To non-zombie horror pursuit’s the saying ‘when you’ve seen one zombie film you’ve seen them all’ probably rings true. For the rest of us we are far more open to the possibilities of being mauled over by the genre’s ability to continuously reinvent itself. This new boxset contains ‘a tasty three-course feast of fear for horror fans’ by including three completely unrelated straight-to-DVD zombie films that push the extremes in low-budget horror filmmaking aesthetics and sublime narrative consequences.

THE ZOMBIE DIARIES

Available at Amazon for a bargain £4.98

First up is the 2006 UK undead splatter fest DIARIES, directed by enthusiastic first-timers Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates. Set mostly in the deserted rural English countryside and borrowing heavily from the handheld Cinéma vérité style of filmmaking of the BLAIR WITCH variety, DIARIES is a complete unapologetic rift of both Danny Boyle’s 28 DAYS LATER and the former film, benefiting from above average special make-up effects, a gruesome gritty tone and a good use of ominous spacious countryside locations.

It comprises of three video diary entries that entangle a hapless group of friends at various moments during the aftermath of a contagious virus that has hit the U.K, (constantly referred to as some sort of bird flu). It’s a hit and miss tale that is better acted than George Romero’s recent DIARY OF THE DEAD (thanks to the improvisation that was encouraged) and has some gruesome early moments of terror but suffers from a snagging sense that we have seen this thing all before and done better.

DAYS OF DARKNESS

Commencing with a terribly intangible CGI opening shot of an asteroid hurtling toward the earth DARKNESS is surprisingly the strongest entry in this set. A US offering that was a hit at LA’s Screamfest in 2007 and which has DAY OF THE DEAD written all over it, DARKNESS concerns virginal lovers Steve and Mimi who - following a night camped out beneath the stars - witness a comet hitting the earth. The following day on a trail back home Steve is attacked and bitten by a ghoulish looking man staggering along the road while a heard of shuffling flesh-eaters are fiendishly in pursuit. Rescued by a passer-by, they are led to a remote bunker in the hills which hordes a bunch of other equally dumb-founded survivors, who have managed to imprison one of the undead in the hope of getting to the root of the disease. As the carnivorous flesheaters attempt to break through the perimeter its up to the group to attempt to figure out the strange biological digression that the disease has taken to, slowly unveiling a terrifying and hideous truth that will challenge their humanity.

For a straight-to-DVD-zombie-flick DARKNESS is as enjoyable and comically inventive as they come, bending the rules of the genre to impressive and unexpected effect whilst making for an entertaining hybrid of ALIEN and INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS (Philip Kaufman’s version in particular). It contains some good atmospheric moments and cringe-worthy make-up effects that veer a little too close to the crutch for male comfort. It also does well to focus and evolve its group of hauled-up stock characters (gay, male macho, innocent virgin, religious nut et al), while boasting a nice twist on expectations. Obviously not up there with Romero fare but for a zombie low-budgeter it more than holds its own in the originality stakes.

ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES!

Available at Amazon, well hopefully at some point!

This is the blacksheep of the zombie movie bunch as it is mostly a delirious, unwarranted novelty ride…that is apart from its dreadful but juicy premise: a small group of exotic dancers are attacked by a league of bloody-thirsty zombies after an experimental drug is wrongfully used during foreplay.

Not dissimilar to Jay Lee’s recent offering ZOMBIE STRIPPERS, this film is a sleazy, often so bad its hilariously good rift on the popular formula which has gained enormous popularity on IMDB (almost 7/10 stars!). The cast of good-looking totty are terrible and the CGI exploding undead leave something to be desired but at least there’s a terrific self-deprecating pre-credits opening announcing ‘who would make this zombie shit?’, a wacky title sequence reminiscent of RE-ANIMATOR and a warm aesthetic palette to the lensing that is suitably soft porn. There’s also a sequence where a zombie stripper does down on a fat dude but lets not go there. Depending who you are ZOMBIES! is not a total dud but if taken seriously will leave you completely brain dead.

EXTRAS

Only ZOMBIE DIARIES contains the goods here with a decent director’s/cast commentary track, deleted scenes and a lengthy ‘Making of…feature’ which highlights the shortcomings of working on a low budget: battling poor weather conditions, haulding away the interfering public and keeping the squeamish cast in check for maximum real-to-life shock effects.

VERDICT

An above average and very bloody zombie box set for trick-or-treaters and flesh-eating purist’s that nicely combines palpable terror yarns with more tongue-in-cheek comedy induced fare but with an emphasis on low budget chills and thrills.

RISE OF THE FLESHEATERS - ZOMBIE BOX SET is avaliable to buy now in the UK courtesy of Revolver Entertainment.