Osombie

The tag-line of this film proclaims 'Bin Laden will die ... AGAIN' ... and from that point onwards you should pretty much know what you're getting! Osombie tells the tale of a group of NATO Special Forces, working in Afghanistan to defeat the recently risen dead who include one flesh eating Bin Laden in their ranks.

This films works as one big advertisement for the might of the US of A, showing pretty much every other nationality within the film being killed off quickly, leaving only the American stars to save the day. Nothing wrong with a bit of national pride, I hear you say, well, perhaps not, but this takes pride to a whole new level.

The actual zombie make up isn't all that bad, but the effects and script fall flat time and again, leaving a pretty obvious and dull movie with a rather trite and nicely wrapped up ending on the cards. We have sword wielding soldiers and ludicrous guys who simply use their karate skills to get rid of the zombs. Osombie is obviously trying to be different from the other flesh-eaters out there, but it ends up looking like every other zombie flick that has been rolled off the production line in recent years.

Overall, an interesting idea (the trailer actually makes it looks half decent) but a poor script and over-reliance on CGI reduce Osombie to little more than a pro-American love-in with few half-decent make-up effects thrown in along the way. Probably one for the zombie enthusiasts or those who drunkenly stumble upon it on late night horror channels.

Harold's Going Stiff

Shot on a shoe-string budget, Harold's Going Stiff is a clever independent twist on the traditional zombie genre. Following 2 groups of people, Harold Gimble, Patient Zero of the disease which causes stiffness of the limbs and, eventually, violent attacks as he is first treated and then befriended by the innocent Penny; and a group of vigilantes who hunt down and systematically kill anyone found wandering the countryside displaying signs of change.

At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is just another run-of-the-mill, low budget, poor addition to the living dead archives, certainly the film name actually does more harm than  good, portraying the film as more of a joke than it really is, in fact, the film is a sentimental and often emotional portrayal of the eponymous Harold's decline from humanity to its eventual conclusion. The friendship between Harold and Penny is sweet and touching and, indeed, some may come away thinking that the whole zombie element could have been removed completely and this film would still have worked.

This is one of those odd occasions when a 'zombie' film might actually appeal to those not usual drawn to this type of film, whilst die hard brain-muncher fans may feel a little short changed. Personally, this reviewer enjoyed what he saw and, providing you are not expecting an over-excess of gore, you should too.

The Video Dead

So I was sat wanting to watch something cheesy, a little 80's straight-to-video schlock film and The Video Dead fit the bill to a tee! This crazy little film, which encapsulates everything about 80's film-making, focuses upon a possessed television which unleashes the hoards of hell (well, 4 male zombies and a female wig-wearing zomb) who set out to kill the Blair children (am I the only one who hates this 'homage to great horror actors/directors by naming their characters 'Blair' or 'Romero' etc) who move into the house they were unleashed into from the haunted TV set.

After the death of a dog, and a couple of neighbours in the street, the characters soon agree that this could only be the work of released television zombies (the only sane answer obviously) and set out hunting them down in the woods. The best part of this film is the explanation of how you kill these brain-munchers: there are two possible alternatives. 1. Lock them in a room they can't excape from so they eat themselves to death. 2. Shoot them or stab them as they believe they are human and so will think they are dying, even though they can't actually be killed (??!?).

Despite the expected bad acting and the script which has more hole than a slice of Swiss cheese, this is actually an entertaining production which, despite the obvious low budget and straight-to-video reputation, is fun, silly, spoofy and is big hair and shoulder pads 80's brilliance. Probably the sort of film which benefits from a few chilly beers prior to watching, but definitely the epitome of shlock video. Give it a go, enjoy.

Night of the Living 3D Dead - 3D Dead Diaries

Promoting this for my pal David Taylor, this is the third official production diary for the feature film "Night of the Living 3D Dead", a remake of the 1968 Romero classic, directed by Samuel Victor & starring Gemma Atkinson as Barbara. Get the word out for these guys! Thanks!