Grade Z

Plague of the Zombies (Dir: John Gilling, Prod: Hammer Films, 1966)

gradez — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:05:41 +0000

Plague is notable for two reasons: it’s Hammer’s only zombie movie, and it predates Romero’s Night of the Living Dead by a couple of years.

In it, a professor and his daughter are called upon by friends to investigate strange happenings in a small village. People are mysteriously dying — and later seen rising from their graves!

As one might expect, Plague is dripping with Hammer atmosphere. However, aside from a positively creepy graveyard scene, there aren’t many scares to be had. And from a plot perspective it’s somewhat dull. The viewer is privy to the use of voodoo from the beginning credits, so it’s not particularly engaging to sit around while the protagonists figure this out. Plus, it’s no real mystery who the bad guy is. That being said, the real attraction of Plague is a well-developed subtext about power/authority and the social class system. And it’s always a rare treat to see a “voodoo” zombie movie! B-

Zombie Details:
Isolated incident or global apocalypse? Isolated.
Zombies contagious? No.
Classic or modern zombies? Voodoo zombies!!!!!!!
Gore/Gross-out level: Non-existent.

Plague of the Zombies info on IMDb

Posted in All Reviews Tagged: Hammer, period piece, voodoo

[Rec] (Dir: Jaume Balagueró, 2007)

gradez — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:14:49 +0000

Let me preface this one by saying watch out: there’s a Hollywood remake called Quarantine on the way.

[Rec] follows a TV reporter, her cameraman, and some firefighters as they become trapped along with the residents of a zombie-infested apartment building after health officials quarantine the place and try to cover everything up. It’s filmed handheld from the POV of the news camera, which can be a little irritating. But the style makes contextual sense, and it really adds to the claustrophobia. And oh boy, is this one claustrophobic — and scary as hell. But what really makes it stand out is the emphasis on the government’s handling of the crisis. The final scene is, suffice it to say, C-R-E-E-P-Y, but the revelations made shortly beforehand about the (possible) origin of the zombies are disappointing. They feel like an idea that wasn’t fully formed, and this made me feel cheated. Still, [Rec] succeeds in being a terrifying, claustrophobic piece of zombie lore set in a post-911 context. B+

Zombie Details:
Isolated incident or global apocalypse? Isolated.
Zombies contagious? Yes.
Classic or modern zombies? Classic.
Gore/Gross-out level: Medium.

[Rec] info on IMDb

City of the Living Dead (Dir: Lucio Fulci, 1980)

gradez — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:55:59 +0000

Thin plot involves a psychic and a wisecracking reporter tracking the source of some visions to a town where a priest has hung himself, thereby causing the gates of hell to open and unleash the undead. Naturally, creepy-undead-priest-dude steals the show. In a particularly memorable scene, he showcases the awesome ability to make people cry tears of blood and throw up their internal organs. Pretty sweet, no? Aside from him, though, there’s not much to get excited about. And there are some unnecessary and confusing elements that should have never seen the light of day. What’s with Bob, the local sex maniac/zombie red herring? And the tacked-on editing room resolution should have been avoided by ending with the scene before it. Unless you’re a big Fulci fan or you don’t mind your gore served up with little else, you’ll probably want to skip this one. C-

Zombie Details:
Isolated incident or global apocalypse? Isolated.
Zombies contagious? Not directly.
Classic or modern zombies? Classic.
Gore/Gross-out level: High.

City of the Living Dead info on IMDb