Top Five Zombie Moments

In a popular culture where Vampires, Werewolves and other movie monsters are rife there is one creature that shuffles along, and no matter how many bullets, hatchets, and other weapons spray their brains it just keeps coming. That monster is the Zombie, and recently has received a healthy revival with the help of comic books, video games, television shows and of course horror films.

Even as other popular monsters come and go, the zombie has remained in the public consciousness; partly because the formula constantly changes, but unlike the werewolf, mummy or vampire the zombie reflects societies fear, paranoia and fascination with death and destruction. No matter what era they appear, the zombie is always relevant to the time which it exists. To celebrate the release of World War Z, I take a look at the some of the best moments in the zombie genre (In no particular order). So tool up, aim for the head and try not to get bitten. Its going to get bloody.

Braindead (1992) – Lawnmower Party

Before Peter Jackson wandered off to Middle Earth, he was a master of gore and all things bloody. With this his third low budget feature, he combined slap stick, gore and bizarrely satire on the English Monarch. Through all the hacking and blood spurts comes the cherry on the cake; during the bloody climax our hero Lionel bursts into his home with a lawnmower raised, slaying the zombie horde. Arms are hacked, blood gushes while incredibly stomach churning, it is shot with humour and warmth and has enough running gags to settle the most volatile of stomachs. Best viewed with beer, pizza and good friends.

28 Weeks Later (2007) – Cottage Attack.

Danny Boyle's successful and brutal vision of an infected London was always going to be a tough act to follow, thankfully this sequel has enough brains, tension and scares to elevate it above most horror sequels. Crammed into an idyllic country cottage, we see in low light how survivors plan for a meal. But when a scared boy happens upon the house, panic and horror soon follows. Shot hand held, with a minimalist score and an unrelenting, heart in the mouth intensity we see in a short few minutes how things can change from tense, to horrifying brutality. A superb opening to an underrated sequel. Film Fact: Danny Boyle was an uncredited second unit director on the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHf6Th-E3kE

Dawn of the Dead (1978) – Tower Block Attack

George Romero's sequel to his 1968 cult classic Night of The Living Dead, is cited by many a horror fan as a masterpiece in the horror genre. There are many great moments to choose from; a machete waving Tom Savini, to Hells Angels Zombie slayers each scene is packed full of fan favourites. For my money its the S.W.A.T. Attack on an infested tower block. Called to an overrun block of flats, our 'heroes' must fight through hundreds of walkers to free the residents. Juxtaposed against a panic ridden television studio,the two images placed side by side perfectly captures the pandemonium of a crisis, from both view points.

Shaun of The Dead (2004) - Trip to the Shop

Proving how adaptable the Zombie genre is, the comedy team behind 'Spaced' made the worlds first Rom-Zom-Com. With a film that balances scares, drama and wicked humour the stand out scene in a film full of great moments is Shaun's trip to the shop. A hungover Shaun wanders to the his corner shop, oblivious of the undead shuffling around him. An unbroken tracking shot that lasts three minutes covers Shaun's short journey. Shaun stumbles to and fro, unaware of the apocalypse happening around him.

The Evil Dead (1981) – Tree Rape.

Notoriously banned by the BBFC and shunned as a Video Nasty, The Evil Dead is one of the most bizarre, controversial and thrilling films in the zombie genre. Rife with images that have burned into the popular Zeitgeist; a possessed Linda singing a nursery rhyme, to a terrified Ash waving a chainsaw like a madman, but the money shot is the infamous tree rape. Its still unnerving, brutal and unpleasant viewing; as the vines and branches creep up Cheryl's legs she is unable to break free. This surreal moment has established The Evil Dead as one of the most talked about film scenes in the genre.

There you have it, some great Zombie moments. Sound off below to discuss some of your own favourite scenes, movies etc.  

Hollywood Take Two: Justice League of America

On the heels of Marvel's The Avengers smashing through box office landmarks last summer, Warner Brothers announced their own superhero team up movie D.C.'s Justice League of America. This move claimed by many (including myself) as cashing in on the success of The Avengers, jumping on the team up band wagon, and pencilling a release date for 2015 was a typical Hollywood move of striking while the iron was smoking hot. Since that announcement, news has been relatively thin...until recently. Comic Book writer and Coordinator Mark Millar discussed the potential problems of a JL movie, these included dated characters and portraying difficult superpowers, Warner's ditched screenwriter Will Beal's (Gangster Squad) script, and it seems that the company are returning to the drawing board.

This isn't the first time a JLA movie has stalled in reaching the big screen. Back in 2008 director George Miller was set to begin shooting his Justice League flick; it would of had among others Adam Brody (The O.C.) as The Flash, Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as Batman, and rapper Common as The Green Hornet. A full cast and crew were assembled and shooting was to take place in Australia, but at the last minute the project was shut down due to a number of factors; including an ambitious budget and a looming writers strike. One can imagine what Miller's JLA would of looked like. Appealing to a teen audience, and with a young cast of actors portraying beloved heroes, audiences would of glimpsed hipper and sexier versions of characters not previously seen in a young light.

Recently, more rumours have reached the blogosphere. This time with Chris Nolan and Zach Synder attached to produce and direct this behemoth Blockbuster, with Christian Bale rumoured to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. While it would be great to see another Batman chapter seen through Nolan's lens, it would be difficult to incorporate Bruce Wayne into this Universe, assuming JL will take place after the events of TDKR, what reason does Bales Bruce Wayne have to don the cowl again? The conclusion of TDKR was a fitting closure for this portrait of Bruce Wayne.

While it would be a geeks wet dream to see Nolan and Synder combine their talents on an epic team up movie, it would be a difficult beast to tame. There are potential problems with a JL movie, that even two of the most in demand filmmakers could be left scratching their heads.

The problem with attempting to make a Justice League film is that most of the characters (with the exception of Batman) are Godlike, when would Supes ever need help from Batman? In order for this team up to work, the threat would need to be big enough to call these heroes into action, not just the tried and tested earth under attack storyline. With lesser known D.C. characters Aquaman and Martian Manhunter each member of the team deserves their own stand alone picture, to introduce these characters to the uninitiated. The only DC character to date that a stand alone film (excluding Batman and Superman) is The Green Lantern, and it flopped on release. If mishandled JL has the potential to become the Heavens Gate of Comic Book Cinema; overblown with too many cooks the filmmakers could have a John Carter size flop on their hands. With Warner's hinging on the success of this summers Man of Steel, the pressure is on to try to make this unfilmable series work. D.C. could follow Marvel's formula, releasing a stand alone film every few years, culminating in Justice League. If this is not the case, each character would deliver a large quantity of exposition, explaining where each character came from it would be a mess. There have been attempts to make individual movies, years ago Joss Whedon attempted to make Wonder Woman fly, while a Flash film is still stuck in development hell. It makes sense to postpone the film, iron out the creases and figure out how to make the characters work. If the film is released in summer 2015, it'll be crowded market with Star Wars Episode VII, and The Avengers 2 fighting for our hard earned cash, add another team-up flick and audiences could get confused. Its an interesting conundrum and one that will unfold over the coming months.

J.J. Abrams and Star Wars Episode 7

Last week the fanboy blogosphere exploded, as the news that J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars Episode 7. This is great news, and proof that under the new management Lucusfilm continue to pave the way for exciting, genre cinema. The decision is a left field choice, almost as if Kathleen Kennedy took a note out of Marvel's book and hired an exciting fanboy. Is Abrams a fitting choice of director? Hell yes! First of all he is fan of the Star Wars Universe, and with that passion he could enthuse the franchise with a much needed sense of fun and excitement something that was sorely lacking in the prequels. I mean come on, he reinvented Star Trek, and enthused it with sexiness, fun and turned non Trek fans (including me) onto the series. If he can do the same with the Wars universe, he will bring balance to the force.

As a genre fan, and a director/producer he has been able to balance tent pole action and touching character moments; take for example the opening of Star Trek, which begins with the jaw dropping attack on the Enterprise, while at the same time the birth of a major character. Sitting in the theatre and hearing sniffles from the audience, I cant remember the last time a Blockbuster made an audience weep openly. If Abrams is able to bring this level of emotion back to Star Wars Universe, then it'll be the most emotional episode since The Empire Strikes Back. He has also tipped his hat to one of his favourite filmmakers, Steven Spielberg, in the brilliant E.T. Homage Super 8 yet never trying trying to be Spielberg, so by taking on the SW Universe I'm confident that Abrams wouldn't imitate Lucas, instead he would bring his own skills and talents as a storyteller and create something fresh and new with the franchise, while still pleasing long time Wars fans. With Abrams television experience its possible that some of the alumni of his shows could appear in the first flick, imagine John Locke aka Terry O'Quinn as a Jedi Master or Jennifer Gardener kicking ass as a female Jedi. Its a shame that Sam Jackson died in Revenge of the Sith, he would have been an awesome Jedi Knight under Abrams direction, and given some bad ass dialogue instead of the wooden exposition he delivered in the prequels.

There is also a wealth of materiel to choose from, ranging from comic books and video games to novels and even Lego, Abrams and his writers could choose to ignore the extensive materiel altogether and decide to take this new chapter in a different direction, or re-write history a la Star Trek. Imagine an alternate universe where Luke turns to the Dark Side, betrays his friends and becomes a Sith Lord. That's a story arc I'd love to see, we'd see a different Luke Skywalker one who is mean, lean and older too. In which he is a cruel, malicious son of a bitch. With Abrams's appreciation of old school effects we could see a return to models and prosthetics, while merging blue screen and CGI, this could help wash away the fowl taste of the over the top, cartoony CGI that was evident in every frame of the prequels.

With a new saga comes a new composer, while it would great to a hear a new John Williams Star Wars composition, it would be even better to hear a score by a Blockbuster alumni for example Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, or for my money Michael Giacchino. The guy scored Lost, Star Trek and Super 8 so he has successfully worked with J.J. Abrams, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is announced as the composer for the new Star Wars flick. There are lots of other exciting developments that'll come over the coming months. But right this is great genre news, and is further proof that right now we are living in the golden age of Geek Cinema.