stewsith

Zombogalypse is a wacky horror comedy that feels like the three way love child of Shaun of the Dead, The Office and Seinfeld. Centred around three inept people who think the world revolves around them, the trio has already been surviving in the Zombie Apocalypse for a decade. Finding themselves bored, they decide to make a movie about their life and rope in a bunch of other survivors with the promise of things they don't actually have.

The movie is told in the "Vlog" style, with characters either holding the camera or being filmed by others who are all other characters in the movie so there's a found footage/documentary feel to everything which lends itself to the humour. If you like The Office or Parks & Rec then you'll like this style of shooting, with characters delivering candid interviews to camera in between the action and some genuinely funny improv.

The three leads are likeable in the same way we like the cast of Seinfeld - they are pretty horrible people that really only care about themselves but it's the wacky scenarios that they get into which make them endearing. Tony is a crazy gun nut that loves blowing up zombies and re-enacting Metal Gear Solid. Hannah is a happy-go-lucky book lover who runs from the first sight of a Zombie. Miles is indifferent to the Zombie threat, wanting to sipping tea from a china cup while slapping the hands of hungry Zombies away with an umbrella as if they are a minor inconvenience.

Despite all the horrible things they do in the movie (a lot of people die in pursuit of making their film!), you still find them likeable. Much of this is down to their childlike passion to make their movie and obliviousness to all the pain and terror happening to everyone around them.

Their film crew come in the form of some truly talented actors who do some impressive improv and frantically run around trying to make an actual movie whilst Hannah, Tony & Miles play Spielberg.

Those looking for some Zombie chaos will also be pleased as there are some really frantic and gory moments in the second act, culminating in a horde of fast zombies (or "Fastards" as Tony calls them) descending upon the film shoot. When there's gore it's mostly practical effects and there's plenty of intestines and flesh being torn out to satisfy gore hounds.

If you go in looking for a scary, serious Zombie movie then this film isn't for you. If you want fun characters, great gore and enjoy British humour then you'll absolutely love it to bits. There's also four seasons of a YouTube web series (also called Zomblogalypse) to check out which the same creative team started making a decade earlier! Whilst the movie is kind of a retelling of the web series, it's still very much worth a watch and oozes with love for the zombie genre.

I thought I'd check out this movie as I am a fan of director Charlie Steeds previous work which includes the really fun A Werewolf in England which was very inspired by the wacky horror fun of Evil Dead II. Freeze is a much more serious film and fans of Lovecraft will find lots to enjoy here. It reminded me of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness meets The Terror, particularly with the elements of an expedition gone wrong and an ancient civilisation being uncovered in the arctic.

The cast is strong, with some returning faces from Steeds previous work and genre favourites like Johnny Vivash (Book of Monsters) who gives a particularly fantastic performance. The creatures are entirely practical effects and are on screen enough to keep monster fans happy. The locations in the film are also incredible, with scenes taking place on a ship, a cave and the arctic tundra. It's clear these are real locations and not studio sets or green screen, giving the movie a very authentic feel. I must admit that I felt the cold and sympathised with the freezing actors as they trudged across the deep snow.

It's clear that Steeds spent his small budget well and every penny has been spent on the screen, successfully conveying the desolate dread of the unrelenting arctic and the secrets the crew uncover there. One to check out for fans of Lovecraft and creature features!

I was lucky enough the catch this indie gem at Frightfest London 2022 and it did not disappoint. A horror comedy musical filled with heart, gore and some really fun performances from a clearly passionate cast that put everything into the movie.

The movie follows a misfit cheerleading group called 'Power Cheer', the girls enter a reality TV contest and come up against the Starmen (whose intro harmony had me in stitches every time) and things soon veer into the supernatural territory with a cursed wishing necklace that brings a load of Zombie/Demons to the party, resulting in some great splattery gore. There's also a really fun love story involving a severed hand but I'll let you find out about that for yourself!

The writing is spot on with one-liners and jokes that land well, both in dialogue and the songs which had me tapping my feet quite a few times.

This film is a very pure example of micro budget indie filmmaking at its best and I had a fantastic time watching it. It can be scrappy around the edges in some places but all that is totally forgiven moments later when the next hilarious song kicks in. Check this out as soon as you can, you won't regret it.