The "Santa Clarita Diet" Is Not For Everyone

Santa Clarita Diet (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Liv Hewson, Skyler Gisondo,

Created by Victor Fresco

The Story:

Sheila and Joel Hammond (Barrymore & Olyphant) are realtors in Santa Clarita. They're struggling to make sales while also raising a teenage daughter (Hewson). Oh, and apparently Sheila has somehow become a zombie, and now they have to see if they can find a cure to save her!

Welcome to one of the newest original series on Netflix.

It's as if they saw how good iZombie was and said, "hey, we want a zombie show too!"

And here we are.

It's got a great cast, anchored by Olyphant and Barrymore.

Barrymore gets to let her hair down as she becomes more and more acting on impulse as she devolves further into her zombie state.

Olyphant gets to play broader comedy as the husband who vows to stand by his wife, even to the point of committing murder to help satisfy her hunger cravings.

The show starts off rather slow, but by the 4th and 5th episode, they hit their stride and things begin to take off.  It builds to a satisfying cliffhanger that leads to the second season.

The show, overall, is good, not great.

I've run into the usual problem I have with Netflix originals:

The #$@@#ing language!

We get it, you're not on broadcast tv, you can let the F-bombs fly.

And they do.

Repeatedly.

Too much for me to feel comfortable watching with any of my kids, even the older ones, in the room.

Or even the wife for that matter.

And that's too bad, as we both really enjoy both Olyphant and Barrymore.

I guess I'll just have to fill that void by rewatching Justified and Drew's old romantic comedies.

Final Grade: B-

This Time It's Personal..."Dead Rising: End Game"

Dead Rising: EndGame (2016)

Not Rated

Starring Jesse Metcalfe, Dennis Haysbert, Marie Avgeropoulos, Keegan Connor Tracy, Billy Zane, Jessica Harmon

Directed by Pat Williams

The Story:

Chase Carter (Metcalfe) returns to expose the Army and General Lyons (Haysbert) as being behind the zombie outbreak. They've been discredited, but if he can get hard evidence this time, everyone will have to believe him. And when he discovers that Jordan (Tracy) is alive and has been experimented on, Chase puts the entire mission on the line to also save his friend.

If this review sounds vaguely familiar, it was about this time last year that I reviewed Dead Rising: Watchtower.

Welcome to the sequel, and it pretty much picks up shortly after the end of the last installment.

That said, there's a few tonal shifts in this movie.

Gone is Rob Riggle as the comic relief in the news studio.

Instead, they often cut to the various chess pieces that make up the overall story until all the parts can be linked together at the end.

Again, nothing that reinvents the zombie genre, but if you enjoyed the first one, it's definitely on par with that one, minus the comic relief.

I think there were a few more zombie attacks this time around, and some pretty good set pieces with the folks fighting for survival.

Plus a crazed Billy Zane as a mad scientist, so you've also got that to look forward to!

Final Grade: C+

Life Imitates Are..."Mimesis"

Mimesis (2011)

Rated R

Starring Allan Maldonado, Sid Haig, Lauren Mae Schafer, Courtney Gains, Taylor Piedmonte, David Brown, Jana Thompson, Gavin Grazer, Bryana Dorfman,

Written and Directed by Douglas Schulze

The Story:

A group of horror fans are having a great time at a convention. However, after a night of partying, several of them wake up the next morning, unsure of where they are or how they got there. When zombies begin to attack, the people must band together and try and survive their own personal Night of the Living Dead. 

This has all the premise of a great idea on paper, but something didn't quite translate for me on the screen.

There's a couple of interesting things that happen along the way, but for the most part, you know what's going to happen, to whom, and when.

Of course, that's basic Horror 101, and part of the reason these movies get watched in the first place.

;)

Most of the actors are a bit bland in the charisma department, so it very much has the look and feel of a budget "B Movie", but none of the extra charm and appeal that makes it a cult classic.

However, apparently it made enough people happy, or enough money, to warrant a sequel coming next year, so there's that.

I won't be chomping at the bit to see it, but maybe on a slow week...

Final Grade: C   

A New Take On The Zombie Virus..."Cell"

Cell (2016)

Rated R

Starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Stacy Keach, Ethan Andrew Casto, Clark Sarullo,

Directed by Tod Williams

The Story:

Clay (Cusack) is an aspiring graphic novelist who is on his way to see his son (Casto) after a productive meeting. His phone battery dies while talking with his estranged wife (Sarullo). Suddenly, he notices passengers in the airport that had been behaving normally while on their cell phones, break out into a murderous frenzy. He barely escapes and finds some other survivors including Tom (Jackson) and they decide to head north to find Clay's son.

Equal parts Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Any Typical Zombie movie, you've now got Cell, based on a book by Stephen King.

There is no real mention of what causes the outbreak, and the only real clue is that the villain that seems to be at the center of it all looks just like a character that Clay created.

Hmmm....

Is this a movie that is dreamed by the main character?

I'd like to hope so because the ending was horrible.

Which is disappointing, because up until that point, the movie was actually not to bad for a low-budget thriller.

I'd even go so far as to say watch the movie up until the point Cusack and Jackson part ways.

Once that happens, turn it off, take it out, and send it back to Netflix.

You'll likely find you had a better viewing experience than sticking around for the conclusion.

Reading up on the differences between the book and the movie, the book had a vague, but positive ending.

Not so in this film.

It's neither vague, nor positive.

It downright sucks, even.

And that blame falls directly on King's shoulders as he is the one that wrote the screenplay, wanting to change the ending.

Master of horror...

More like master of horrible endings.

:)

Final Grade: C

Halloween Weekend Concludes... "Cockneys Vs. Zombies"

Those pesky zombies are at it again!

The Story:

Over in London's East End, a pair of slacker brothers, Terry (Rasmus Hardiker) and Andy (Harry Treadway) decide on a plan to rob a bank to save their granddad's (Alan Ford) retirement home.  They bring in some assistance including their cousin (Michelle Ryan) but wouldn't you know that during their robbery, a zombie outbreak sweeps through the streets.  Now the gang has to get to the retirement home and save their grandfather and other residents before it's too late!

Bwahaahahaha....

Good stuff.
Again!

The horror-comedy genre is alive and kicking, and maybe I should specify that it's a zombie-com... Zom-Com?  Could this be the latest subgenre of film?

If so, count this guy as a fan.  I've been having a blast watching these films this year, and Cockneys vs. Zombies is a proud addition to the roster.

The film relishes its R rating, and the Brits are swearing up one side and down the other as they try and fight off the Zombie hordes.

As to how the outbreak started, stroke of historical genius that I won't spoil here, but made for a very amusing start to the film.

All of the cast does a stellar job, and I was only familiar with one cast member: Honor Blackman.  Yep, apparently Pussy Galore is alive and well, and living in a retirement home!  She gets to kick a little butt when the zombies attack the retirement home.

Plus, I would be remiss if I didn't say that this movie has....

THE
GREATEST
ZOMBIE
CHASE
SCENE.

EVER!!!

I kid you not.  I was laughing so hard, and it must be seen to be enjoyed properly.

Highly Recommended!

Final Grade: B+/A- take your pick, I wouldn't argue either way.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Again, it's hard to pull these off at my house, but I wouldn't complain about seeing it again during the Halloween holiday season.  I think we're closing in on double digits of great horror comedy films, just this year alone!

: )

Zombie Apocalypse Weekend Continues..."Deadheads"

But I don't want to be a zombie!

The Story:

Mike (Michael McKiddy) awakens to discover that he's a zombie.  And yet, he's coherent and remembers that all he wanted was to marry his girlfriend.  He runs into Brent (Ross Kidder) another zombie who is also coherent, and the two embark on a road trip to get Mike back to his sweetheart and see if she's interested in rekindling a romance with a zombie.

I smell road trip!

I'm loving these horror-comedies.  Much like "A Little Bit Zombie", this movie takes a look at a guy who doesn't complete the full zombie-fication process, and still functions as a human.

Mike and Brent become best zombie buds and much hilarity will ensue with their antics as the two try and get back home to see Mike's girl, and see if he still has a shot after all these years of apparently being dead.

It won't be easy though, as the government agents that created the very process that turned our heroes into zombies are trying to stop these two from getting away.

The government agents are hilariously inept in trying to stop the zombies, and being inept in general.


The movie is just a lot of fun from start to finish.

If you haven't gotten on the zombie-coms bandwagon yet, here's a great place to start.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'd be willing to get this one.  Pretty fun stuff.

It's Zombie Apocalypse Weekend, Part 1: "Detention of the Dead"

Just when you thought High School couldn't get any more terrifying!

The Story:

6 students are serving detention for various offenses when a zombie outbreak hits the school.  Can a nerd, jock, bully, cheerleader, goth chick and stoner possibly hope to survive the onslaught of the undead?

Yes, it's the Breakfast Club with zombies!

The enjoyable, funny/horror films that I have been enjoying recently continue.

While this one doesn't quite match the level of enjoyment I've had with the other films, it's just a notch below.

Some of the jokes are obvious gags, but for the most part the humor is low key and subtle enough.

This is simply a group of high school students that don't want to die versus the zombie horde.

Naturally, that's not going to happen, and one by one, the teens will succumb, but they may learn a life lesson or two before they become mindless zombies!

Of course by then, it's too late!

: )

It's a good film tha just missed the greatness they were reaching for with this film.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would add this to the horror-comedy wing of my DVD library which could see several new entrants before the year is over.  This horror comedy genre with scary movies is proving to be quite entertaining.

There Are Worse Things To Be Than "A Little Bit Zombie"

What's more terrifying? Getting married, or becoming a zombie?


Some might claim that one leads to the other...


: /

The Story:

Days before their wedding, Steve (Kristopher Turner) and Tina (Crystal Lowe) head to a remote cabin in the woods for some last minute preparations bringing along best man (Shawn Roberts) and his wife (Kristen Hager) who is also Steve's sister.  Meanwhile a pair of zombie hunters (Stephen McHattie and Emilie Ullerup) are nearby doing what they do best.  However, when a pesky mosquito bites a zombie...and then flies away and bites Steve...

The plans for the weekend are about to change.

Oh my goodness.  The great horror/humor movies continue to be cranked out.  I think this movie was shot on about a $75 dollar budget, but it works, and it works great.

The idea for how the virus gets transferred was pretty darn funny as well. 

The only actor I'd ever seen before was McHattie, but all of them do a tremendous job.  The pacing is crisp and the dialogue is rapid-fire and amusing throughout.

You will not get bored.

Steve you see is resistant to the change that is occurring in his body.  He is fighting his zombie urges, and so you see how far family is willing to go to help the poor guy out.

And, in typical family fashion, some of the choices they make are not exactly for the best.

I won't give away anything else.  This is a little indie movie that you need to see to appreciate.

If you like horror. If you like humor.  If you like humorous horror movies.

You'll like this film.

Streaming instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't get to rewatch too many scary movies, and since this one grabbed an R rating, that makes it less likely than Warm Bodies of getting replay value at my house.  I would add it to the collection if given the right opportunity though.  : )