BIO-ZOMBIE

Dawn of the Dead for the MTV Generation

Standing on a strong foundation of Romero’s eponymous Dead trilogy, with clear early-Peter-Jackson-vibes and a smattering of eclectic late 90’s pop-culture influences that range from MTV to video games like Resident Evil, Bio-Zombie is an enjoyable, fun and frenetic pastiche of a low budget zombie flick. Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

The film is tonally akin to Peter Jackson’s and Sam Raimi's early work. It tends to lean a bit more into Peter Jackson's unique brand of tongue-in-cheek frenzied slapstick comedy and extreme gore more than it does Raimi’s. The first two acts are quite playful with the film starting out as an almost straight slacker comedy in the vein of Kevin Smith's Clerks and Mallrats. Though once the zombies start to multiply the horror really ramps up, but not without being playful and fun, very much like Jackson's Dead Alive (Braindead). Once into the final act the humor subsides quite a bit, to the point where it becomes quite emotional, especially in a scene where one of the main characters suddenly and horrifically dies. There’s even a not-so-happy-ending, tonally and thematically anteceding the harrowing conclusion of Frank Darabont's The Mist.

With its abundant style of profuse dutch angels, garish neon lighting, frenzied and rarely stilled camera work combined with good acting, a tight script, thoughtful pacing, and an overall rollicking yet thrilling tone Bio-Zombie really hits all the right notes and never overstays its welcome.