Zombie Planet

I live and work in Lexington, Kentucky, the town where Zombie Planet was filmed. I'd heard about the film forever ago, from various people who claimed to be a critical part of the production. Then, for several years, I heard absolutely nothing. Imagine my surprise when I found it sitting all by itself at the local video store, just itching for a rental. So, being the cinephile that I am, I decided to give these local filmmakers a shot.

Bad idea.

Zombie Planet is overlong, boring, poorly acted, miserably shot -- and that's just the good stuff. I tried my hardest to enjoy it, which included removing my brain and setting it on the table so that it wouldn't get in the way of the horrible storyline. Alas, nothing worked. Zombie Planet is so bad it's pathetic. And the very idea that they're planning a sequel leads me to believe that the director and his henchmen have listened to none of the criticisms I'm sure they've heard. Move on, you guys. Please. In fact, refrain from film-making altogether. Or attend a few classes on pacing, storytelling, and, well, basic direction.

Otherwise, for the love of God, hang it up.

I think that Zombie Planet was a great film. I mean look at how well it has done. It has been released on DVD by Tempe. Tempie also said that that it had the highest pre-order count of "any" film that they have released. Now for such a "tarible" film it sure has done pretty dam good if you ask me. The film was made by a lot of first timers, they put their heart and soul into the production. The story was a great idea. Not only dose it make a interesting film, but it hits a problem that is plaguing America. Obesity. The fact that the still of diet that was used in the film is now all the rage goes to show that they hit the nail on the head with what some people will go through to look like a supermodel even if it risks their health and their life. So just back of and look at the big picture that is panted.

I don't know what critiquing system that the "critic" who works at the local Lexington, KY video store was judging this film by, but as a professional working in the direct-to-video industry, my vote is that Zombie Planet was a solid "B" Horror flick. Compared to the majority of horror in this market, ZP has better production values than 70% or greater of the "junk" currently available. I mean, did anybody say that "B" Horror is supposed to be a work of art? In my opinion, Zombie Planet serves its purpose; it has an entertaining, thought provoking story line, blood, gore, handsome men, and hot chicks - what else could you ask for?

Once a month, I invite a few friends over for a "Retarded Movie Night". We look forward to movies that are either so bad they're funny or movies that know they don't have a plot and just show a lot of chests. Last night, we were unfortunate enough to have Zombie Planet as one of our movies. The cinematography is on par with what we're used to, but the acting was a different story. The lead role is played by a Johnny Depp/Rob Zombie wanna-be who couldn't get a role in a high school play, let alone a LOW-BUDGET horror film. Our indecisive hero, who couldn't tell whether or not he wanted to be a bad-ass this scene or a whimpering coward was one of the reasons why this was the first movie of 30 that I have ever had to stop early during a Retarded Movie Night. It had the possibility for greatness with a GREAT twist on the standard zombie infection, but they took it an entirely different direction based on Johnny Zombie. I personally would not recommend this to any of my friends. However, it's unfortunate that I already invited a few over last night to suffer through 80% of this movie with me.

Come on everyone, this is a B movie. Of course the acting is well, eh!; but the story isn't that bad. The zombie effects were pretty cool for a low budget film. It's a little long but most B movies are too short and it was a nice change. It kept me interested most of the time. Hopefully the sequel will be a little better. I saw the trailer for the sequel so I guess there will be one. And please remember this is from Tempe video so you should know before hand that you are dealing with low budgets and so-so acting anyway. Also with all the zombie movies out there, it was a pretty original idea of why and how it got started. Overall I would have to give this film a thumbs up!