DisturbedPixie

Look up "Revenant Zombie." "While conceptually very old, and the prototype from which many other undead derive, this trope has fallen out of favor for more modern breeds of zombie, and for the bloodsucking vampire." This is not the first zombie movie to show talking/reasoning zombies (Return of the Living Dead, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Wreck it Ralph, Day of The Dead, Land of The Dead). This is not the first romantic zombie film (Fido, Bride of Frankenstein, "Fear Itself" New Year's Day, My Boyfriend's Back). This is not Twilight (Twilight and its 3 sequels are Twilight, and we don't have to fear it's gonna get us. Don't worry, there will still always be dark and gruesome horror films. And for Twilight fans, there will always be darkly romantic films for you. No need to fight.) I have seen around 100 zombie films, and this is by far not even close to some of the crappier zombie films, though it was pretty unique and sweet and funny.

You have to have a soft spot for romance to enjoy this and you have to notice that it is a commentary on society without love. Life without love is no life at all. That's the message and I think it's powerful enough to resonate with those who don't require the usual cliché zombie film. We have plenty of zombie films that are just about surviving, but we have far less about living.

If you want to watch a realistically dark zombie film, maybe this isn't for you. If you want a very violent and gory zombie film, maybe this isn't for you. But if you don't hate films just for being different or appealing to romantics, you might just enjoy this. It's not Oscar material, but I genuinely prefer the quirky stuff that isn't widely accepted. That's where you find films that speak to you directly, as we are all different.

First, I want to say, I am not an adoptive parent, nor am I adopted myself. I have met someone who has adopted a girl from China, and am aware of the issues that the one child rule raises for girls in China.

Before this I saw a documentary, "National Geographic: China's Lost Girls" which I think is a great film to start with for understanding the situation, before you become so involved in these personal stories.

I don't believe only a certain type of person can enjoy this film, but I can see how it would help. I personally prefer dramatic social documentaries instead of fictional dramas, because I feel like I am really getting to know someone and what they have been through. When I cry, I am not crying because of a plausible emotional situation, but I am crying tears for another person.

This film is incredibly moving. You hear what it is like to be an American, raised by white parents as a Chinese born girl. You get to hear some of their tales of facing racism, and feeling like an outsider, as well as how glad they are to have the loving family and opportunities they have as middle class adopted Americans.

You get to see one disabled girl get an opportunity to be adopted, as well as the filmmaker's video of when they adopted their daughter. You can see how terrifying it is to be a Chinese girl handed over to white parents, while at the same time seeing how much love these parents have for their new little girls.

One girl wished to find her birth family, and was lucky enough to do so. It is an extremely moving situation when you get a glimpse of how much her birth family truly loves her.

This film raises questions that all adopted people have to ask themselves, about whether they want to learn their heritage and what that means to them. Certainly, everyone has to choose their own path and what is important to them in life.

This film encapsulates what it is to be an American to me. It doesn't matter what you look like, or your language or where you were born. It matters that either you or your family or whomever made a choice for you to be a part of a culture that has no rules or boundaries. Where we embrace our similarities and differences as people of this world. It's truly a beautiful idea, this nation, where we can come together and see where we came from and know wherever we go, we take this journey together.

The good things about this movie:

-some of the shots were very stylized which results in some moments worthy of screen shots. -It had some funny moments, and the acting wasn't half bad. -It did at times remind me of other films in that satirical way, which was amusing.

The bad parts:

-The explanation of how the events went down doesn't make sense and felt forced as if the writer had ideas for how the story would go, but couldn't really make it fit together in a realistic or intelligent way. -The ending half haphazardly tries to put all the ducks in a row, and didn't match the pace of the rest of the film. -The ghost scares were completely ridiculous in a 70s cartoony sorta way, that once again felt out of nowhere in how absurd they were. -There were poorly done CGI cockroaches all through out the film, which are never explained, which could have helped explain some of the unbelievable moments if they were.

I'd typically give a film like this a 5/10, but since I spent so much time analyzing it, I feel like I should give it a 6. But then again, a 6 means I can recommended it to at least some people for a one time watch, and I'm unsure if I could go that far since it's such a sloppy teen film. I guess I recommend it to people who don't require a cohesive storyline.

Just don't expect anything of value besides something to argue over with your easily amused friends who loved it. And some tits... don't forgot stereotypical straight male horror fans, there are tits. I know you don't think it's a good horror film without some girl degrading herself for your amusement. I suggest porn, but hey, the film industry keeps giving you guys what you want. Hope you're happy, because even as someone who is attracted to women, I don't require "whores to be punished" in all my horror film favorites, as films like Cabin in The Woods satires.

I have also posted an explanation of the ending for people who couldn't follow the jumbled wrap up, in the forum thread "Ending Spoilers Wanted." I try to explain it as best I can, but in the end, much is left for the audience to try to figure-out/argue-over until it's sequel is released. And who knows if that will give a decent explanation for what happened or if it will just make it even more absurd.