It's official, somehow the Resident Evil film franchise will have a fifth installment, regardless of the fact that the films haven't shared anything in common with the games they are based upon since the second film in the series and the fact that the last two films have been fairly crappy.
So far, it's been confirmed that Milla Jovovich will be returning as Alice and Sienna Guillory will be reprising her role as Jill Valentine. Milla's husband Paul. W.S. Anderson will also be writing and directing the film.
I have mixed feelings about this news. On the one hand, the last two R.E. films have been rather bad. The stories haven't made much sense, the acting has been pretty horrible and there's barely been any sign of a cohesive plot or character arc involved for anyone. So, will this new film be any better? Probably not. Will it make no sense and kind of suck? Probably. Will it feature Milla Jovovich in some sort of skimpy outfit killing lots and lots of undead? Most definitely.
Because of that last question, will I go see the film in theaters? You bet your sweet ass I will.
This lovely little video clip comes to us courtesy of youtube user Pippinopalon, who created it as their entry for a contest by Empire Magazine to reduce the plots of full length feature films to 60 seconds.
Pippinopalon takes one of the greatest nerd-loved zombie films of all times and does it up in the style of Brian Lee O'Malley's comic series Scott Pilgrim. The result is pretty brilliant, and is well worth the 60 seconds of your time it takes to watch the clip.
Spoiler warning, if you've never seen Shaun of the Dead (shame on you), be aware that this clip does give away all of the big moments in the film.
I've known about the book Night of the Living Trekkies for a while now. I'd read about it online, I'd seen it at comic con, but at no point was I ever interested in reading it. As amusing as the concept of blending Star Trek and zombies is, I think I've just been getting to the point where I'm kind of over zombie stories. They are everywhere lately. There are zombie books, zombie comics, zombie games, zombie movies. Everywhere you turn, you'll find something about the undead. It's as if there actually has been a real, honest-to-god zombie invasion taking place in popular media.
I had thought I was was over it, but then I saw the above trailer.
Holy crap if that isn't the most brilliant bit of marketing I've ever seen, I don't know what is. I now find myself dying to read that book. If it's even half as amusing as this trailer is, it'll be totally worth reading. I also now find myself wishing that this story gets turned into a full on movie. I could only hope that the movie will be as low budget and cheesy as the trailer is. It's the campiness of the effects and the bad Star Trek costumes that really makes this trailer pure nerd gold. Can we just give the guys who made the trailer more money so they can shoot the whole thing? Please?
A long while back, some of you may remember this little web comic that my friend Matt and I posted online. It was about two friends who started having an argument about what is and is not a zombie, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. We thought it was a funny little idea, and we were happy when the people who read it told us they thought it was funny too. That was about all we had hoped for, but then something unexpected happened.
Two of our friends up in LA by the name of Candice and Daniel Landsberg read the comic too, and they came up with an idea. What if that comic was turned into a short film? It would be fairly easy to make. It only required one location, we could get Matt and Wes to play themselves in the film, and we could put it online.
The two of them pushed this idea to Matt and I, as well as to some of our other friends, and we decided to go for it. Another friend of mine by the name of Robert Magness hopped on as writer and director. He wrote a screenplay based on the comic that we all loved, and we started setting dates for filming.
For the zombie special effects, Matt knew these two guys who call themselves the Bloodshed Brothers. Their real names are Zach and Jeromy Ball. They’re haunted house and horror effects lovers who have been building their own amazing haunted houses for years. They have an attic full of fake body parts and they know how to make bloody gore look good. Matt talked to them, and they were more than happy to hop on board and help us bring our zombies to life (or is it undeath?).
At this point, all the lights were green. Two days of filming, and a few months of post production later, and here it is:
Matt & Wes vs. The Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 1 – A Zombie By Any Other Name
That’s right, episode one. We had so much fun making this thing, we just had to make some more. A whole season in fact. We have plans for at least a 10 episode run with this, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future episodes. We are going to be shooting the second episode soon.
We really hope you like this, and we want others to like it too. Please forward this to as many people as you can. Spread this thing as if it was a real zombie infection.
If you want, you can also follow the series on facebook, or at the official website for the series, www.mattandwes.com
Hey Man, I'm just talking about Lincoln. You know? Our 16th President. The man was many things. A freer of slaves, a leader during troubled times, a lover of beards and tall hats. But did you also know he could give Buffy a run for her money?
That's right people, Abe Lincoln hunted the children of the night. Vampires. We're not talking about the wussified sparkling kind either who mope around and date teenagers. No, we're talking about killers. Beasts disguised as gentlemen of the day. They're a blight on this world, and Honest Abe could honestly kick their asses when he needed to.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a book that will be coming out soon. It was written by Seth Grahame-Smith, the same guy who gave us the ever amazing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and if his past work is anything to go on then this book will be a must read. Above is a trailer for the book that the publisher Quirk Classics has put together, and it's nothing short of amazing. Witness the glory as Lincoln takes down a vampire John Wilkes Booth.
I can only hope one thing after watching it myself, and that is that the actor who plays Lincoln in this trailer will be cast to play him again in the full length feature film that is sure to be adapted from this in a few years time. That guy is bonafide bad ass!!!
Oh, and speaking of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, there's a prequel coming out for it called Dawn of the Dreadfuls, and it too has a completely rad trailer for it. Check it out:
Seriously, why doesn't Quirk Classics just expand out and start making low budget horror films too? I'd watch the shit out of that if it was a full length film. It's beautiful. At the very least, you know that the films they made would easily be ten times better than any of those SyFy channel Original movies.
I know I haven't been posting a lot of christmas stuff on the site this year. Sorry about that. I do have a few fun items though that I've been collecting over the last couple of weeks. They'll be posted soon, I promise.
The first of these items are these lovely zombie christmas cookies that were inspired by the video game Left 4 Dead 2. For being undead, they sure do look tasty. There's even frosting made into spitter goo and Boomer bile. How festive!
Holy crap! This is the best news I've heard in a while. Variety is reporting that Queen Amidala herself, Natalie Portman, will be both producing and starring in a movie adaptation of the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. If any of you read my review of the book, you know I pretty much loved the crap out of it. To have any movie adaptation at all made of the book is awesome news to me. Then throw in the fact that it will star Natalie "OhMyGodShesSoHot" Portman as the zombie slaying Elizabeth Bennett and I pretty much lose all coherent thought as a result of the awesomeness bestowed upon me.
Seriously. Think about it. Natalie Portman, in a Victorian gown, whooping zombie ass. Can we ask for a better film than that? I think not.
And it's not just zombies too. Let's not forget that the book had Ninjas in it. If the movie adaptation is at all faithful to the book, we could very well get to see Natalie Portman punch her fist into a Ninja's chest, pull out his still beating heart, and then take a bite of it. I only have one word for that.
FUCKAWESOME!!!
As of this moment, I have stopped caring about any other film currently in production. This is the only film I want to see. It can't get made fast enough!
Sometimes, things just need to be put into a venn diagram for one to see what should otherwise be blatantly obvious information.
I'd never really thought about Jesus like this before, but now that it's been pointed out to me I can't help but accept how true it is. He really does have a lot in common with Zombies, Dracula and Frankenstein. How is Jesus not considered a classic Universal Monster by now? He has all the same traits they do.
Many thanks to BoingBoing for pointing out to me the new EP from a band called Mad Tea Party. The album is called Zombie Boogie, and it's perfect Halloween party music. With lyrics like this, how could you go wrong?
Zombie boogie, it's a killer jive Zombie boogie, it's not alive Zombie boogie, no one survives
Zombie boogie, it's the latest craze Zombie boogie, straight from the grave Zombie boogie, puts you in a daze
Zombie boogie, it's a solid fact Zombies died, now they're comin' back It's the zombie boogie, and you're a snack
To hear the EP's songs, including Zombie Boogie and Cemetery Stomp, go here. You can also download the tracks there as well for about a dollar a song. If you download all of them, you get a bonus song, a cover of the 80's classic Abba Cadabra. Awesome!!!
Valve has released a new trailer for the upcoming zombie killing game Left 4 Dead 2, and hot damn if it doesn't look downright incredible. Seriously, this thing makes me want to grab a bat and go searching for hordes of undead that I can lay waste to.
The trailer is made up entirely of footage from the games cutscenes, so it also gives us a look at who the new characters are, and what kinds of personalities they will have. All in all, this game is definitely on my "must purchase on the first day it comes out" list. It can't come out soon enough as far as I'm concerned.
I've written about Deathtroopers before, months ago in fact. It's the first ever Star Wars horror book. It's about an Imperial prison ship whose hyperdrive fails out in the middle of nowhere. This ship, desperate for assistance, randomly comes across what looks to be a deserted Star Destroyer that isn't responding to any of their messages.
Needing parts to repair their ship, they dock with the ship and discover it's not really an abandoned ship afterall. The whole crew is still there, they're just not alive anymore. Oh sure, they're still walking around and stuff, but they've long since stopped breathing.
That's right folks, this is a book about zombies. And not just any zombies mind you, but Imperial zombies. Stormtroopers, officers, you name it. Everyone on board that ship is now a walking corpse. For someone like me, who is a huge fan of both Star Wars and zombies, this book is like a dream come true. I've been dying to read it ever since it was announced.
The above video is a fan made trailer for the book. It was submitted as part of a contest that Del Ray Books was doing to promote the book. The other trailers are all kind of low-budget, crappy affairs, but this trailer is solid. It's dark, it's creepy, and it features a zombie Stormtrooper at the end.
Perfection.
The book comes out on October 13th. It will be available in book stores across the country, or you can pick it up from Amazon by going here.
I will buying the book as soon as it's available and will read it and write a review for it as quickly as I can. But seeing as how I read at a speed similiar to that of a heavily laden sloth on mountainous terrain, it may be a while before you see that. It will be coming though, hopefully in 2009. I promise.
The zombie apocalypse is coming. We all know it is. The rise of the undead is inevitable . It's only a matter of time really until the deceased rise from their graves to terrorize the living and feast on our flesh. Your only hope of survival is to be prepared, and the best way to do that is to train yourself in proper zombie self defense. That's where these handy new shooting range targets come in. The living dead may be slow, but they are great in number and as they shuffle slowly towards you to devour your brain, you're going to be very thankful indeed that you spent time at your local shooting range practicing on these fairly accurate representations of zombies.
Be prepared folks, that's all I can say. Once the apocalypse begins, those with the best aim will have the highest chances of survival. Only head shots kill a zombie, and only those who practice will be able to pull off a headshot time and time again.
The zombie classic Night of the Living Dead is about to get another remake, and this time it's going to be animated. Computer animated, to be exact. That's right, we're in store for a CG animated zombie apocalypse and it's even going to be in 3D.
Titled “Night of the Living Dead: Origins,” the re-imagining is being directed by newcomer Zebediah de Soto and produced by Simon West and Simon West Productions president Jib Polhemus.
On the story front, De Soto, who wrote the script with David R. Schwartz, wants to update the tale partially by bringing out the characters’ backstories and make what he called “an American-style anime.”
The latter will be done by using new technology the filmmaker is inventing. De Soto, along with partner Gus Malliarodaki founded New Golden Digital, a digital effects company which develops cutting-edge hardware and software.
An American-style anime? Tech the filmmaker is inventing? These phrases don't exactly fill me with a whole lot of confidence about this project. I hope I'm wrong. Really, I do. I love just about every zombie movie ever, and the idea of an animated one is cool if it's done well. If it's done badly, well then the whole thing will just come out looking cheesy and akward.
There's no release date yet for the film, but seeing as how it's animated it's probably going to be a while. I'll keep my eyes out for this one though and will update you as I hear stuff.
I'm really digging this trailer for a new zombie movie coming out called Fido. Yeah, I know that zombie films are a dime a dozen nowadays, but this one has a couple of cool things going for it.
1.) It's a zombie comedy, and aside from Shaun of the Dead and the upcoming Zombieland and a few other films, zombie comedies are usually few and far between.
2.) It takes place in the 1950's. Most zombie films are modern affairs. It's rare to see a period piece zombie film, and this film is just that. It has that total 50's kitsh feel right down to the bright colors, the retro clothes and the stylized suburban neighborhood.
3.) It stars Carrie Anne Moss, whom you may recall as Trinity from The Matrix. This may just be a personal thing with me, but Trinity wearing cool 50's dresses and bright red make up is super hot. She's got an almost rockabilly look to her. I love it.
Many thanks go out to my good friend and faithful Geek-tastic reader Billie Galvan for pointing this out to me.
BREAKING NEWS: Dead Lego people have risen and are devouring the plastic yellow flesh of the living. It appears as though even the constantly happy and nice people from Lego Land are not immune to the plage of the walking dead that have so revently been walking our streets too.
Be sure to safely secure any Lego figures you own ASAP or you will run the risk of them catching the infection as well. There has been no word yet as to whether the zombie virus can be passed from Lego person to Human or vice versa. Just to be safe for now though, try to avoid all contact with questionable Lego figures until more information is known.
I always love these kinds of posters that show a thousand different things going on all at once. I don't know why, but they just always amuse me. So imagine my excitement then when I found not one, but two different posters like that today. And to top it off, they're about two of my favorite things in the world . . . video games and zombies.
The video game poster is pictured above. You can see a larger version of the image HERE. It was made by artist Gary Lucken, and it contains references to just about every video game ever made. Don't believe me? Just check it out for yourself. From Starfox's Arwings in the top left corner of the image to Parappa The Rapper throwing down some mad rhymes in the bottom right, this poster has more cool gaming references than I ever would have imagined could fit onto into a single image. It's amazing.
Not to be outdone though, cartoonist Lucy Knisley has created this incredibly adorable image of the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
To see a bigger version of this great zombie cartoon, click HERE. Who knew that an army of the walking dead could be so . . . cute?
As promised last week, here are some of the photos from the Zombie Walk that took place in Long Beach, California last Saturday night. THe zombie walk was part of a late night screening of Shaun of the Dead which was taking place at the Art Theatre in good old LB.
A great horde of the undead shuffled their way down 4th street as they made their way to the theatre. It was at great personal risk of being infected myself that I dared to get these photos for you, my loyal readers. I hope you enjoy them. You can see the flickr set I created for all of the photos, but here's a few of my favorites.
Do you love zombies? Do you love pretending to be a zombie? Do you love love Simon Pegg? Do you love the movie Shaun of the Dead? If you answered yes to any of these questions, and you live in Southern California, then have I got just the thing for you.
This Saturday night, in Long Beach, California there is going to be a zombie walk down 4th street. The meet up starts at 10pm at a coffee house where the undead horde will gather. Then as a group they will shuffle down 4th street (moaning all the way) until they reach the Art Theatre where a screening of Edgar Wright's and Simon Pegg's film Shaun of the Dead will begin at 11pm.
You can find all the details, including directions to the theater, here.
People who come dressed up as zombies will get $2 off admission to see the film (which is $10 for the living). I'll definitely be there, and will be dressed up as one of the living dead. I'll be sure to bring a camera too and will get a bunch of pictures of the event to post here at Geek-tastic on Monday.
I hope to see you there.
(Thanks go to my good friend Matt for pointing this out to me)
Well folks, that's it. It's all over. For thousands of years, human civilization has risen and prospered, but now it's all coming to an end. And it's all thanks to a bunch of pigs and their germs.
In this incredibly amazing (and very fake) article that was originally posted on a british website called Bounce With Me, a news article has been posted that looks dead on like a real BBC news story about a dangerous new turn in the Swine Flu story. In the article, they discuss the dangerous side effects of this new strain of the H1N1 virus.
After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”
That's right people . . . . . zombies.
The swine flu has brought about a plague of undead that has already taken over London. And with all of those cases of the disease down in Mexico, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we start seeing the infection spread across the border into the US. I just happen to live in Southern California, so I'll soon be on the front lines of a full fledged zombie invasion.
It looks like it's time to stock up on shotguns, ammo, food and other supplies. Never fear though, I'll keep posting news articles of the coming invasion here on Geek-tastic for as long as possible from my hidden safety bunker far below the earth.
Thanks to my good friends Matt and Lee for pointing this story out to me.
Above is the first released game footage for a new Wii game called Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Basically, the game is a rail based shooter that is almost identical to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. However, what makes it awesome is that this game is a rail based shooter based on Resident Evil 2, which is my favorite RE game ever.
The game looks like it will be a ton of fun too. There's zombies to shoot as far as the eye can see. And you all know how much I love to kill zombies. I may just have to get myself a Wii and a big screen TV for this one.
