ZOMBIES

TODD SAVES THE DAY

Film Review by Fiore 

In full disclosure, I must say I like Tony Todd.  I believe he has constantly understated screen talent, but opts to highlight his verbose thespian antics in schlock B horror films.  When he starred in the wildly successful CANDY MAN, it seemed fame and fortune, and larger film roles, may be just a step away.  Rather than advancing, Todd opted to retreat to the genre where he rules.  It’s the big fish in the little pond syndrome.  Todd is the black version of Jeffrey Combs, who did the same thing.

All that set up is to tell you Todd stars, albeit a small role, in ZOMBIES, another in a seemingly endless stream of zombie flicks.  Starring with him are Raina Hein and Steven Luke.  As zombie movies go, this one is standard.  A virus is causing the dead to return to life, searching for brains.  The only novel element is Writer/Director Hamid Torabpour combines an element of Stephen King’s THE MIST to give ZOMBIES a relative twist.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really strung out on zombie-themed productions.  The only one I still watch avidly is Z NATION.  The appeal of that series is, it never takes itself seriously.  It’s played for camp, as all these things should be, and it is exceptionally innovative.  Things you see on Z NATION will show up on THE WALKING DEAD weeks later.

Look, zombies aren’t virus infected or military produced dead things.  Zombies are the living dead, brought back to life through the practice of voodoo.  They are slaves to the shaman and do his bidding.  Somewhere, thanks in large part to George Romero, the definition of zombie was altered.  Check Boris Karloff in WHITE ZOMBIE for a better feel of what constitutes this genre of walking dead.

But, if we must be subjected to virus produced zombies, it may as well be with Tony Todd.  ZOMBIES is not written well (the dialogue is static), and with the exception of Todd, not acted well.  Even the zombies look confused.  Perfect for fans of schlock-B horror, which admittedly, I am a sucker for, regardless of topic.

So, grab a cold one, with lots of pretzels and be prepared to scream at your TV set when you watch ZOMBIES.  It’s so bad, it’s fun

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