The Definitive..Ish...Zombiementary... "Doc Of The Dead"

Doc of the Dead (2014)

N/R

Starring George Romero, Robert Kirkman, Bruce Campbell,

Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe

The Story:

Zombies.

They're everywhere.  They've been in folklore and history since forever, but it was Dawn of the Dead that really brought them into mainstream pop culture.  This documentary looks at that pivotal moment in cinematic history, and what has happened since.

This documentary is very well done, but of course, even that has limitations.

Is it going to just cover the zombie in modern cinema, or is it going to cover the entire legend and history of zombies?

Well, the film starts one way, and then throws a bit of a swerve in the middle to add the historical.

Now, that would normally be fine in overall context, but it kind of lends a hiccup to the film that wasn't needed.

At under 90 minutes, there's a lot of zombie lore to go through when you're doing little snippet interviews with stars, writers, directors, etc. who have been in some of the zombie horror genre's best and most influential films.

Eventually, the emphasis begins to seem thin and scattered instead of just marching through Romero's catalog and winding up with the current sensation, The Walking Dead.

Still, a nice crash course for newbies to the genre, or those wanting/looking to reminisce or fill in some missing pieces that may have passed us by over the years.

Now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Definitely worth a viewing, your replayability will vary greatly depending on your love for the genre.

This is My Boomstick...Perfect For Fighting an "Army of Darkness"

Groovy!

The Story:

Ash (Bruce Campbell) is transported back in time to 1300 A.D.  Seen as their savior, Ash is sent on a quest to recover the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead.  With that, the kingdom can stop their enemies and they can send Ash back to the future where he belongs...  as long as Ash remembers just 3 little words...

The big question:

Do you need to have seen Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2 first?

No.

No you do not.  In fact, you will likely be better off just jumping in with this film, and going from there.

Blasphemy from some fans, I'm sure, but I don't care.

That's what I did!

In fact, I am not sure if I saw either of the first 2, or if I saw part of one and didn't really care for it.  Or saw both, and thought they were the same movie.

But Army of Darkness is a whole different story.

In fact, Army of Darkness is a great story.  It's horror...drama...comedy...period piece...science fiction, all in one.

It's also director Sam Raimi's best film, period.  Yep, I've just checked his credits, and I stand by that assessment!

It's also the role that cemented Bruce Campbell forever as one of the truly greatest cinematic characters of all time.  The guy has been coasting on this character for 21 years.

I have no problem with that at all.

Now, I've never been able to break the kids into the horror genre.  That whole "overprotective mom" trumps me at every turn, but if I could pull one off, I think this could be the movie that could do it.'
:)

We'll see.

And don't let her know I called her an overprotective mom, or I'll be in big trouble!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Amazingly I do not own a copy of this film, even though there are about 817 different versions out there.  I may have to finally rectify that problem!  I wonder if they have it at S-Mart?