Zombies / infected

Rooted in Horror “Nobody wants to die like this.” This chilling line captures the essence of *Contracted: Phase II*, a 2015 film directed by Josh Forbes. The sequel to the original *Contracted* (2013), this film plunges deeper into the disturbing reality of body horror that is both grotesque and thought-provoking. The story follows a young…

Kindergarten Nightmares: The Unnerving World of “Cooties” “Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you’ve got the cooties shot.” This mocking playground chant takes on a horrifyingly literal meaning in director Jonathan Milott’s “Cooties.” Released in 2014, “Cooties” flings us into the world of an elementary school where a virulent virus breaks out, turning the children into…

Lazarus Effect: Unleashing Horror’s Resurrection “Do you ever feel like there’s something inside of you, just waiting to get out?” In David Gelb’s 2015 horror film, The Lazarus Effect, a group of researchers discovers a serum capable of bringing the dead back to life. As they start experimenting, the boundaries between life and death blur,…

Welcome to the Final Bow: “Theatre of the Dead” “In this theatre, the applause lasts… forever.” Those ominous words set the stage for the 2013 horror flick “Theatre of the Dead,” directed by Patrick J. Gallagher. A seemingly innocuous venue repurposed for a blood-curdling scenario, Gallagher’s film blends the mundanity of a struggling acting troupe’s…

Reanimating the Undead: Død Snø 2’s Twisted Adventures Invoking the ominous chill of the Nordic winters and the grotesque charm of zombie cinema, “Død Snø 2” rises from the icy graves of its prequel to offer a chilling and humor-laced continuation. Directed by Tommy Wirkola, this 2014 Norwegian horror-comedy flick resurrects the terror of its…

“Mother Nature is a serial killer.” – A Descent into World War Z’s Apocalyptic Vision As Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) navigates the chaos of a world besieged by a zombie pandemic in Marc Forster’s “World War Z” (2013), viewers are plunged into a relentless struggle for survival. Based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks,…

A Dance with the Dead: A Tango of Terror “Welcome to the party!” This line from the 2003 horror movie “House of the Dead” ominously sets the stage for a tumultuous night of fear. Yet, as critics and audiences may argue, the only genuine terror is perhaps how the film performs as a horror entity.…

Whispering Death: The Untold Stories of Survival In the depths of the cinematic catacombs, a 2006 film titled “The Zombie Diaries” emerges as an ambitious but flawed attempt to reanimate the found-footage subgenre. Directed by Kevin Gates and Michael Bartlett, this British horror flick ventures into a post-apocalyptic landscape, scrambling for a fresh angle on…

“When There’s No More Room in Hell, the Dead Will Walk the Earth!” Directed by Steve Miner and released in 2008, “Day of the Dead” is a loose remake of George A. Romero’s classic of the same name. However, do not confuse this film for a moment with its 1985 progenitor. This rendition offers a…

Resurrecting the Undead: An Ode to Timeless Terror “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” With this chilling line, George A. Romero’s seminal horror film “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) plunges its audience into a nightmare that has since become a cornerstone of the zombie genre. The simple story of strangers fighting for survival in…

Invoking the Unquiet Spirits “You can’t be a sinner and expect to play the saint!” These chilling words echo through the eerie landscape of “Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things,” a horror flick that exhumes fear in the most unexpected of ways. Directed by Bob Clark and released in 1973, this cult classic unfurls its…

A Dance of the Living and Undead: “The Battery” In the realms of horror, Jeremy Gardner’s 2013 indie film “The Battery” offers a refreshing divergence from usual tropes, creating an intimate post-apocalyptic tale that redefines the undead narrative. Steering away from the big-budget horror flicks’ well-tread paths, this movie grapples with isolation, survival, and the…

The Unearthed Horror: A Dive into Zombie Flesh-Eaters In the realm of horror, few films pack as visceral a punch as Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2, unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences in 1979. Though unaffiliated with George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead,” which was released as “Zombi” in Italy, Fulci’s film has become a cult classic…

“When the Dead Walk, The Living Must Run” – Navigating the Desolate Streets of ‘City of the Living Dead’ In the realm of horror, few films capture the raw, guttural tone that so defines the genre like “City of the Living Dead” (1980). Directed by Italian maestro Lucio Fulci, this movie, nestled between the folds…

A Chilling Whispers of Apocalypse: “The Dead Outside” In 2008, director Kerry Anne Mullaney brought to the silver screen a low-budget Scottish horror film that beckoned viewers into a world of despair and intrigue with “The Dead Outside.” Set amidst the eerie backdrop of the Scottish countryside, the film unfolds a post-apocalyptic tale where a…

“When the Dead Walk, the Living Will Fill Their Diaries” George Romero’s “Diary of the Dead,” released in 2007, marks a return to his undead roots, reinventing the zombie genre for a new generation obsessed with media saturation and the truth behind the camera. This film chronicles a group of film students who are attempting…

A Whisper in the Shadows: “City of the Dead” Unveiled “Beware the paths you walk,” warns an enigmatic stranger amidst the mist-shrouded alleys in the “City of the Dead,” a film that plunges its audience into an abyss of the macabre. Released in 1980 and directed by the enigmatic John Doe (as there is no…

“Thrill Me!” – A Retro Sci-Fi Horror Romp In the realm of horror movies, where clichés often thrive like parasites, “Night of the Creeps” stands out as a loving homage to the genre’s golden age. Released in 1986 and helmed by Fred Dekker, this film skilfully blends elements of science fiction, horror, and comedy to…

A Walk in the Woods Will Never Be the Same: “Toxic Zombies” As the title “Toxic Zombies” suggests, the movie—released in 1980 and directed by Charles McCrann—plunges its audience into a world where the peaceful setting of nature goes horribly awry. McCrann, who also starred in the film, unfolds a tale of environmental catastrophe meets…

In the Land of the Undead: A City Divided In a world where the living cower behind walls and the dead roam vast landscapes, Land of the Dead emerges from the shadows. Directed by the legendary George A. Romero, the 2005 installment of his Living Dead series offers a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh where societal hierarchy has…

When Hell is Full, the Dead Walk the Earth George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead,” released in 1978, remains a cornerstone of the horror genre and a seminal work in zombie cinema. Serving as a follow-up to Romero’s groundbreaking 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead,” this opus drops audiences into a world succumbing to…

When the Prey Fights Back: “The Horde” Unleashed In the gritty outskirts of horror cinema lurks the French film “The Horde”, released in 2009. Directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher, this action-packed horror movie forces audiences into the grim confines of a dilapidated housing project where bloodthirsty creatures wait to spring their next surprise.…

The Road to Desolation: A “Carriers” Review Imagine a world stripped bare of its warmth, where the road is no longer a symbol of freedom but a harrowing path of survival. This is the grim reality painted in the movie “Carriers” helmed by directors Àlex and David Pastor. Released in 2009, this post-apocalyptic horror-thriller follows…

Whispers of Undead Dread: An Introduction to Rammbock Imagine the warmth of love souring into the cold grip of terror within the confines of a city in chaos—this is the premise underpinning Rammbock: Berlin Undead. Directed by Marvin Kren and released in 2010, the film plummets the viewer into the heart of a zombie apocalypse…

A Disquieting Descent: ‘Contracted’s’ Portrait of Bodily Horror “Don’t ignore the symptoms.” This terse piece of dialogue from Contracted, a film suffused with a clammy sense of dread, captures the essence of this 2013 horror flick directed by Eric England. As its harrowing tale unfolds, we witness a young woman’s body betray her in the…

A Night to Dismember: “Return of the Living Dead Part II” In the tongue-in-cheek world of zombie cinema, “Return of the Living Dead Part II” claws its way back from the grave with the same campy vigor as its predecessor. Directed by Ken Wiederhorn in 1988, this comic horror sequel dances between fright and farce,…

Rising from the Earth: An Unearthed Terror “In the soil of our sorrow, horrors are seeded.” This chilling line from the oft-forgotten 1972 B-movie ‘Garden of the Dead’ serves as a fitting encapsulation of the film’s central conceit: the terror that lurks just beneath our feet. Directed by John Hayes, ‘Garden of the Dead’ is…

“Death is just the beginning…” – The Chilling Echoes of Mortuary (1983) With a haunting line like “Death is just the beginning…”, 1983’s horror offering, Mortuary, invites its viewers into a world of the macabre directed by Howard Avedis. The intrigue begins as we follow Christie Parson, a young woman grieving over her father’s mysterious…

The Voyage into Fear Awaits “Sometimes, the journey can be more terrifying than the destination.” The chilling resonance of this sentiment echoes throughout the claustrophobic confines of [REC] 4: Apocalipsis. Directed by Jaume Balagueró and released in 2013, this Spanish horror film aims to conclude the nightmarish saga that began in an unassuming Barcelona building.…

“Kill is kiss”: The Infectious Dread of “Pontypool Changes” In the claustrophobic small-town setting of “Pontypool Changes,” director Bruce McDonald crafts a chilling narrative that claws at the mind more than the flesh. Released in 2013, this film takes the zombie genre and morphs it into something unrecognizably terrifying. The plot centers around Grant Mazzy,…

A Dance with the Viral Macabre: An ‘Antiviral’ Appraisal “You have to contact the virus to get the full picture.” These words resound with ominous undertones as they beckon you into the unsettling world of ‘Antiviral’, a horror film that dissects our obsession with celebrity culture. Crafted by Brandon Cronenberg, son of the legendary David…

“In the Land of the Dead, The Dead Must Die Again”: A Critique of ‘Survival of the Dead’ If there’s a statement that captures the essence of George A. Romero’s ‘Survival of the Dead,’ it is, “In a world of the dead, we are forced to finally start living.” Released in 2009, this film marks…

When the Dead Walk, Who Shall Stand? “In an island of the living and the dead, we’re the ones who are haunted.” This line from George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead (2009) encapsulates the essence of this zombie horror flick. Romero, who is often hailed as the godfather of the zombie genre, brings forth…

A Biting Instinct for Survival: “Mutants” (2009) Review “In a world where the dead are returning to life, the word ‘trouble’ loses much of its meaning.” – The chilling takeaway from “Mutants,” a French horror film directed by David Morlet, which premiered in 2009. Set against an unforgiving, post-apocalyptic backdrop, this movie tells the harrowing…

“The Rules of Survival: A ‘Zombieland’ Dissection” “Nut up or shut up!” This terse adage is as much a rallying cry for the characters in Zombieland as it is an entry point for audiences into the film’s unique blend of horror and humor. Released in 2009, directed by Ruben Fleischer, Zombieland is an adrenaline-pumping road…