Category Archives: paranormal

Undead Week: Zombieland

Posted on by

Now, from its pedigree, Zombieland should have been a disaster. The writers previous movie experience were limited to Clifford’s Really Big Movie and Cruel Intentions 3 (and creating the tv show The Joe Schmo Show). The director’s big prior experience was the MTV reality show Rob and Big. Yet, it all came together to make a surprisingly entertaining movie. Now, where exactly is Zombieland?

Continue reading →

Undead Week: I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Posted on by

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is a classic science fiction/horror novel about the undead. It’s been made into multiple movies and each has changed the premise slightly. There have been hopeful endings, despairing endings and the villains have been changed from vampires to mutants to zombies. But the power of the underlying story has remained. Unlike Interview With a Vampire, this view of the vampire is more dangerous and evil than misunderstood and romantic. So let’s see who the legend is.

Continue reading →

Undead Week: Shaun of the Dead

Posted on by

Simon Pegg was an English stand-up comedian who drew interest from BBC for creating a TV show. From that came Spaced, a BBC sitcom written by Pegg and his friend Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson). The show was directed by Edgar Wright (who we have just seen direct Scott Pilgrim) and was very successful. Pegg had brought his best friend Nick Frost into Spaced to play his best friend on the show. After two series were aired, Pegg, Wright and Frost decided to move onto a movie. That is where Shaun of the Dead comes in. Pegg and Wright wrote it, Wright directed it and Pegg and Frost starred as best friends. And it is the funniest undead film you will ever see. So, who is Shaun and what is his problem?

Continue reading →

Undead Week: Interview With a Vampire by Anne Rice

Posted on by

Once upon a time, there was a hot, sexy vampire book that was the talk of vampire enthusiasts everywhere. It made vampires sexy and mysterious and was the hot movie. Interview With a Vampire is arguably still the gold standard for vampire books. It is the first of Rice’s Vampire Chronicles (now up to ten books plus crossovers and spinoffs). Along with Dark Shadows, Anne Rice’s vampires changed the whole concept of a vampire, from a villain to a misunderstood anti-hero. So, who are our mysterious vampires?

Continue reading →

Undead Week: Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey

Posted on by

Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim (my review) was a fun over the top B-movie of a book about a guy who came back from hell to settle the score with his friends who put him there. Kadrey has created a fun over-the-top superhero of an undead villain. James Stark has angelic ancestry and demonic powers. His reflexes strength and healing are pretty much off the charts. And he’s back for another adventure in Kill the Dead. This time, with his revenge shtick done, he has new assignments working for the big baddies, the TSA and Lucifer. And what happens when zombies start coming out of the woodwork?

Continue reading →

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Posted on by

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey is a fun ride. It’s about a man who goes to Hell and back (literally) with a vengeance for the people who sent him there.  William Gibson is quoted on as calling it “The best B movie I’ve read in at least twenty years” and I’m not sure that I could describe it better. It’s a paranormal(ish) book that has more in common with noir movies than Twilight.

Continue reading →