Zombacoplypse!

I like zombies. I know people like Richard Roeper and Roger Ebert think they are the most boring villain of all time but I couldn't disagree more. I own every Romero zombie film, I own Zombie 2, Shaun of the Dead and even a few zombie films I have never actually watched but wanted to own in any case. I have a growing collection of zombie comic books. I own both Max Brooks books on zombies (if you are a fan of zombies I encourage you to pick up "World War Z". So you can imagine what kind of bliss I was in when I had a full night of zombie goodness coming my way.

A local theater was showing Day of the Dead (1985). Unrated old school zombie goodness with a dash of overacting and 80s synth. Does it get any better than that? Day of the Dead is definitely an acquired taste but I think its awesome and it stars the most loveable of all zombies ever: Bub. You watch it and see Bub and not want to...well hugging him would seem stupid (he is a zombie) but you would certainly smile and if he did bite someone you'd probably think: oh that crazy Bub, he did it again. But this wasn't the end of my night of zombies.

After Day, I went to see 28 Weeks Later. Now yes I know technically, they aren't zombies just rage infected humans but for the most part they are zombies. Now I don't really like the fast zombie as a rule but 28 Days Later was a fun little film. Is 28 Weeks Later a good follow up? Well no not really. I heard plenty of analogies like 28 Days Later is to Alien as 28 Weeks Later is to Aliens. In as much as both Aliens and 28 Weeks Later are sequels this is true. In all other aspects, this is a horrible comparison.

The film has its moments. The opening sequence is pretty good with a nice twist (that every damn review spoils). The drastic measures to contain the new outbreak are crazy and sort of fun to watch. A helicopter and zombies, nuff said. And the fact that to some degree the real villains are the American troops (although the Iraq parallel is a bit heavy handed).

Sadly the film had its crappy moments too. The camera never pauses it seems like and neither does the director. And then there is one amazingly tenacious zombie who shows up all the time. I felt like I was watching a music video where the same guy is hiding in every scene. The poor story line, bad pacing and camera work tie this one down into a forgettable mess. Still it was zombie paradise while it lasted.