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Doom: Annihilation (2019)
Doom: Annihilation (2019)
2019 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Pretty dire
Let’s be honest, the first Doom film was never going to win any Oscars but it at least had a lot of cheesy and fun charm alongside a fairly star studded cast. Sadly this reboot has no such qualities.

To start with, you can tell this is a very low budget film. The whole thing just looks cheap, from the poorly built sets to the costumes and props. It just has an overall feel of a cheap made for TV movie. And then there’s the cast and the script, both of which are incredibly dire. The acting for the most part is terrible, although I did have a soft spot for the rather over the top and hilarious Australian Winslow. One good thing about this is they at least use mostly physical effects, which is probably because the CGI is awful when it is eventually used. That said, some of the physical effects are pretty atrocious too. The creatures when they eventually show up (after the weird zombie like creatures that aren’t Doom in the slightest), they’re obviously just a bloke in a suit and a very badly made suit at that. The creatures aren’t scary, they’re just funny and actually reminded me of the bad guys you used to see on Power Rangers.

There are some films that are so bad they’re good, but sadly this isn’t one of them. This is just plain awful and really didn’t need to be made.
  
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Kevin Phillipson (9928 KP) Jul 19, 2020

Totally agree I would rather play the game and watch this movie again

Dead Island: The Book
Dead Island: The Book
Mark Morris | 2011 | Horror
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Welcome to the paradise island of Banoi, a luxury, tropical island where you can relax and not worry about anything. That is until a mysterious epidemic started to spread, an epidemic that brings the dead back to life as flesh eating zombies.
Dead Island: The Book is the novelisation of the video game of the same name (Dead Island).
The first couple of chapters introduce us to the four main protagonists of the game: Sam B, Logan and Purna meet on the plane one the way to Banoi and Xian Mei is the receptionist who books them in to the hotel. The we are treated to the first of many scenes that will be familiar the anyone who has played the game, a concert with Sam B as the main act, followed up by a zombie outbreak.
The story follows the four main protagonists and the people they meet as they travel around the island in search for help, a cure or a way off the island. On their way they must work out who they can trust and how to deal with those they can't.
Dead Island the book almost follows the first game but not riptide so the ending is slightly different, there also seemed to be more guns but that may just be because the narrative is more compressed in the novel as there are a lot less side quests.
  
No Rest for the Living (Death in a Northern Town #2)
No Rest for the Living (Death in a Northern Town #2)
Peter McKeirnon | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Humor & Comedy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
115 of 250
Kindle
No Rest for the Living ( Death in a Northern Town book 2)
By Peter McKeirnon

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

"My name is John Diant. Father, brother, head of the anti-mayonnaise society and slayer of the living dead. It’s now over a day since I last updated this journal. Over a day since my daughter Emily, her boyfriend Jonathon and my retro friend 80s Dave and I made it to my brother's house. After fighting the undead population of Runcorn to get here, we thought we'd be safe but nothing could have prepared us for what came next."

Death in a Northern Town continues with No Rest for the Living. Journal entries from survivor John Diant bring you the zombie apocalypse from his perspective whilst chapters bring you tales from the town and the struggles that survivors continue to face.

Absolutely brilliant again! I had to stop myself laughing my head off at 3am in case I woke my husband. These books are so funny,gory and well written. This one was a bit more serious than the first poor Jonathan being killed that way to was not good I’m sad to see him go but I do love an author that doesn’t hold back when finishing characters off not matter the length of time in the book.
I’m really looking forward to the next book.
  
All-New Wolverine, Volume 6: Old Woman Laura
All-New Wolverine, Volume 6: Old Woman Laura
Tom Taylor | 2018 | Comics & Graphic Novels
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I know I mentioned on here before (or at least I think I did), but I was starting to lose interest in Tom Taylor's ALL-NEW WOLVERINE. It wasn't that he was a bad writer (he really wasn't), nor was it that I had lost interest in Laura Kinney as a character.

No, quite simply, it just came to the book becoming too silly, with Laura's clone sister Gabby taking much of the spotlight. With that shift in focus, the series had lost a sizable chunk of it's edginess, leaving it feeling more like a pantomime version of the series.

However, with this, "Old Woman Logan", the final story of ANW, Taylor hits it right out of the park!

The first half of the book was a one-off issue with Gabby and Deadpool teaming to take down a mad scientist sort intent on pushing the sport of "genetically modified zombie wolverines" followed by the epilogue to "Orphans of X". Both were solid, with just the right amount of humor peppered in.

But the real gem, kicking ya right in the feels, was the "Old Woman Logan" arc. I won't give any spoilers, as I read it with spoilers and it was awesome! All I will say is this has definitely become one of my new favorites!

Seriously, if you love the character of Laura Kinney as much as I do, you HAVE to read this! So, so, soooo GOOD!
  
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
2005 | Horror
Still largely prefer the viscera of gross circus-esque horror movie eye candy of 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 1000 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘴, but this one somehow might be more repulsive and disturbing. I'm astounded this movie even works at all, revisiting such ostentatious caricatures by way of Americana on-the-run crime movie should never have worked - but not only did it manage to be one of the best crime thrillers of the 21st century, but it also set the template for how more sequels oughta look into telling their story, by completely flipping the script and going with an entirely different genre while still maintaining the root of what makes the characters so great. Loaded with moody desolate (both physically and morally) cinematography, a deliciously over-the-top William Forsythe villain, pounds upon pounds of stomach-churning brutality, and a rich late-70s tone that takes over anything from the aesthetic to the soundtrack. Zombie has created some of the hall-of-fame best horror movie characters ever put to screen through Baby, Otis, and Captain Spaulding - not only gleefully cruel, unique, and uproariously riveting but also able to see the fault of their own detrimental wickedness yet still choosing not to change even if they could. Their own self-destructiveness isn't even allowed to take full hold because of the American system they're forced to act within, also the "Free Bird" ending is as amazing as everyone says.
  
Zombeavers (2015)
Zombeavers (2015)
2015 | Action, Comedy, Horror
2
4.8 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Do you remember that bit in Scrubs where JD is trying so hard to not laugh at something that Sean Hayes' character says because he's cross with him, but let's out the smallest laugh and is then annoyed at himself? That's an accurate portrayal of the one time I found something funny in Zombeavers.

I enjoy a so-bad-it's-good film now and again - may I interest you in the culinary delights of Basket Case, or Maximum Overdrive perhaps? Hell, I'd even take The Wicker Man remake at this point - but Zombeavers is one of those films that thinks it's so-bad-it's-good when if fact it's just plain shite.
It would be a much easier film to enjoy if the characters weren't just completely awful assholes for the entire runtime. There is just no redeeming quality to any of them. I know that they are designed purely to die horrible deaths, but considering those parts don't happen for quite a time, it's a really grating and deeply unfunny experience.
By the time the horror hits, it's too hard to care anymore, and no amount of gratuitous nudity or silly gore can fix that.

I will acknowledge that it does step up a notch in the dying minutes when we get the human-beaver-zombie hybrids (with some pretty gross practical effects) and is the sole reason why this film went from a one to a two.

Big old pile of toss.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) Oct 21, 2020

@Emma @ The Movies I'm sorry 😭😭 I had watched another crappy horror earlier that day so I might have just been in a sour mood. I'll revisit it in a year and let you know if I change my mind 😂

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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) Oct 21, 2020

Understandable, it’s a very fine line between good and bad. I have the urge to watch it again now. Lol

World War Z (2013)
World War Z (2013)
2013 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Inspired by the book of the same name, “World War Z” starring Brad Pitt has made it to theaters after several delays including seven weeks of additional shooting that was ordered by the studio after principal photography had ended. While the book covers survivor interviews in the wake of the zombie pandemic, the film covers the early days the outbreak and casts Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former U.N. troubleshooter who is left his life in the field for the ability to be a stay-at-home husband and dad to his wife and daughters. When an unexpected outbreak starts to lay waste to several cities, Gerry and his family are evacuated by his old U.N. Allies to a secure location aboard a naval flotilla and he is told that his family will remain in security providing he agrees to spearhead an investigation to determine the source of the outbreak.

With very few options Gerry leads a team to Korea in an attempt to get to the source of the outbreak and find a cure, or at the very least, a course of treatment to battle an outbreak that’s quickly is decimating the world’s population and threatening to destroy life as we know it in a very short time. The dangers are numerous and Gerry soon learns that there is a much larger puzzle to be solved which sets them on a journey around the world in a race against time to save humanity. Along the way he encounters signs of the world gone mad and utter devastation from locales ranging from Jerusalem to Cardiff as it becomes obvious that the infection has spared no region of the globe. With time running out, Gerry must find a way to turn the tide and save humanity before it is too late. With his resources dwindling he embarks on a desperate mission to test a theory and save the world.

The film does have its share of tense moments however the PG-13 rating does severely limit the amount of gore and horror that can be displayed. One key scene implied that a weapon had become imbedded in an infected enemy and that Gerry was struggling to extract it in order to use it to defend himself. Due to the limitations of the rating this had to be implied rather than shown and Pitt came across as more comical than tense and desperate.

The movie also suffers from converted 3-D which does absolutely nothing to enhance the film as there were very few moments that benefited from the 3-D technique. Perhaps if the film had been shot in 3-D the quality it would’ve been better but it was clear that several of the scenes in the film were not set up nor shot with 3-D in mind.

There are some very good effects; especially the ones were hordes of infected throw themselves recklessly like swarming insects upon barricaded survivors which really helped underscore just how hopeless and desperate the situation for the survivors was. No matter how much firepower you have, a wall of infected coming at you in endless waves is eventually going to outlast your supply of ammunition.

There had been some reported tensions on the set between Pitt and Director Marc Forster, but to me the biggest red flag was the seven additional weeks of shooting that were done after principal photography had been completed. While re-shoots are not uncommon, re-shoots of this length are, especially when it led to the film being delayed from its original planned release to the summer.

In the end what you have is an uneven effort. The film has a very good concept, good cast, and potential to be a fantastic series but suffers from a real lack of scares. It’s a sanitized look at a zombie invasion that greatly undermines the subject and the source material. The studio has hopes of doing a trilogy of films and I would definitely like to see future releases in the series provided they improve upon the original, offer films that are more in keeping with the book and are more respectful to zombie genre. As it stands now, Pitt does the best he can with the material but is let down by a script that is big on clichés and offers very little in the way of scares and originality.

http://sknr.net/2013/06/21/world-war-z/
  
Days Gone
Days Gone
2018 | Action/Adventure
A story that captivates from beginning to end (2 more)
Characters worth getting invested in
Addicting Gameplay
Still kinda buggy (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
Days Gone is a story of Deacon St. John as he deals with a world tortured by a zombie horde known as Freakers. The story happens a few years after the outbreak and after seemingly losing his wife after sending her off on a rescue helicopter. Deacon travels around beautiful Oregon with his best friend Boozer on their trusty bikes. Throughout the game Deacon will intertwine his story with 4 other survivor camps, as he helps them survive the zombie stricken world.

Deacon fights not only the hordes and hordes of undead, but crazy cultist who worship the Freakers, other bikers, and just plain others trying to survive in his quest to save his friend and then to find out the truth of what happened to his wife after letting her go.

The scenery is captivating of the many places you will explore, scour, and loot. From the mountains to the forests to the snowy peaks, to a massive island fortress, you will never stop scanning the horizon as you drive the roads on your motorcycle. I would often crash into a tree or drive off the road, as I was too busy looking through the scenery or just captivated by the beauty of it all.

The one part I hate the most, is not anything that's wrong with the game, but more just my fear of the zombie menace. One big part of the game is destroying "Hordes" or simply big ass groups of these zombies, that move like a pack, and can kill you in an instant. Many parts of the story include you need to clear out a Horde, and the biggest one in the whole game known as the Sawmill Horde still gives me nightmares.

But the taker of the cake for me is the captivating story between Deacon and his search for the truth of what happened to his wife Sarah. If you haven't finished the game, go do that and then come back.

So the story is Deacon can't truly come to terms with the death of Sarah, as he would often visit the site of the helicopter supposedly carrying Sarah crashed. Deacon would eventually happen upon the scientist who allowed her onto the helicopter, which gives hope that she is still alive. After chasing lead after lead, and leaving his buddy Boozer behind, Deacon makes a treacherous journey through a snow-covered mountain top, which he can't return from, to chase the last hope of seeing his wife once more. And the moment that made me unable to put the controller down for a few hours, Deacon joins a militia after noticing the mongrel ring he placed on Sarah's finger before placing on the helicopter, on another man's finger. After initiation, he is lead around the camp until he is introduced to the local scientist who turns out to be the long lost Sarah.

This moment alone made this game a 10 alone. It made me feel as though I had reunited two people who were separated by the chaos of this new world. But the bliss doesn't last all too long as, Deacon must keep his relationship a secret, so they both don't get hurt or caught. But after a long mission together, the two are stranded in a snowstorm in a cold shack, which reignites the flame of their past. After being exposed by a rat name Skizzo, Deacon is exiled and sent for execution, but due to the friends he had made on way, he is saved. Deacon with all those he had helped, storm the island and overthrow the psychotic General and finally saves Sarah for good. And as the credits roll, Deacon and Sarah ride into the sunset, to a life reunited.

Now this game has its detractions and a few bugs, but as a whole, this is probably one of the most underrated games that have been released recently. One crucial part of the game was ruined in playthrough as somehow the audio of a long cutscene was desynched so it just made it hard to focus and enjoy the scene. The only other thing that I can complain about was that there is still much of the side missions to attend to when you connect with Sarah again, but I threw it all out the door after that point as I wanted to get to the story between the two, and everything else didn't really matter to me, and if I was forced to detract from her, I got annoyed and rushed through. But besides that, this game is a must play.
  
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Little Monsters (2019) in Movies

Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 26, 2020)  
Little Monsters (2019)
Little Monsters (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Horror
A New Zombie Movie That Proves Zombie Films "Still Have Fresh Brains To Savor"
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie was pretty good. I enjoyed it quite a bit and even though it had somethings that were predictable and cliché, it really was unique in its own way. It really had me invested in the main character Dave from the beginning because of his situation. After his break up his living on the couch at his sisters and getting in trouble for cussing and being a bad role model for his nephew. He gets in trouble for letting his nephew play violent video games and for taking him out late at night to use him as a prop when his plans to propose to his ex-g/f that goes horribly wrong. That scene was hilarious as his surprise proposal leads to him and his nephew catching his ex having sex with another man and the naked man beating him up. It's kind of slow moving plot wise with all this setup but you get invested in the characters and they mean more to you and you better understand their motivations. Dave winds up taking his nephew to school and when he sees his attractive teacher Miss Coraline played by Lupita Nyong'o he's more than happy to volunteer to chaperone on a field trip when another parent drops out. At the field trip on the farm is when your officially introduced to Josh Gad's character Teddy McGiggle who is filming his children's show there. Teddy winds up being nothing like he pretends to be and shows his true colors when the trouble starts up. The zombies from a U.S. testing facility break free and head straight to the farm attacking anyone and everyone they see. I thought they did a good job on the zombies and make-up/special effects since most scenes happen during the day. There wasn't as much action or blood as I wanted but there were always scenes that built the tension and made sure danger was always present. The character development from Dave was really good and made him one of my favorite characters but Miss Caroline was a real badass. She demonstrated that she would do anything to protect those kids and let Teddy McGiggle know that she would take care of him too if he didn't cooperate. As i mentioned some of it was predictable like there being a facility where there were zombies, and the zombies breaking out, the military not being able to do anything to contain it at first, and it spreading so quickly. But it was unique in bringing the kids into the situation and how Miss Coraline made it into a game so the kids wouldn't be scared, how she got them to focus on her so they didn't look at the zombies alot, and how the zombies started singing along towards the end. Like I said above pretty good movie, I give it 7/10 and my "Must See Seal Of Approval". If you haven't seen this movie you need to check it out.