13: Fear is Real (2009)

I apologize but I couldn't resist. I want to respect the idea of a reality show that tests contestants breaking points and allows for people to be voted off, but it's been done. It's called C-Span. The instant it started, m'lady commented, "Isn't that the cabin from Evil Dead?"
It very well could be.
SPOILER ALERT:
Executive Producer--->Sam Raimi.
I'm not sure if that's a plus for the show or a minus for Raimi.
With all the flash and polished editing effects, I have trouble buying into this show as a "reality" much like any other "reality" show. How can anyone be scared when they're being filmed by people holding cameras? The IR and Nightvision stuff is kinda neat if you like that voyeuristic "I'm watching attractive people get scared" type o' thing.
I wanted the show to work. And I think it could if it had a confederate or two that could stage a death. Morbid, and moderately illegal I know, but considering how many different silence clauses and contracts participants sign, I don't think it's impossible.
I leave with this:
You know it's going to be crap when people are afraid of a modulated voice synthesizer... even if it is added in post.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

TOUCHING.

GROSS.

ENGROSSING.

FUN.

There's lots of gratuitous gore in this zombie flick. Chris tipped me off to it. THANKS. My local video store has two copies. Seeing as their versions of Vertigo and The Birds got destroyed from too many viewings, that's probably a good policy.

So yes, it takes place in a mall in suburbia, where the zombies look frighteningly like normal shoppers. Add guns, a motorcycle gang, black-white buddy action, and a helpless female learning to fly a helicopter. Mix for a slightly overlong viewing time, and presto, my favorite zombie flick yet. I've still got to see Night of the Living Dead (available here free), the first in George Romero's pentalogy of Dead films.

I don't feel this movie pillories suburban life all that much. The main characters spend most of their time protecting, enjoying, and living in a mall, and only (spoiler alert) leave because they're chased by the undead. Other than the end, it looked pretty fun. The mall has a massive gun store, and the pregnant lady drinks and smokes the whole time. HOT. Eventually she even learns how to shoot.

The media appears vital in this film, yet, not very connected. There's not any reporting - all the scenes on the TV take place in one studio, as a give-and-take between scientists and unseen angry mobs. There's actually intellectualizing and punditry, which leads to a plea for rationality in response to the crisis. It's so different from your average newscast during a disaster, which focuses on getting what scant details can be found and reporting straight from the scene. I think movies generally stereotype the media as overly dramatic or irrational, though, so it was nice to hear a logical voice from the tele.

Land of the Dead (2005)

This is a very dark movie, literally. I don't remember a peek of sunlight throughout it. It goes from nighttime to gray, cloudy skies, and back to nighttime. The zombies are pretty brutal and eat a lot of people, and they also learn to use weapons. The bad guys led by Dennis Hopper's character, depend on warriors for protection from the rotting fleshed masses.

It's bleak, but the context I saw this movie in -- projected on a wall in a crowded apartment, with breaks every 20 minutes to switch to the next downloaded section, and Japanese ads floating across the screen every now and then -- made it fairly light viewing. I was with a bunch of Mexicans, so the "cholo" name calling of John Leguizamo made an impression. The scene where zombies ford a river toward the wealthy downtown district inspired cries of "Rio Grande"! So, audiences don't always suck. Sometimes they make you warm cinnamon tea and and zesty Dorito's-Tapatío-lime juice-nachos with ice cream and beer to boot.

Like in real life, the "Rio Grande" is a moat protecting the rich. Outside the moat live some regular humans, like the warrior class and their families, in a fairly run down post-industrial environment. They don't have the money to actually live in the city. Curiously, the zombies, too, live in the suburbs. It's like the whole urban renewal movement succeeded, and the city is no longer the scary place. (I imagine Escape from New York represents the previous sentiment.)

The cacahuate gallery I watched with made it a fairly entertaining flick, but even on its own, the movie moves briskly. It's grittier than a lot of action movies I've seen. It's morally more interesting, as it does a convincing job of inspiring sympathy for the zombies while still depicting their disgusting methods.

I'd say this is definitely worth a download.