Here we are at day 2 of the first annual Film Reel After Dark Film Festival. Yeah, don’t check your local listings because this sucker is only happening in my head anyway. With Toronto After Dark just around the corner I wanted to do something new. Last year I reviewed many of the films that had played in the previous years at TAD. Well, I couldn’t do the same thing again so I decided to put together my own film festival. If I could program a film festival, what films would I show? Now you don’t need to wonder anymore as I bring you a daily dose of my personal picks.
There’s always a zombie appreciation day at TAD that is hosted by The Toronto Zombie Walk. I couldn’t have my own film festival without doing the same thing so lets see just what kind of programming I can come up with for a zombie double bill. Lets not forget the shorts that have to run before each movie and both these picks are zombie related.
SALTY DOGS – Directed by – Randy Link
I watched an enormous amount of zombie shorts on YouTube and I have to say that most of them were pretty bad. I’m not trying to be mean or anything, I made my own zombie short not too long ago and I wouldn’t consider it a masterpiece at all. Everyone has to start somewhere but there just seems to be an abundance of zombie short films. This one seems to work very well as an introduction to the first zombie feature film of the day and certainly has some great effects to it. I also really love the ending for this one and thought it was the perfect short to showcase. Great work!
THE HORDE (LA HORDE)
Directed by – Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher
Written by – Arnaud Bordas, Yannick Dahan, Stephane Moissakis, Nicolas Peufaillit, Benjamin Rocher
Some crooked cops seek revenge on the gang that murdered one of their own, finding the gang in an abandoned building. Outside a zombie uprising has begun and the two groups find they have more problems than just each other.
The French are some sick bastards when it comes to the horror genre so when I came across a French zombie flick I knew I had to check it out. What really caught my attention about this one is that it seems just as much about the people fighting amongst themselves as it does about the zombies trying to eat them. It gave me an instant Night of the Living Dead feel in that the zombies are almost secondary to the arguing among the living. I haven’t gotten the chance to see this one yet but I will very soon and I’m hoping it lives up to expectations.
What very little I have read about it claims that it’s very violent and action oriented. Not exactly the typical sounding zombie flick but when a majority of the reviews through IMDB claim it’s good then it can’t really be that bad, can it? I’ll have a review in a few days but you can check the trailer now.
That breaks down the first short and feature. Time for a drink and some more popcorn before we head into the second short and feature. I’ll wait….. Alright, did you get that popcorn? Good coz it’s time for a little more fun.
I RAN FROM A ZOMBIE – Directed by – Matthew Hatchard
I thought it might be time to inject a little humour and I found this one to be particularly funny. I’m sure I’ve had this same conversation before and I probably will again. At least now I may have a few new ideas on what to do when the zombie apocalypse hits. I don’t know how well this really ties into the next feature but they do reference some older zombie flicks and I don’t think I could go any more classic than the next feature.
CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (THE GATES OF HELL)
Directed by – Lucio Fulci
Written by – Lucio Fulci, Dardano Sacchetti
The suicide of a clergyman causes the gates of Hell to open and it’s up to a reporter and a psychic to try and close them.
How much really needs to be said about this classic Fulci film. Having recently dropped onto Blu-ray it seems that this film is really in the public eye again. I don’t know if I’m just on the lookout for it now but it seems like I can barely open a horror related magazine without seeing something regarding what I think may be one of Fulci’s best films.
This one is pretty freaking gory and has some of my favorite scenes in it. Fulci was truly the master of the gross-out horror flick and while his movies rarely made much sense it’s hard to argue with the type of imagery he built up. Everything about these old Fulci flicks fills me with undead joy. The soundtracks are instantly recognizable and the gore is always way over the top. Not to mention there’s always that weird eye obsession. I’m sure most of the people attending a horror film festival have seen this one already but this would really be something I’d love to see on the big screen. Check the trailer out and then get some rest, tomorrow brings you day 3 of The Film Reel After Dark Film Festival!
Under the marquee – Will
