Monday 30 December 2013

Post Mortem - Year of the Dead


It's been a hard year watching a zombie film every week (and reviewing it). But it has been worth it. Possibly. So here we go with a run down of some of my findings:
  • Best zombie film: The Beyond



  • Most iconic actress: Catriona MacColl
  • Most abused actress: Daniela Doria
  • Most iconic actor: Ken Foree
  • The zombie film where I didn't even make it past the first five minutes due to lowness of quality: Dead Genesis
  • The zombie film that I couldn't watch because the DVD was so badly scratched: Shatter Dead (I don't think that I missed much)
  • Worst people to be involved in a zombie film: Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso


  • Best director: this was always going to be between two directors, but for me Romero just gets pipped by Lucio Fulci

I've done some statistical research to find the best decade for zombie films. Here are the average ratings for the zombie films I've reviewed from each decade:

1960s - 6.3
1970s - 6.4
1980s - 5.9
1990s - 4.8
2000s - 5.2
2010s - 4

Mmm, not much between them really, apart from the 2010s looking really useless. Let's try looking at the percentage of films that I rated 8 or more from each decade:

1960s - 0%

1970s - 40%

1980s - 35%

1990s - 0%
2000s - 8%
2010s - 0%

So there you go, if you had to choose a random zombie film you're best bet is one from the 70s or 80s. (Many apologies if you got Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 though.)


When the inevitable zombie apocalypse happens what have I actually learnt that will stand me in good stead? Oh, so many things, but here's my main tip. If anyone gets injured, let's say a really harsh break where the bone juts out, or a severe zombie bite on an arm, administer first aid by dabbing the wound with a bit of cotton wool. For extra healing power, have a slightly wincing "that looks nasty" look on your face. The wound will be sorted in no time.


Before we leave the Year of the Dead season for good, I must thank - in no particular order - Kev D. (http://www.zombiehall.com), King Uke (http://theukuleleblog.blogspot.co.uk/) and Karl Kaefer (http://xsmarkthespot.squarespace.com/blog/) for their comments and quality suggestions. It's made the pain easier to bear.

Next year we're going to have something new for you: The FA Cup of Actors. Sixteen actors will be battling it out (to the death obviously) through the medium of me and Doccortex reviewing a random selection of their films and seeing which are best. More information will be forthcoming in the new year.


Have a great New Year and thanks for reading.

evlkeith

6 comments:

  1. THE BEYOND!!!!!!!!!!

    The fact that we see eye to eye most of the time (especially since The Beyond is possibly my all-time favorite) I now know that I must absolutely track down Hell's Ground and Zombie Kill.

    I also think it's ballsy and WAY cool to give the nod to Fulci over Romero.

    Couldn't agree more regarding the decade breakdown... I should do that at Zombie Hall... I'm not sure who comes out ahead, 70s or 80s... would be tight. The 90s had a few serious gems, but the were few and far between.

    Looking forward to what you have in store next year! I'll still be watching zombie movies every week. 313 films and counting!!!!

    Happy New Year, all the best.

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    1. Thanks for your support this year Kev. Don't set your expectations too high for Hell's Ground and Zombie Kill but I enjoyed them more than the rest of the current zombie films.

      I think Fulci just got it over Romero because he made four quality zombie films to Romero's three. But it was a close run thing.

      I think the late seventies/early eighties has to be the best time for zombie action: Dawn of the Dead plus all four Fulci classics. It would be interesting to see which decade comes out on top at Zombie Hall.

      I don't know how you've managed to watch that many zombie films. I need a break after just this year. (Saying that I know I've got some undead action in the pipeline already. I just can't shake them...)

      Happy New Year to you too :)

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  2. Happy new year! Where have I been? :-D

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    Replies
    1. Not very often that I've got a happy new year greeting in August, but never mind. A happy new year to you too.

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  3. Just catching up with some missed reading ;-)

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  4. I know what you mean. My highlights from the year so far would be:

    http://obscurendure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/review-stories-we-tell-2012-dir-sarah.html

    http://obscurendure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/review-our-children-2012-dir-joachim.html

    http://obscurendure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/review-outside-law-2010-dir-rachid.html

    For some relatively good horror:

    http://obscurendure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/review-livid-2011-dir-alexandre.html

    And for something different:

    http://obscurendure.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/feature-eldritch-horror-review.html

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