Senhorita Zumbi

Well, the reasons for why I sat down to watch this 2013 horror movie from writer and director SABU was because it was a zombie movie, and a Japanese zombie movie at that. I do have an interest in all things zombie, so of course I had to watch "Miss Zombie", even without ever having heard about it.

I happened to stumble upon "Miss Zombie" here late in 2022, and just by the title and cover alone, then this movie was something I had to watch. And so I did.

Writer and director SABU delivers somewhat of an avantgarde zombie movie. And it is almost shot entirely in black and white. Now, there are a couple of things wrong with that, at least in my opinion. The concept of the movie was interesting enough, I suppose on paper, but the transition to screen made for a very, very bland and mundane, not to mention monotonous, movie experience. Sure, I get the monotonous and repetitive thing of the zombie unlife, sure, but it didn't make for an entertaining viewing. And movie shot in black and white just doesn't really have a special place in my heart, unless it is a movie so old it was shot before they had the technology of color in movies.

The acting performances in "Miss Zombie" were every bit as monotonous and mundane as the script and storyline, so at least that went hand in hand. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this movie, nor can I say that I witnessed anything memorable or noteworthy on the screen.

Visually then you're not in for a particular treat, as the movie is shot almost entirely in black and white.

While I managed to sit through "Miss Zombie" in its entire 85 minute runtime, I wasn't particularly entertained. But I stuck with the movie, hoping that it would eventually pick up pace and perhaps even take a turn of events for the better. That just never happened. "Miss Zombie" is not a movie that I would recommend to fans of the zombie genre; to fans of avantgarde movie-making perhaps, but not to zombie fans. And this is not a movie that I will ever pick up and watch a second time.

My rating of "Miss Zombie" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.

Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.

This film by SABU takes place in a reality where zombie infections have many different stages and full-blown zombie transformations take years to complete. Zombies with a low virus count are used as household servants, since they are relatively harmless if fed properly. One such zombie woman is the focus of this story. Spectacularly shot in black-and-white and glacially paced, this is an art-house film that plays with genre expectations. The zombie is used as a protagonist that quickly earns the viewer's sympathy thru a referenced backstory as well as the fact that she is consistently harassed (and worse!) by humans. There's also an interesting family dynamic involving the little boy. The lead actress (Ayaka Komatsu) gives a very good silent performance. This is a sad film that is also disturbing on a psychological level. Scoring is minimal but effective. Impressive stuff.

FYI, SABU is a very talented drama/comedy director who made some very good films early in his career - Postman Blues (1997), Drive (2002), Monday (2000), and Blessing Bell (2002) being the most notable examples - but he has become less reliable over the past decade. So this film was a bit of a surprise. Miss Zombie (2013) is his first horror film and it's arguably the best title in his filmography now.

A very strong Japanese film in many aspects, in which we can make several analyses, for example, we see the similarity between the treatment of the zombie not only with the maid but with minorities in a broad sense (blacks, homosexuals, PNE), and mainly how women are subjugated, humiliated and ******** and attacked, and this is not about zombies... When zombies are more human, than humans themselves, literally...

A rich and successful couple decides to ignore the strict laws that prohibit zombies in homes and welcomes a zombie woman to become their housekeeper. When she arrives, the couple also receives a note warning them not to feed her with any type of meat. However, the scarred zombie named Sara endures horrors, while maintaining some memories about her past.

Miss Zombie is a short Japanese social drama and horror movie shot in black and white. It convinces with great acting performances, gloomy atmosphere, calm camera techniques, artistic creativity and a solid plot.

It tells the story of a bourgeois family consisting of an adventurous son, an emotional mother and a self-centered father. They purchase a female zombie maid who became what she is under dramatic circumstances. She is the type of zombie that isn't dangerous as long as she isn't fed any meat. Her presence still isn't welcome as neighbours are afraid of her, children throw rocks at her and homeless people attempt to stab her on multiple occasions. This abuse soon continues at the family's home as the zombie maid is sexually abused by several men. Things get tense when her presence leads to conflicts between family members. The story reaches its climax when an unspeakable tragedy happens with unforeseeable consequences.

Miss Zombie is an intellectual movie that makes you wonder whether the zombie maid is the monster or the abusive women, men and children around her. The film starts as slow-paced but atmospherically gripping social drama and becomes a horrifying tale of tragedy, survival and murder. The movie also deals with complex topics such as family values, moral courage and the fate of minorities. Some critics even draw similarities between the fate of the fictional main character and refugees that are mistreated by foreigners. You can enjoy this movie as entertaining art house experiment but also as sociocritical work. In both cases, Miss Zombie is refreshingly different from any other movie involving zombies and could even appeal to audiences that usually don't care about fantasy or horror films thanks to this movies dramatic and realistic touch.

If you are open to think outside the box and accept a slow-paced movie in black and white in Japanese with English subtitles, you will discover a unique gem that mixes survival horror and family drama in a most poignant way. Miss Zombie is a movie you won't forget anytime soon as it offers food for thought, different interpretations and even elements to debate long after the film has concluded.

This film starts somewhere in Japan when a wealthy family buys a zombie to be their housemaid. They know it can be dangerous, so together with the user's manual there's also a gun in the "zombie's kit", in case of the zombie turns aggressive. But they were told that this particular zombie is peaceful because there're many kinds of zombies, it depends on the degree of their zombie infection…

Does it sound bizarre?? Well, this movie is bizarre! But it's also interesting on the point it uses the zombie issue as a metaphor! It has nothing to do with any other zombie movie I have ever seen. It's almost a poetic zombie film! In fact zombies here have feelings and emotions and in the end we don't know who is human or who is zombie…

The main idea is quite interesting but the movie is too slow paced and turns a bit boring at parts. The shot is entirely in black and white which increases the melancholy and the poetic feeling. I appreciated the concept but won't score it more than 5/10 because it's too slow paced!