Short film compilations are like anthologies without the connecting storyline thread. The individual tales within the framework are of variable quality and more often than not the overall feeling left over from the viewing experience is a general ‘so what’. Welcome to the ULTIMATE ZOMBIE FEAST which bucks the trend and offers over five hours of short features that vary in length from five minutes (NOT EVEN DEATH) to sixty four for the amusing and by far the best of the bunch THE BOOK OF ZOMBIE.
The collection couldn’t have come at a better time to capitalise on the current situation. Zombies are everywhere! Whether it be in top-rated TV form (THE WALKING DEAD) to general big screen releases (the recent [REC]3 GENESIS) to kid flicks (PARANORMAN) the shuffling undead have never been more popular. It could be argued that with the market generally heaving under the weight of their decaying forms that such a collection maybe over-saturating the market. Not so!
ULTIMATE ZOMBIE FEAST is just that a veritable varied feast of stories that fluctuate in tone whilst not jarring within such an ensemble. You’d be hard pushed as a genre fan not to find something here that sits well with you even if it’s a generic offering such as India’s SAVAGES (2008) rest assured you’ll be still be entertained. Monster Pictures have done well to get the limp offering that is the Netherland’s ZOMBEER out of the way first. It takes not one but two directors to misshape a concept that sees the chief of a brewery drunkenly topple into the beer-making vat where he dies and the resulting brew turns everyone that drinks it into snarling undead. It sounds fun. It’s not.
Spanish virus outbreak tale ZOMBIES AND CIGARETTES (2009) is more agreeable and picks up the pace and our expectations following the flaccid ZOMBEER. PLAGUE (2008) adopts a more sober tone as it focuses on illegal migrant Vilhelm fighting against loneliness and the zombie hoards of London. We stick with the UK for 2008’s BITTEN which does well a decent job of conveying the lead Claire Wilson’s horror as to what has become of her and her family.
After a decent flow from the initial stumble that was ZOMBEER the collection takes a huge tumble with the Stateside offering ARISE (2010). Noisy, shoddy and risibly performed it plays more like an ambitious film students attempt to put together something with purely his friends and family in mind to impress. Consequently it does not ARISE but instead flat-lines quicker than a freshly chewed on victim. Balancing out the unsubtle assault on the earlobes that was ARISE fellow US offering NOT EVEN DEATH (2009). At just five minutes in length it manages to cram in a unique flavour and telling than what preceded it. Shame the writer of the piece appears rather snobby about his piece being considered a zombie tale in the associated press notes.
Canada’s KIDZ (2010) is played light and makes for a fun nine minutes as kids arm up and take on the undead after their parents are killed off. It leads in nicely to the collection’s top trump card THE BOOK OF ZOMBIE (2007). From an amusing title credits sequence to Mormons spreading the virus by going door-to-door in a sleepy Utah town, THE BOOK OF ZOMBIE is played for laughs and is not without wringing some feeling for our core group as they hole up in a local bar to take on the increasing undead outside. It’s a decent finish to the collection’s first disc and has you scrambling to insert the next. And if you’re wondering why this reviewer has neglected to discuss FEAR OF THE LIVING DEAD (2009) it’s because this reviewer has already forgotten anything about it and that in itself speaks volumes.
By now you’ll have a very firm idea of how the double disc set is shaping up. There’s enough to satisfy differing tastes and each will find their own audience regardless of what works for this viewer. The differing tones, countries of origin and different takes on how an outbreak could occur all make for an agreeable collection overall. ZOMBIE HARVEST (2003) is a delicious little romp that has more than a dash of the madness that made director Peter Jackson’s earlier movies BAD TASTE and MEET THE FEEBLES make their mark. Such is the fun it offers that the dismal THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH (2009) is less painful to sit through.
UK’s ZOMBLIES (2009) sees the action quota pumped up as a private militia’s rookie zombie hunters sent out to a distress call only to uncover the truth about a terrifying new breed of zombie. The pacing is relentless and the performances agreeable. Writer/producer/director David M Reynolds is a name to watch based on ZOMBLIES relentless kinetic thrust and occasional narrative surprise. A note to the makers of OUTPOST: BLACK SUN- this is how you do it!
IT CAME FROM THE WEST (2007) promises much with its animated Western zombie flavour and as much as one would like to want to like it you can’t help thinking it reads better on paper than it does in execution. No question that it’s a unique entry in the collection and hats off to director Tor Fruergaard for his ambition if not for the finished flick. Still his part of the collection is ten times better than the poorly irrelevant offering from France named PARIS BY THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (2009) which is a big ‘so what?’
One of India’s first independent zombie films SAVAGES (2011) goes for the ‘based on a true story’ angle and sees a group of friends dimwittedly enter into a forbidden area and one-by-one become infected. All the while there is some local wandering around warning all he crosses paths with that they should leave before it’s too late but kind of contradicting himself by staying around the area as much as the teenagers. Still a fun watch though as is the UK’s DEAD HUNGRY (2009) which finishes the collection on a poignant note and takes the zombie’s perspective and the possibility of some undead loving.
Like a child at Xmas upon renting/purchasing the ULTIMATE ZOMBIE FEAST you’ll be giddy with excitement. Upon opening/viewing each present/short film the collection offers up you’ll have a mixture of disappointment and euphoria. After viewing them all you’ll forget the lesser offerings, as a child would ignore presents they didn’t really favour, and take pleasure in those that you favour. ULTIMATE ZOMBIE FEAST is an absolute pleasure and one to share with friends and a few beers over the course of a full evening. Enjoy!