DIEner, Dead End

DIEner (Get it?)

Netflix thought I would give this movie 4 stars.  And, since it was instant watch, I thought I would give it a shot.  I was immediately turned off by the title.  Yes...it's actually called DIEner (Get It?).  They gave their movie a somewhat clever name, then ruined it by pointing out how clever they thought it was.  Thankfully I was able to get past the title and watch the movie for what it was.
What it is is a low-budget zombie movie revolving around two unhappily married people, a serial killer, and a handful of zombies.  The movie starts with the serial killer killing the cook and waitress in a lonely diner.  Before he can leave, the unhappily married couple comes in, and he pretends to be their waiter as he plans to kill them.  His plans are thwarted by a cop...but things take a turn when the dead cook comes wandering out of the kitchen.  Before too long, there's a full-blown zombie-outbreak.  The serial killer and the couple (now knowing who he is) try to hold off the zombies, and the couple tries to find a way to get away from the serial killer.
It's not a terrible movie.  Overall, I enjoyed it.  I did have a few problems with it, though.  The serial killer character was the biggest one.  He was pretty funny, and genuinely likable most of the time...but there are times when they tried to make him too funny...too clever.  It got a little old after a while.  The movie was only 76 minutes long, which was a good length.  Much longer and it would've gotten really old.  As it was, it was an enjoyable movie.  Good, but not great.

Rating: 3 stars

Dead End

This is a movie that was suggested to me by a couple of friends.  Beyond the fact that it starred Ray Wise, I knew nothing about this movie.
Short synopsis: a family traveling to visit relatives during Christmas.  The father decides to take a "scenic route" to the relative's house, and ends up on a seemingly endless stretch of road.  They come across a woman in a white dress, holding a baby, and they pick her up.  Soon after that, people start dying.
The family was trapped on this road, and a series of horrific deaths kept taking place, picking off the family one-by-one.  Every time a family member died, a hearse drove by with that person in the back of the hearse.
Basically, it was a haunted house movie...only instead of being trapped in a house, they were trapped on an unending road.
I liked it.  It was done extremely well, and they mixed in a healthy amount of dark humor.  The only downside was the fact that there was a twist at the end...but I could see it coming from a mile away.  I'll deduct a star for that...but that was really the only thing I didn't like about the movie.  This is definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 4 stars

I had another idea for a DJ name.  DJ Samedi, after Baron Samedi in Sugar Hill.  Thoughts?

Sugar Hill

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, but it doesn't mean I've stopped watching zombie movies.

This movie was ranked #24 in the list of Best Zombie Movies of all time in Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay.  It was described as "The Shaft of zombie flicks, effectively combining a blaxploitation crime plotline with traditional zombie lore" (Kay, 303).  That short sentence describes this movie perfectly.

The movie follows Diana "Sugar" Hill (played by Marki Bey).  Early in the movie, her boyfriend (a club owner) is killed by the local mob (headed by the nefarious Morgan).  Sugar goes to Mama Maitresse, a local voodoo woman, to help her get her revenge on Morgan and his crew.  They go to see Baron Zamedi, the Lord of the Dead, to help her in her quest for revenge.  He raises an army of the undead.  With her army behind her, Sugar Hill kills her way through the local mob, which eventually leads her to Morgan.

Baron Zamebi loves to kill

The zombies in this movie are not of the flesh eating variety.  Rather, it takes its cue from the zombies of voodoo lore.  These zombies are not out for flesh; these zombies exist only to follow the wishes of their zombie master.  They don't kill by attacking and biting; they attack by whatever means the zombie master wishes.  In one instance, they kill by chopping up a man with swords, eventually decapitating him.  In another, they throw a man into a pen of hungry pigs.

The look of the zombies is pretty cool.  They have silver eyes which reflect the light to a fairly creepy effect.  They walk around covered in cobwebs.

The acting wasn't great (Marki Bey, in particular, varied from very good to incredibly wooden), but it was good enough.  The plot worked off a pretty standard revenge story, but it worked very well.  The zombies looked great, and the scenery was terrific.  I loved Baron Zamebi...he would show up at random times during the movie, and, when he did, you knew the zombies would be attacking soon.

This isn't your standard zombie movie, but I really liked it.  One of the better zombie movies I've seen in a while.  If you're looking for something kind of different from your standard zombie movie, check this one out.

Marki Bey demands that you watch this movie