November 10, 2005
Do the Zombie Stomp: Sheri Moon Zombie, star of THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, and wife of writer/director/rocker Rob Zombie, stops by to chat with Josh Jabcuga, about Ted Nugent and Meryl Streep; also, Josh proclaims that the zombie movie is yesterday’s corpse with his review of UNDEAD; and a look at a living dead novel of epic proportions, WET WORK, in this all-zombie issue of Squib Central.
Sloppy Seconds: A Review of the Film UNDEAD
Zombie movies as a subgenre are dead. D-E-A-D. Dead.
I came to this conclusion recently while watching a screener for UNDEAD (written, edited, produced, and directed by The Spierig Brothers/Lions Gate Home Entertainment). I was thinking, amidst all the blood and guts, squibs and scares, cinematic wink-winks and blatant petty film larceny, that this movie, built largely around the concept of the archetypical “movie zombie” and the dreaded “mysterious plague that causes movie zombies” would have been a much better “zombie movie” if there weren’t any “movie zombies” to be found in the picture.
Huh?
Maybe I’m just really tired of watching zombie movies. Maybe I’m not alone. Filmgoers have been served up a buffet of brains ever since the zombie genre resurrection following the release of Danny Boyle’s masterfully creepy post apocalyptic 28 DAYS LATER. Hollywood loves trends as much as they love money, because the trends dictate what people are spending their money on, and vice versa. And people seemed to want blood and guts. They want brains. Or at least they did.
Brainy blood and guts, like the kind offered in 28 DAYS LATER, were a plus, but Hollywood found that gorehounds would even shell out their cash for less brainy fare like films-based-on-video-games such as RESIDENT EVIL (which, truth be told, wasn’t all that bad).
There’s that bit of dialogue from the movie THREESOME (starring one of the non-Alec Baldwin Baldwin brothers, where the Baldwin in question says, “Sex is like pizza. No matter how bad it is, it’s still pretty good,” or something along those lines. (I’ve never seen THREESOME, nor have I met anyone that has, but a lot of my friends have at one time or another tried to claim that bit of sexual insight as their own.) Much like sex and pizza, no matter how weak a zombie movie is, they’re still usually pretty enjoyable on their own merits (and just as messy as sex and pizza, if you’re a sloppy eater, that is).
The point is 28 DAYS LATER opened the bloody flood gates once again for lovers of the “I’m so hungry for brains right now I could die” undead, causing the genre to come full circle on so many occasions that it’s finally time to shoot it smack-dab in the head. Blam-o!
Since the domestic release of 28 DAYS LATER, audiences have been treated to a DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, a new chapter from the grandpappy of the genre himself, George A. Romero (LAND OF THE DEAD), a Brit Rom-Zom-Com (that is, Romantic Zombie Comedy) SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and millions upon millions of straight-to-video releases, which again, like sex and pizza, aren’t all that lame (see Moviepoopshoot’s own resident writer/director Chance Shirley’s down-home dead dance HIDE AND CREEP, for a fine example of an inventive film with a low budget that is both entertaining and somehow flying under the radar of the mainstream).
UNDEAD attempts to turn the genre on its arse, and in the process, ends up falling on its own arse. I applaud that type of effort, but I’m also left nauseated by the results. No, getting sick to my stomach would imply too strong of a reaction. Actually, what’s worse is, I was left scratching my head, and not in the “this film is a horror film but is actually subversive” way. Like so many zombie films these days, there are the prerequisite nods to ol’ Romero. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Romero created the zombie genre in film, at least, the cloth in which all others seem to be cut from. Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the silver screen equivalent of “Free Bird” or “Voodoo Chile” or “Brown Eyed Girl.” Everyone and their dead grandmother seem to have their own spin on them, and like those old musical chestnuts by Van Morrison, Hendrix, and Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced “Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd”), Romero’s film (pronounced “Row-Mair-Oh”) is so masterfully crafted and fool-proof, anybody can offer up their own riffs on it and still make it seem fresh and somewhat original, even if their attempt is largely inept. (To be accurate, Romero himself admits that NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD rips off Richard Matheson’s classic piece of literature I AM LEGEND.) This gets me to think that every up-and-coming film director-slash-writer should have to pass some sort of piss test in order to be allowed admission to the DGA or Writer’s Guild or to get their driver’s license, and that test would be to churn out their own take on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. If said applicants can add even the slightest hint of originality to the genre…they pass. (The real reason most young film directors take a stab at the zombie subgenre, or the larger horror genre on their first go-around, is because works of genre are often easier to sell to the market, and thus recoup the filmmakers’ money, enabling them to make…you guessed it, a second feature.)
If NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the Jimi Hendrix version of “Voodoo Chile’” and 28 DAYS LATER is Stevie Ray Vaughn’s equally explosive, yet still-a-cover-version of the air guitar holy grail, then UNDEAD is at its best moments a very inspired bar band’s take on the classic rock staple. The film is unevenly paced, and throws some Robert Rodriquez-inspired Looney Tunes stunts into the mix. It’s a comedy more than anything else. Think SHAUN OF THE DEAD meets John Woo, but with fewer slow mo scenes, and certainly no white doves flapping their wings in slow motion.
The first hour of the film gave me that déjà vu feeling, save for a few memorable kills, including a hysterical visual of zombie fish attacking an unsuspecting fisherman. And then the filmmakers throw a curveball into the formula, which I can’t elaborate upon here because it would spoil the film for you, should you decide to seek it out. Unfortunately, the filmmakers themselves don’t really elaborate on the aforementioned curveball all too much themselves, and inexplicably, by the film’s conclusion, they return to their Romero roots and all but dismiss this interesting CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND subplot.
The film is not without its moments. The Spierig brothers manage to squeeze some truly unique visuals out of their million-dollar budget. (Some of the key effects are eerie, and eerily reminiscent of the computer f/x in DONNIE DARKO.) The performances are all top notch for a low budget zombie film. The musical score suffers from the lack of funds, but one could dismiss it as being purposefully hokey. Without question, UNDEAD is certainly the oddest zombie film I’ve seen in ages…maybe ever. Had this film been released five years ago to a mass audience, the Spierig brothers would have been touted as the second coming; here and now, they merely appear to be coming in second. Whoever said coming second was a bad thing never enjoyed a slice of cold pizza after a night of steamy sex.
“She bit his cock off! Holy God, she chowed down on his balls.”
It’s always nice to supplement a steady diet of zombie movies, cold pizza, and sex, with a little quality reading. No, seriously. Don’t be fooled by the excerpt above taken from Philip Nutman’s WET WORK. The novel, brought back from the dead after originally being published over a decade ago, is a balls-to-the-wall, transgressive, heart-breaking (yes, that’s right), sweeping, absurdist splatterpunk novel (available from www.OverlookConnection.com).
WET WORK has many strengths, chief among them being its straight-laced horror. This is a story not played for laughs, and it’s the antidote to films like UNDEAD. It’s an epic, equal parts cautionary tale and campfire story. Anchored around the characters of Dominic Corvino, the CIA’s top “wet work” specialist, Nick Packard, a rookie cop breaking his cherry on the streets of our nation’s capital, and a plague filling up the world like black ink blotting on a paper napkin, turning non-lethal diseases fatal, and causing the dead to rise, WET WORK is the literary kin to Romero’s finest cinematic achievements.
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Nutman’s book is not restricted by any MPAA rules and regulations. The gore in store is not watered down. The blood and guts are not censored. And the plot, one of government deception and humankind’s will to survive, is laced with biting sardonic political commentary, which is just as relevant today as it was the day it was published. The truly scary thing is the feeling that Nutman’s grim take on society, mainly the war pigs at the top (cough:::insert any U.S. president of the last two decades here:::cough) who are caught with their pants down pushing the buttons and sending our enlisted men and women to do a job they’d never be caught dead doing themselves, hits the nail on the head even harder than it did during its initial printing. While I was reading this book recently for the second time, Newsweek was doing a cover story on some mysterious bird flu which may turn out to be pandemic in scale…well that’s enough to keep anyone awake at night.
Do yourself a favor. Skip the latest rip-off of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD at your local Blockbuster Video and pick up a copy of WET WORK. If you’re looking for a cross between Tom Clancy and George A. Romero, and for something without the tacked-on, clichéd Hollywood-ending, WET WORK should be at the top of your list. Come to think of it, as much as I'm numb to zombie flicks as of late, Nutman's WET WORK would certainly be a story that I'd love to see brought to the big screen.
Philip will be signing copies of WET WORK on Saturday from 2-5pm (November 12) at the Coffee Shop of Horrors in Gainesville, Georgia. Visit the author at his official site, www.PhilipNutman.com, for more info.
"Baby did a bad, bad thing":
An Interview with Sheri Moon Zombie.
Joshua Jabcuga: Tell me a little bit about your work on THE DEVIL’S REJECTS? The first time out (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES), your character, "Baby," was pretty psychotic.
Sheri Moon Zombie: Yeeeeah.
Joshua Jabcuga: Was your character fleshed out a little bit more by Rob (Rob Zombie, writer/director/rocker) in REJECTS?
Sheri Moon Zombie: Well THE DEVIL’S REJECTS is a movie that can stand on its own. You don’t necessarily have to see HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. It’s a lot more toned down and gritty and realistic. You know, set in the 70s. It’s a beautifully shot film. When you’re seeing this horrific violence being committed and there’s a beautiful bright blue sky behind it...it’s just beautiful to look at.
Joshua Jabcuga: The contrast of it all.
Sheri Moon Zombie: Yeah, the contrast.
Joshua Jabcuga: What was the set like for you? Was it more relaxed, being that it was the second film for Rob? Did you notice the tone change at all?
Sheri Moon Zombie: Oh yeah. Rob really has learned a lot. Once you do a movie it’s like a crash course in film, but yeah, he knew exactly what he wanted. He did a lot of storyboarding, and rehearsal for the actors, and a lot of preproduction. He really had a great crew to work with so it was easier in that sense but still, it’s very challenging, which I think ultimately shows up. If it were a cake walk, it wouldn’t be a good movie.
Joshua Jabcuga: This is going to sound kind of funny, but did you do any prep for this movie? Is there any way you prepare for a role such as this?
Sheri Moon Zombie: Well, I mean, I definitely studied my lines. I would rehearse with Bill Moseley (“Otis”) a lot, and Sid Haig (“Captain Spaulding”), and I listened to certain music that sort of brings me to where I think “Baby” would be, like Ted Nugent. I think “Baby,” my character—
Joshua Jabcuga: “Stranglehold.”
Sheri Moon Zombie: (laughs) Yeah. I think she likes Ted Nugent. So yeah, to get into the frame of mind that way.
Joshua Jabcuga: Do you have any acting influences, as far as your style goes?
Sheri Moon Zombie: Well, I can say people I admire, I, you know, I’m not up to their level yet, but I’m loving Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, and I think Kate Hudson is really going places.
Joshua Jabcuga: Do you have anything lined up next?
Sheri Moon Zombie: I’m doing a voice for an animated character in THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO which comes out in 2006.
Joshua Jabcuga: Well I wish you the best of luck.
Sheri Moon Zombie: Thanks!
THE DEVIL’S REJECTS was released this past Tuesday on DVD.
Praise for the writing of Josh Jabcuga, who pens Squib Central with ink made from his own blood, published most Thursdays, exclusively at www.moviepoopshoot.com:
"You’re a bad influence on them, I’ll tell you right now." -Max Cavalera, lead singer of Soulfly, former lead singer of Brazilian death metal icons Sepultura.
I read your article and you my dear are a true
ASSHOLE!!! Wonder how you landed your job, desperation???"-Angie (last name unknown; article mentioned...unknown).
“Josh Jabcuga can take the 26 measly letters of our crude alphabet and capture the bi-polar soul of all that is classically yet disturbingly American. Then, when his typewriter is left to cool, he can turn right around…completely ready to trounce any drunk punk that’s got me backed into a corner.” –The Colonel J.D. Wilkes of The Legendary Shack*Shakers.
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