the legacy stop. I suspect it's a budget and time constraint issue. I've resigned myself to the CGI because it doesn't look terrible and the soul of the show is intact. It's a fun, gory, over the top horror comedy that's a worthy follow up to the original films. The only other problem I had was that half hour episodes are way too short. Other than that, I loved every minute. The ending to the season was perfect and I can't wait to see the repercussions in season 2.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

The Rains

Creek's Cause is a boring small town with farms, a close knit community, and not a lot to do. Most kids are resigned to a life as a farmer or dream to leave for bigger and better things. Chance and his big brother Patrick spend their days at school, helping out on the farm, or raising dogs. One day, a meteor crashes into a field of corn. The corn suddenly grows rapidly, much higher than usual, then suddenly dies. A local farmer feels ill afterwards, but thinks nothing of it until his abdomen is grotesquely distended. After he releases all the spores that formed inside him from the highest part of town, all of the adults are now mindless creatures set on capturing the unaffected children. Chance and Patrick feel it's up to them to try to get help before it spreads beyond controlling.

The Rains is part zombie apocalypse part alien invasion. The two work together rather well and I found the overall concepts just a bit different from the usual. The zombies here are all lumped into three categories: spore producers, mappers, and chasers. All of the zombies have holes through their eyes, clear out the back of their heads covered with a membrane of both sides. This made for some very creepy descriptions of lighting through the holes and the uncanniness of seeing every day people with this chilling detail. The spore producers go to the highest point of the city with their huge distended bellies and release their spores until they are truly dead. Mappers are always male. They keep their heads tilted to the ground and record every bit of terrain, then transmit it to whoever powers them. Chasers are always female. They chase down children, restrain them with whatever's available, and carries them off. All of them are unaffected by pain, even serious injuries, and have no sense of their former selves. They act as drones with no mind of their own. Hurwitz made zombies just a bit different, but no less chilling. Zombies now work together for one goal and it's frightening.

Although I enjoy the merging of two genres to make something cool and new, I didn't completely love the story. Many times, it felt like a teenage boy's fantasy fulfilled with way too many coincidences. Chance is a likeable enough character, but things seem to go his way too easily. I don't like deus ex machina solutions at the best of times, but a pack of dogs shows up to help him at the exact right moment, only to abandon him later. Also, a key character turns 18, which is the moment the spores turn people into drones (which I have a problem with), but Chance figures out a way to momentarily save him which didn't make sense at all. It's later revealed that this characters somehow conveniently has an immunity to the spores with no other explanation. It's complete bullshit and Hurwitz doesn't even bother to explain. There's also a creepy kind of flirtation/romance between Chance and his brother's girlfriend which felt pretty creepy. It felt like she was only created to have romantic attachments without really having a character of her own.

The Rains is a unique premise, but the convenient developments cheapened the story along with the unnatural wish fulfillment aspects. The writing was fine and I was interested in the story, but it got to be a chore after some unbelievable revelations. I most likely won't be reading the next one, but it's a good effort. I respected that he didn't dumb down or sanitize any of the danger the young people were in.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

Current Zombies Coming to Get You: Z Nation Season 3

Z Nation is back with a two hour season premiere! It doesn't take place after the second season finale, but sometime when the Zombaby is still a baby, Cassandra is still alive, and the group is still on its way to California to find the CDC.  The Z Nation team meets an interesting group that tried to cure the Z1N1 with a fungus, but failed. The people infected with the fungus are stuck in limbo, not dead but not able to communicate. This group is under fire by The Man, working for a rich, aged man living as if zombies don't exist. He wants a doctor there, but the people know no one ever returns if taken my him. Warren and her group of course step in to save them and fight back.

This episode reminded me why I like this show. It combines emotional drama, ridiculous humor, and stalwart, competent characters. This ultra long episode was entertaining, but the only new thing to come out of it is a new set of villains. It's still nice to see Doc, Addy, Murphy, 10k, and Warren do what they do best. Murphy shines this episode as he expresses deep sympathy for those infected by the fungus. He can hear them and acts as translator to the living, leading to some pretty emotional conversations. I liked some of the new characters including the Man with his weird quirks. It'll be interesting how they all come into play in in the present state of the show. Check it out on SyFy Channel if you haven't yet!

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You Part 2

More zombie things in different media coming up soon!

* The Walking Dead Season 7

The last season of The Walking Dead (which I reviewed a couple of months ago here) ended on a huge, disingenuous cliffhanger. We don't know who Negan kills at the end of the episode and we won't find out until October 23rd. The entire group is emotionally and physically broken, especially Rick. It will be interesting to see if they can overcome delightfully evil Negan and shake of this significant defeat. I hope Carol and Daryl get to shine more this season. Looking forward to it!

* Ash vs. Evil Dead Season 2

Ash is back on October 2! I'm so curious to see what happens after the explosive ending to the first season. Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless return as archenemies Ash and Ruby. Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo return as Ash's much smarter sidekicks Pablo and Kelly. Ted Raimi joins the cast as Ash's childhood best friend. Lee Majors is also joining as Ash's dad. I hope the episodes are longer. The half hour episodes are way too short and leave me hungry for more Deadite craziness and Ash delusion.

* Here Alone



This film won multiple awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and I couldn't be more excited for it. It seems to capture the isolation and bleak nature of a zombie apocalypse situation. The film seems to focus more on humans than on zombies, but zombies are what have irrevocably changed their world. Here's the synopsis from the official website below:

Deep in New York’s upstate wilderness, Ann, a young woman in her late 20’s, struggles to survive after a mysterious epidemic decimates society. On the constant brink of starvation, Ann leads an isolated and regimented life. Haunted by memories of her past she also battles the current bloodthirsty threat that lurks just outside of the forests borders, those that the epidemic has infected.

When her food stores run dangerously low Ann must make the desperate journey into a nearby town to forage for any remaining food. During one of these raids, a chance encounter brings Olivia, a teenage girl, and her injured stepfather, Chris, into Ann’s life and regimen of survival.

Learning that Chris and Olivia are trying to go further north, where the infection is supposedly contained, Ann allows them stay at her wooded camp so they can prepare for their journey. Initially reluctant to let her emotional barrier down, Ann relents as Chris’s affable nature erases some of the pain the epidemic and her past choices have caused. While Ann and Chris grow close, Olivia becomes bitter, feeling distanced from the man she has depended on for both physical and emotional survival.

As an uneasy tension grows, their lives are threatened when the protective forest is breached by the infected. Under attack, Ann is forced to confront her past and make a decision that will irrevocably alter their collective existence and survival. 

The film is set to release in theaters and VOD in 2017.

* Small addendum to the last Upcoming Zombies post: The Girl with All the Gifts is set to release in LA at the Egyptian Theater on October 11.

Watch out for those zombies!

The Dead and Empty World Part 1

I haven't read any of Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth books for a couple of years. They faded in my mind. I knew I enjoyed them, but I couldn't remember specifics. I was reminded with this wonderful compilation of stories from the same world. Carrie Ryan is an amazing writer that doesn't dumb down or censor her stories for her young adult audience. In a post-apocalyptic situation, teens have just as many hard decisions, traumatic experiences, and interactions with the undead as adults do. Since I have a lot to say about all the stories, I'm splitting them up into different posts so it isn't insanely long.

* Flotsam and Jetsam

This story examines what it's like to be trapped on a raft with someone you don't particularly like who has been bitten by a zombie. Jeremy pretends he hasn't been bitten and tries to act as normal as possible. Everyone knows, including our main character, that when someone is bitten they will turn and they will have to be killed. Both characters are in denial about the situation because it's will always be hard to kill someone even if they are a zombie that will eat your brains. I loved what happened in the end because it is so human yet unexpected. With shows like The Walking Dead, everyone in the zombie apocalypse is expected to kill their zombified loved ones or acquaintances with no emotional reaction.

The main character resents Jeremy because they were never friends and none of his actual friends made it out alive. He asks Jeremy uncomfortable questions and can be cruel. They find comfort in each other because they are all that remain of their lives. It's the same reason why they keep their raft close to the ship they left even though all that remains on it are the living dead; it's the only familiar thing on a vast ocean in a world that is unrecognizable.

* Scenic Route

Margie and Sally guard a cabin that they've made safe together and spend their days planning road trips to places they will never go using well worn guidebooks. Margie, as the older sister, is very protective of Sally and sometimes underestimates her ability to handle the reality of living in a post-apocalyptic situation. They love each other dearly and would do anything for each other. It's just the two of them against the whole world. This story examines humans as monsters instead of zombies. Bandits in the area take what they want including people, treating them as possessions. Then a young man named Calvin arrives and wins over their trust over some weeks. This story shows how people can be monstrous, but have different reasons, casting people in shades of grey rather than black and white. I loved the ending because hope and humanity are still alive. It's easy to lose humanity in a setting like this, fighting for your survival against inhuman and human monsters alike.

The New Hunger

The New Hunger is a prequel to the novel Warm Bodies. It examines the origins of characters R, Julie, and Nora eight years before they cross paths in Warm Bodies. The three narratives are told in alternating chapters and all are amazing. The world they live in is falling apart. Civilization is hanging by a thread. Cities that were deemed save not long ago are discovered to be overrun. The weather is becoming more and more extreme in addition to the zombie problem. No place is safe.

R has just wakened to his unlife as a zombie. He's fairly confused and can remember snatches of his old life, but it's fleeting. There's a monster in the back of his mind who mocks him and won't tell him what will sate this horrible, insatiable hunger inside of him. His story shows that he was never a normal zombie. Even when the inner monster was screaming at him, he would sometimes save whatever human victim was in front of him. He also meets M, sees the Boneys' creation, and has small but meaningful encounters with Julie.

Julie is 12 years old, but she's adept in combat training and weapons as is necessary to live in this post-apocalyptic world. Although young, she already has a jaded, adult air about her. She's never experienced anything that a normal teen should: first kiss, awkward dates, school, and no real worries. She has starved for days, killed people in defense, killed zombies, set piles of bodies a fire, and tries to take care of her family however she can while they look for a permanent home. Her parents try to shield her as much as they can, but she can't be protected from a shattered world where most are dead and they can't find a safe haven.

Nora is 16 years old and the guardian of her 7 year old brother Addis. She can't succumb to her own sadness or hopelessness because she would take her brother with her. She keeps strong and pushes forward to find food and shelter each night. I found her story the most compelling because she was presented with the hardest choices. Should she help a random stranger or leave them to die for the safety of herself and her brother? So many of us would say it's an easy choice. However the crux of the novel is that without humanity, it isn't really living. You wouldn't really be any different than the zombies. Her story was also the most emotional for me.

The New Hunger had one small flaw. Marion describes R and M very similarly and it wasn't clear at times who it was. The novella is also so short. It makes me want to read Warm Bodies again to have a different view of R, Julie, and Nora. Other than that, I absolutely loved The New Hunger. It has gotten me more eager for the sequel to Warm Bodies called The Burning World.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Leftover Zombies

While September Zombies is over for this year, zombies always rear their heads year round. Here are some things that I missed.

* Zombie cupcake

Would you like to completely gross out your guests? Here's a perfect solution! Make these horribly disgusting looking zombie mouth cupcakes using fondant. These look pretty vile and I would love to see who would eat these first.

* Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

The first trailer is here! Regency era sensibilities mixed with ninjas vs. zombies. I love how it starts like any other Jane Austen adaptation and then gets all action movie. Looks like bloody good fun even if it's just a teaser trailer plus the poster is amazing. Can't wait!



* White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland

The fifth installment of the White Trash Zombie series is here. This one has Angela facing her past pill popping demons and hunting a killer. I looked for this a month ago because the books typically come out during the summer and it wasn't there. I was super excited to see it pop up on Kat Richardson's Facebook page and I ordered it on the spot. This series never lets me down. It's a bit like iZombies if the main character was a fuckup in the first place and working at the morgue made her life better. Look for my review during next year's September Zombies.

* LA Zombie fashion show

Although I missed it, LA had a zombie fashion show take place and it looks awesome. Here are some cool photos with rotting divas.

Til next time!

Zombie Tunes 3

More zombie tunes for your undead music needs.

1) Zombie Song by The PDX Broadsides



This zombie song is cute and cheerful, letting people know to kill them if they become a zombie. Most people would rather be dead than nom on their friends and family, so I can relate. The group sings well in harmony and somehow trained a zombie to accompany them on guitar.

2) Return of the Loving Dead by the Nekromantix



The Nekromantix take a different route and describe the benefits of having an undead lover. Living ones are so willful and hurtful, but the dead will comply with your needs and never hurt you. I always like rockabilly, especially with horror subjects. I love the contrast of the dark subject matter and cheerful, upbeat melody.

3) Radioactive by Imagine Dragons



This song isn't explicitly about zombies, but a lot of phrases and concepts in the lyrics point to it: breathing in chemicals, new age, revolution. Zombies would overthrow the world order and put man at the bottom of the foodchain again. Chemicals and radioactivity are a typical start of a zombie apocalypse as seen in the very first zombie film, Night of the Living Dead. I've visualized these whenever I hear this song and I hope others do too. Plus the video is adorable with battling muppets.

More zombie fun to come!

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You: Part 2

These zombies aren't quite here yet, but will try to eat your brains very soon. Keep an eye out!

1) Antisocial 2

I watched the first installment about the social media virus zombifying everyone. The followup's plot is as follows from IMDB: "Years after having her newborn child stolen from her, Sam searches a world infested with infected users from the Social Redroom website. After befriending a young girl named Bean, Sam is captured and locked in a facility dedicated to finding a cure for the Redroom Virus. Trapped and tortured, Sam tries to escape the facility before in impending update on the Redroom site hits 100% and unleashes its final phase of attack."

I liked the first film, so I'll definitely give this one a try and hope that it's as relevant and well executed as the first. Michelle Mylett returns as Sam and Cody Calahan returns to direct. It has debuted at Fantasia Film Festival in Canada. No word on a US release yet, but cross your fingers for this year. Check out the trailer below.

2) iZombie Season 2

The happiest zombie show on TV returns for another season already! The second season will also have 13 episodes and answer such questions as to how will Liv act when she eats frat boy brains? How will her parents react after she refuses to donate zombie infected blood to her severely injured brother? Will Ravi be able to replicate the zombie antidote? Will Major be as badass and/or annoying as he was last season? I have to know these answers! I will be tuning in on October 6 for the premier and reviewing that season for next year's September Zombies. Check out the trailer below.

3) The Walking Dead Season 6

Rick and company are back this October 11 with another 16 episodes to pick up where they left off: Rick and company at the have after he just killed the wife beater and murderer of the leader's husband. I can't wait to see the new villains called the Wolves. Signs of them were all over the first season at first with the walkers with W's carved on their foreheads and then with depraved tableaux of cruelty and torture. There also seems to be dissent in Rick's ranks after his mostly unilateral decision to kill murderer guy and essentially take over their new home. I can't wait to see what happens! Check out the trailer below.



More zombie fun to come!

Zombies in Theme Parks

Lots of theme parks have Halloween themed mazes and festivities. Here are ones (some that I went to and some that just look really cool) that included zombies. 

1) Corpz Scare Zone at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

It's a small section, but it was the best scare zone in the place with zombie soldiers and creepy props.

2) The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far maze at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

This maze heavily features zombies and takes you from the beginning of the 5th season to presumably the start of the 6th season. Enjoyably frightening.

3) Zombie Mob at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Japan

Zombies dance to Thriller and a medley of other songs. I wish this were at the American version instead of the Jabbawockees, who didn't really have much to do with horror or Halloween.

4) Special Ops: Infected interactive maze at Knott's Scary Farm

This is a pay to participate maze, but you get to go through and shoot zombies in real life. It looks pretty fun, but I didn't pay the extra money when I went. It looks like it's possible for you to die and then no longer participate which sounds pretty horrible especially because of the extra cost. The rest of the park is sadly zombie free except for some scare zones. 

Next month, I'll review both parks I went to and break down what I liked and what I didn't like. Stay tuned!