Post of the Living Dead

Zombie movies are my ultimate fix. If you know me well enough, then you're already aware. An outspoken George Romero loyalist. Night of the Living Dead is my first memory of watching a horror movie that actually scared the piss out of me. I'd rush home from grade school to re-watch its follow-ups Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead on grainy, dubbed-VHS tapes, thanks to my down-for-the-cause grandfather who had a dual-VCR-recorder.

Return of the Living Dead. All of the Lucio Fulci splatter-zombie flicks. The 28 Days Later series. Etc, etc, etc. All seen, owned.

Which leads to some new stills I came across today for two upcoming 2009 flesh-eaters. Waiting with baited breath for.....

First up: The Horde, a balls-to-the-gore-soaked-wall zombie flick....from France! Considering how head-over-heels in love I am with French horror, the thought of a Romero-esque project coming out of the home of croissants is geek-gasm-potent. Remind me that it's produced by the dude (Xavier Gens) who directed Frontiere(s), a flawed-but-still-tough Hostel/Texas Chainsaw-ish French hybrid that has some of the best final-girl-gets-bloody-revenge scenes in years, and I'm souped. Word to Joel McHale.

The Horde has a promising sort of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, but in Hell, set-up. Four corrupt police officers ransack a mobster's hideout, but end up facing a Mafia firing squad after their ambush fumbles. But then swarms of zombies bust in, indirectly save the coppers, but then rip apart everybody's skin. Which forces the mob and po-po to tag-team for survival. Here's one of the comatose sons-of-bitches:



Hells. Yes.

Second: George Romero's sixth zombie entry (he's a persistent old man, isn't he?),as-of-now called ....of the Dead (seriously), a direct follow-up to this year's Diary of the Dead, which I had/have tons of issues with (it's not scary, there's not enough zombie mayhem, Romero's trademark subtlety is gone, and the acting is mostly atrocious). And remembering that I wasn't in love with his fourth, Land of the Dead, either, my heart needs Romero to deliver at least one more ass-kicker. Or else, just forget about zombies altogether, Georgie, and go back to some Martin type shit.

....of the Dead (was once referred to as Island of the Dead, being that it takes places on an isolated isle....yeah, would've seemed like a dense four-year-old named it that), is my last straw. I'll always have his original three masterpieces, but I'm holding out for a last gem. We'll see. Nonetheless, I'll be there, opening day, tongue wagging and fingers crossed so hard they may snap off. Here's some shots that kind of give me hope. Just kind of:





**Bonus, free of charge: A scene from Lucio Fulci's quality Zombi that all horror movie heads, especially those partial to the living dead, cherish.....a zombie versus a shark. Non-breather against underwater predator. Head to head. Bub and Jaws, toe to toe. Gotta love this: