Zombie films are starting to litter video store shelves just as much as vampire films are and American Zombie is just another one to add to the fire. Seriously, ever since the rise of the zombie film in the past few years both on direct to DVD and in theaters the independent scene has gone wild with the zombie genre.
AMERICAN ZOMBIE is a mockumentary of sorts that follows a group of documentary filmmakers who interview zombies who have the ability to talk and live in everyday normal society. They don’t attack human and eat flesh like the normal zombie should although it is mentioned that there are different classes of zombies. They hold jobs, and have hobbies, and try to live as normal as possible, but there is one defect to them being around, they are slowly rotting away. The film is set around a group of documentary filmmakers following around certain zombies, all who have different personalities. Some are even dating humans, while others are starting equal rights movements for zombies. As the film comes to a conclusion the filmmakers are invited to a zombie only event, which is kind of like Woodstock, or the Burning Man event. It’s called “Live Dead” and it a festival where zombies can get together and be themselves. The problem is that there something else going on and a zombie uprising is in the works and about to take shape.
The script and overall story is nothing special. While I liked the concept of the story; the way the script was executed did not work for me. It was very slow paced, the character development was poor and it was very hard for me to get into it. In fact I fell asleep halfway though the first act and had to go back and watch it a second time. It does get better towards the end, but by that time it’s too late, being that the first hour of the film is nothing but dull and boring.
In terms of production value the film was shot like an art house documentary, it had that flat video look, with mostly handheld camera shots and used natural lighting. It did have some decent mock sets, especially with the “Live Dead” scene which were very well dressed and well coordinated. The rest of the film was pretty much shot on location in houses, apartments on the streets and in business locations. The film does have some decent acting, I won’t take anything away from the talent that worked on this film, however I did find their characters to be boring and somewhat underdeveloped. Don’t expect to much gore in the film either, there is some stuff towards the end. Mainly zombie bites and a few neck and head injuries, but that’s about it.
Overall, AMERICAN ZOMBIE is really not for the hardcore horror fans to enjoy, especially those who are die hard fans of the zombie genre. If you enjoy arthouse documentaries with a lot of detail on the boring lives of people, and just happen to be a fan of zombies, you might like this one. The film is being marketed as a horror, comedy shot documentary style. The humor in the film is very dry. Personally I didn’t crack a smile at all. I think Diary of the Dead is more of a film for the true fans of zombie films to check to out if your looking for that documentary feel to a zombie film. Don’t get more wrong the direction that AMERICAN ZOMBIE is headed in when it comes to it’s conclusion seems promising. I just think that if they were to make a sequel out of this film and keep it going in that direction it would be a lot better than what we have here.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
