tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post8977786896956447449..comments2024-02-10T10:52:58.614-05:00Comments on THE DIG: Depth of the Deadcinemarchaeologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-21732308516275517062014-05-21T02:41:23.663-04:002014-05-21T02:41:23.663-04:00I have a friend, the same one who kept me with WAL...I have a friend, the same one who kept me with WALKING DEAD too long; he loves zombie pictures and will regularly turn up with a handful of them to watch. Probably 99% of them are barely watchable--just awful, awful films--but every so often, he will find a good one. I introduced him to [REC] and he turned up with [REC] 2 one day. He brought an obscure one called GANGSTERS, GUNS & ZOMBIES that turned out to be a fun little movie, and then I found COCKNEYS VS. ZOMBIES right after that, also fun. He also found SHADOWS OF THE DEAD, which I quite liked, but it's one that really divides opinion (I'm apparently in a minority in approving of it). His biggest catch was THE DEAD, the Ford brothers' picture I mentioned in the article. I'd heard good things about it and one day he turned up with a copy. If you haven't seen that one, I can't recommend it strongly enough. A <i>great</i> movie. The brothers have already done a sequel. Haven't seen it yet, though.<br /><br />The oversaturation has been really terrible. I don't even remember the names of most of the bad ones I've seen. Scores and scores of them. I think the number of specifically zombie productions will drop--it already seems to be going down--but if I'm right, horror in general is going to be a very busy field for the foreseeable future. The technological revolution we're experiencing is going to keep growing the field. Digging the nuggets from the rubbish tip will be a tall order at times, but unless I miss my guess, a lot of those nuggets are going to seriously shine.<br /><br />I liked Romero's second trilogy, particularly DIARY. They're not even close to being up to the first two flicks, but very few pictures can be expected to live up to <i>that</i>. I really think the world of George; an appreciation of him is long overdue for the Dig.<br /><br />I despised--and that word isn't really strong enough here--the NIGHT remake helmed by Tom Savini. If that's the one you mean (I haven't seen the other remake), I have to part company with you there. That film is like watching DAY OF THE DEAD but without any of the great effects or ideas. It's a showcase for some of the worst performances ever to appear in an allegedly professional feature film, even from guys like Todd and Towles (who are usually solid as a rock). It's basically bloodless (a sign of an MPAA crackdown at the time it was made), and Savini's earlier instinct--to disown it--was the correct one, as far as I'm concerned. I don't understand why it has the reputation it does in some quarters.<br /><br />You are, however, definitely not alone in being less than fond of the DAWN remake. While it looks like Pulitzer Prize material next to the NIGHT remake, it was, to me, a soulless, exercise to be quickly forgotten. In the future, Hollywood will remake it repeatedly, and the last remake will be forgotten beneath the wheels of the latest. Don't bother with the DAY OF THE DEAD remake--it's even worse than DAWN. And there's already another remake of it lined up for next year, if you can believe <i>that</i>.<br /><br />I haven't yet had the heart to re-read the article above since I finished it Sunday. My impression, upon its completion, was that it wasn't bad. It hasn't drawn much attention so far, so I don't know. Here's some famous last words: I'm trying to get back to writing here regularly and on things a hell of a lot more interesting than THE WALKING DEAD. I guess I'll have to see how that goes.<br /><br />Glad you stopped by, mate.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-56132015166756340112014-05-21T01:53:50.505-04:002014-05-21T01:53:50.505-04:00Fabulous article, J! Dawn and Night are the most i...Fabulous article, J! Dawn and Night are the most important movies in the zombie genre that nearly every zombie film that came after owes a debt to. I’m not sure if it’s a general case nowadays, but in my personal experience a lot of the zombie fans I’ve met, not just kids, haven’t seen Night or Dawn yet, something that seems truly unfortunate to me. <br /><br />After seeing Dawn and Night (and Day) as a teenager in the ‘90s, I became a huge zombie fan, and I remember feeling pretty starved for new zombie movies up until the early 2000s, when the prospect of a new zombie film was a big deal but always ended up being disappointing: I’m talking about Children of the Living Dead and Resident Evil. Then something happened. I’m not sure if it was because of Shawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, or the Dawn remake, but they made a huge comeback. Unfortunately I feel there has been an oversaturation since then that led to more crap than quality. I wasn’t entirely disappointed by Land, Diary, and Survival, but they didn’t feel as good as I hoped new films from Romero would be, and this saturation of zombie films taking place probably had something to do with that. There has been too many to keep track of for my taste, something that has caused me to overlook a lot of zombie films that have come out in the last 8 years or so, which is unfortunate, because I’m sure I’ve missed out on some really good ones. <br /><br />I’m probably one of the very few that isn’t too fond of the Dawn remake, but I’ve always appreciated the Night remake. It has some interesting twists on the original story; and the zombies in that one are top notch, very dead looking without being overdone. I haven’t seen the Day remake yet. <br />Giovanni Susinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03253382939348997303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-70383203948069792152014-05-19T02:29:46.335-04:002014-05-19T02:29:46.335-04:00My posting tends to be rather irregular, with burs...My posting tends to be rather irregular, with bursts then lulls. The WALKING DEAD articles have sort of consumed the content here for a while, but I do write about other more interesting things, and I'm trying to do more of it. Come by regularly. Maybe you'll find some things you like.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-77210794808024577372014-05-18T19:35:25.487-04:002014-05-18T19:35:25.487-04:00Wow. Now this is a blog from a man who is passiona...Wow. Now this is a blog from a man who is passionate about film. I've been reading your other posts and I'm impressed. I hope you post regularly. If not daily then at least every few days. I've bookmarked your blog and eagerly await your future postsD. Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176367321307869155noreply@blogger.com