Zombie Night

Two neighbouring families attempt to survive the first night of a zombie outbreak.

Feast director John Gulager helms Zombie Night (2013), one of the better SyFy/Asylum outings-an under-the-radar undead flick that, while flawed, still has a little bite. With a score by Alan Howarth (of Carpenter collaborator fame) and shambling Romero-style zombies, the film has enough going for it to warrant attention. Unfortunately, it's let down by a flat, made-for-TV aesthetic (despite its 1.78 : 1 aspect ratio) and a cacophony of unnecessary screaming that drags it into DTV territory. That said, the lighting, Damian Horan's cinematography, and use of practical locations lend it some much-needed atmosphere.

Leading the cast are '80s stars Anthony Michael Hall, Daryl Hannah, and Alan Ruck-each delivering grounded performances that rise above the material. The night-bound premise is intriguing, and Gulager's love for Romero's mythos shows. Zombies don't run-they creep. You don't turn from a bite; you turn from death. Classic rules. As a possible homage, this could have been marketed as Night of the Living Zombies, with moments lifted straight from Night of the Living Dead and a similarly clothed zombie and attack echoing Uncle Rege from the 1990 remake. It also borrows from Romero's Diary, Dawn and Day of the Dead.

There are some decent gore effects, especially for an Asylum production, with creepy undead, and moments of genuine tension-particularly in the greenhouse and cemetery-set finale. But a lack of visual polish and character reactions dull what could've been a tight, small-scale horror.

Overall, a missed opportunity, but still one of Gulager's more watchable post-Feast efforts. Strong leads and solid zombie work, but ultimately held back by its shrill tone and TV aesthetic.

Ok. Went into this hoping for the best as I like Anthony Michael Hall, Daryl Hannah and Shirley Jones. I also can accept that a 'TV' movie will be a bit more dialed-down to appease the masses and the censors. Which is the only reason I gave it 4 stars...I could look at Daryl Hannah all day. What I can't accept is complete, and utter stupidity on the part of the characters. That, and the fact that all of the characters were eminently unlikeable and irritating, from Shirley Jones' blind mother to the petulant teenage boyfriend to Anthony Michael Hall's protective father character, they all come across as utterly unprepared for something as mundane as an empty peanut butter jar... "WHAAAT? There's NO peanut butter ? How am I going to make a P&J without peanut butter????" From leaving perfectly working automobiles, wondering if they can 'hotwire' a car when one member's car is in their garage to taking shelter in a SEE-THROUGH flimsy plastic structure to the family looking at someone as if they had just massacred a village for locking a hysterical person in a bedroom, the movie just irritates to no end...well...there IS an end, fortunately. But it takes a lot longer to get there than the stated run time.

Zombie Night was always going to be one of those movies that people shouldn't expect that much from, but even when judging it for what it is you do want evidence of some sort of fun. You don't get that with Zombie Night, instead you get a complete failure on all levels with unintentional humour that gets more increasingly frustrating than anything else. The best thing about the movie is the make-up for the zombies, even when the least amateurish asset it still wasn't that good. With the rest of the production values you could tell that Zombie Night was made in a rush- especially in the editing- and with little signs of care or love. The dialogue is vomit-inducing in how inane it is, the timing is also sloppy and the line delivery flat. It does provide some unintentional humour to begin with but very quickly hearing so many what the...? gets frustrating, plus it does get needlessly convoluted at times. There is no real narrative to speak of, what there is shows lots of predictability, endless ridiculously dumb moments(the bunker and cemetery scenes for examples), no signs of life and the thrills, fun and horror elements are so empty and scrappily done with no signs of surprise that they feel non-existent. The less said about the dull and abrupt ending the better too. The characters are either irritating(Nana) or infuriatingly stupid(Karen), at no point do we root for them and their actions are so stupid beyond belief makes them even less likable. If there are any characters we do root for it is the zombies, unfortunately that is not saying much as they are under-utilised and personality-less. The actors don't or can't do anything with their characters or dialogue, very amateurish. It is ironic that the Oscar Winner Shirley Jones ties with Jennifer Taylor as the worst acting performance in the movie, and Anthony Michael Hall and Daryl Hannah are pretty much wasted. In conclusion, if you want any delights with Zombie Night you will be disappointed. It is not quite as bad as the abysmal Vampegeddon(doubt that many people have seen it and for good reason) but there is a big emphasis on the quite. 1/10 Bethany Cox

This movie was an absolute train wreck! When you start rooting for the zombies, that's how you know you could care less about any of the characters surviving. 

Their choice in characters... They picked the best not to star in the best? Is that what we do know? Anthony Michael Hall ... Loved him way better when he played the nerd and geek (Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles). It's as if he was money hungry so he played this role. Darryl Hannah... Way better playing Elle (Kill Bill Vols). And lastly Shirley Jones, who was given such a bad script that I was actually rooting for a zombie to kill her. Why would any of these actors even take an offer that had to deal with Syfy? 

I mean, what kind of movie was this anyways? This didn't even fit the cliché version of zombies nor the modernized versions! This movie got more and more frustrating as it went on. I strongly recommend not watching this movie, for life is too short for these types of movies to even consider watching.

3 stars for the gore effects, quite obviously the majority of the limited budget went into them. If the writers would have tried to make this a humorous affair, the appalling acting, script writing and storyline might just have worked. In fact, it could have been good if the film didn't try to take itself seriously. The film almost titters on the brink of humour before you realise it's a very serious affair failing badly.

Even Zombie fans should be upset with the film. We all know Zombies don't care, they just amble directly at their target. No moving obstacles out of the way or bypassing defenses or defending themselves from attack. All of which the Zombies do in this film... ruins the 'Mindless Zombie Killer' effect we all know and love.

In the end we are left with a film that has you thinking "that would have been funny if...." and "some of the effects are not too bad" and... "Wow ! I could drop a piece of paper in a cage full of Monkeys and find a better script written on it ten minutes later. Then hire the Monkeys to act it out".