Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead

-

Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead
Starring Allen Maldonado, Sid Haig, Lauren Mae Shafer, David Brown
Directed by Douglas Schulze

While attending a horror convention, friends Russell (Taylor Piedmonte) and Duane (Allen Maldonado) are invited by Judith (Lauren Mae Shafer) to a secret underground party. 

Both of the men are drugged, and when they come to they're in different clothes and in different places.  Russell and another girl at the party, Karen (Jana Thompson) are at a cemetery and are being chased by what appears to be a zombie.  Duane wakes up in a truck in front of a farmhouse, and soon discovers that there's other people from the party in the house.  Trapped in the farmhouse, the survivors see the zombies standing outside, and it appears to be an oddly familiar situation.

Keith (David Brown) comes to the realization that this is a re-enactment of the movie "Night of the Living Dead," and it seems that the "zombies" aren't as dead as they first appeared, but rather a bunch of horror enthusiasts who desire to make the ultimate horror movie - one that is real life.

George A. Romero brought zombies to the current generation, but his biggest error is in not patenting his original classic, so it became public domain for everyone to rip off of, and rip off they have.  There's been several cheap imitations of the classic, but this one takes it a step further.  It throws ordinary people into a real life horror remake, and I found that refreshing. 

Unfortunately, the issue with this film is that it seems it could've been done better with a better director.  There was something missing in the film that I was waiting to see - could it all have been one big stunt?  Maybe there would be real zombies mixed in that no one expected?  No, instead it was pretty cut-and-dry: a bunch of freaks wanting to re-make a horror film by creating a snuff film.  A waste of a possibly exciting movie, yet still somewhat watchable.

My Rating: C+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2019 After the hype that is "Avengers: Endgame," May offers a massive collection of differing types of movies, enough to entertain everyone. Here are the major theatrical releases for May 2019. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  The Intruder May 3 Dennis Quaid goes from starring the family-friendly "A Dog's Journey" to playing a total psycho in "The Intruder."  When a young couple purchases a home from Quaid's character Charlie, they didn't realize it came with an addition - Charlie himself, who can't seem to let his old home go.  I don't expect any twists or turns in this tale, and this looks like a film better fit for Lifetime than the big screen.  Long Shot May 3 Charlize Theron stars as Charlotte Field, the current Secretary of State and who's running for President.  Seth Rogen stars as Fred Flarsky, a...
Read more

Witch

-
Image
Witch Starring Russell Shaw, Ryan Spong, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Fabrizio Santino Directed by Craig Hinde & Marc Zammit Movies about witches are about a dime a dozen, and follow the same formula: typically set in a time period long ago (since now, fortunately, the stigma of witches has been lessened and the religious fervor has diminished), in a small Puritanical town, a girl is accused of witchcraft which spirals the town into a frenzy filled with suspicion, doubt, and murder until the witch is put to religious justice. While that's not necessarily a bad formula (Robert Eggers' "The VVitch" and Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" immediately come to mind), most films fall by the wayside. "Witch" is a small film that, at first glance, seems to follow the mold before completely shattering it in a second act twist that's daring, provocative, and works in a lot of levels, but could've been more pronounced if given a bigger budget. In the small ...
Read more

Special Review: "Midwest Sessions"

-
Image
Special Review: "Midwest Sessions" Directed by Mario Ricciardi Independent filmmaking is a fascinating concept, wherein the director and everyone involved sets out to make something unique, different, and go against the traditional status quo of what's defined as a "blockbuster." These films aren't usually seen by the masses and won't be included in the top ten highest grossing movies of all time, but they offer something those films don't: a heart and commitment by the people involved to craft something wholly distinctive that tell a story in their own way. Such is "Midwest Sessions," a local film directed by Mario Ricciardi that centers on the city of Youngstown, Ohio, and the captivating people who live there. Told in different vignettes that seem distinct and different from one another but coming together as a whole in the end, it's an engrossing film that utilizes its shoestring budget and gives great performances, decent effects a...
Read more