Rated: Not Rated (Extreme Violence and Gore)
Starring: Michael Fuith, Theo Trebs, and Anna Graczyk
Before anyone dives into this film feet first, be aware that it is not in English. There are subtitles. If that prevents you from watching any decent film, you need to brush up on your reading skills and suck it up. More often than not, it is worth the extra effort. Is Rammbock (2010) worth it? Let’s find out.
Synopsis: Michael heads to Berlin to talk with his recent ex-girlfriend with a plan to win her back. But something isn’t right with the city. It is too quiet and Gabi is nowhere to be found. Before he can find her, hell breaks loose in the form of ravenous zombies—quick, dangerous—swarming the apartment complex Gabi lives in. Michael finds himself relying on a young man, Harper, and the complex tenants to help him survive and locate his missing girlfriend.
Rammbock starts off a little slow, building the tension to the first reveal of a new, frightening zombie breed. They’re red-faced, veins bulging under their discolored skin. Foam flows from their mouths. They scream and run as though possessed by demons. In other words, they’re not to be trifled with. The virus that creates them works quickly. Those infected do not die. Instead, an adrenaline rush triggers the change. In theory, if an infected person can remain calm for long enough, their immune system will attack and destroy the virus. It is only a theory; no one can stay calm in the middle of a zombie attack for very long.
The way the virus works was supplied through an age-old zombie film trope—the news feed. It is understandable in the case of Rammbock; the film is just about an hour long. There isn’t enough time to demonstrate the full effect and possibilities of the virus. However, I wish someone would think of a more original way to convey vital information from the government to the people. Use carrier pigeons for all I care, just find another way that doesn’t make the audience begin to zone out after a while.
Mixed with the horror of watching these people trapped inside an apartment complex is a lot of very interesting questions about human nature. Who can you trust? Once you realize there is an outbreak, everyone, even your lovers and family become a threat. One scratch, one bite and they’re chowing down on your face. What is the right way to escape? Several times in the film, suicide is mentioned as an option to be free of the painful truth—there is no way out alive. Or is there? Bravery is walking forward, no matter what frightening thing you face. A handful of the characters are extremely brave, almost to a fault. And the final question is: Would you sacrifice yourself to kill your infected lover, sparing yourself the loss and them the indignity of living as a monster? As one of the monsters, I have to say life as a zombie isn’t half bad. To each their own, though.
Overall I’m giving Rammbock three and a half gnawed-on legs out of five. This is a film that will make you seriously stop and think, “Am I ready to face whatever odds, whatever horrors, in order to live?” Well, are you?
Rating: PG-13 (Zombie violence and some adult language)
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Rob Corddry
Another zombie film has hit the theaters, which means a day pass for yours truly to get out of the Zombie Survival Crew command center’s detention room for a couple hours. What is the latest zombie flick to hit the big screen? An adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel Warm Bodies.
Boy meets girl. Boy eats girl’s boyfriend’s brain and absorbs his memories. Boy falls in love with girl and saves her from having her entrails spread over the ground. Girl begs her hard-ass father not to kill her undead love. Sounds romantic, huh? Not if you care about a little thing called necrophilia.
I had a hard time with the premise of Warm Bodies from the start. Not just because of my standing as one of the shambling undead. Zombies are, and have been for decades, soulless reanimated corpses who only want one thing—to feast on the flesh of the living. Going into the theater (hidden under a large Hello Kitty blanket), I knew I wasn’t the target audience for the film. The previews and trailers showed fresh-faced kids traversing the zombie apocalypse and surviving on the strength of their love. Call me jaded, but a gun goes a lot further to keep one safe from being eaten than doe-eyed heroic zombies.
The saving grace for the film is the smart, witty performance from Nicholas Hoult. He took what could have been dead (no pun intended) jokes and made them work with a well-timed glance or shrug. His counterpart, Teresa Palmer, started out the film strong-willed and capable of defending herself, however, as the movie progressed she became whiny, cried more than should be allowed in a zombie movie—even one billed as a teenage chick-flick—and could not keep up with the performance of her co-star. The production company did their best to make Palmer into a blonde Kristin Stewart—which is no surprise since the distributor for the film is responsible for releasing Twilight. Is it too much to ask for a young actress to thrive on her own merits? In a time when Hollywood is all about chasing trends and beating them over the head until their brains ooze across the floor . . . no. The film’s producers wanted a young woman with looks similar to someone who has been proven popular and shoved her in a role written to be dependent on a boy. And when things get too rough for her, she breaks down, cries, and then does some of the stupidest things ever witnessed in a post-apocalyptic film.
Congratulations, you replaced sparkly vampires with shambling corpses. Or did they?
The undead in Warm Bodies are vastly different from traditional zombies. The corpses, as they’re called, retain more of their humanity and are capable of minimal speech. They also move far too fluidly to be truly dead. The minimalistic effects makeup on the corpses made it difficult to tell who was dead and who was alive. I’m not saying they needed to have huge chunks of flesh falling off, but something more than pale skin and visible veins would have been nice. Again, the corpses were awfully similar to vampires.
Warm Bodies was fun to watch for the humor—most of it from R, the main corpse character. There are some cringe-worthy performances; a lot of repeated and unnecessary lines, and John Malkovich’s normal brilliance is buried under teen angst and daddy issues. As one of my undead companions said, it is a chick-flick worthy of a night-in with friends and your beverage of choice.
Overall, I’m going to give Warm Bodies three and a half gnawed-off fingers out of five. It had potential, but fell flat under the pressure to fit the current the teen movie trend of cute and heart-warming monsters instead of standing on its own merits.
I’d like to give a shout out to the Fresno Zombie Society for inviting me out to hang with them for the film’s screening. You guys sure know how to make sure a dead guy has a fun night out.
Today, we have The Walking Dead, Being Human, Warm Bodies, and World War Z for you, as well as natural disasters, databases to keep yourself updated and out of harm’s way, and a nationwide earthquake drill. Will you participate?
The third installment of the Emmy award-winning zombie fest series, The Walking Dead, features an |array of exciting and intriguing new characters. Among them is seasoned British actor David Morrissey as The Governor. Debashine Thangevelo found out how he feels about depicting the villainous comic book character…
I DON’T think David Morrissey imagined he would bag the role of The Governor – an immensely popular character with fans of The Walking Dead comic books – when he visited his friend in Los Angeles.
Having been a zombie for Romero, I can tell you first-hand that a lot goes into playing one of the undead. Oh, how I wish I would have had someone of the caliber of Warm Bodies‘ Rob Corddry to guide me through it all.
Starring Nicholas Hoult, Rob Corddry, Teresa Palmer, and John Malkovich, Warm Bodies follows an existentially tormented zombie named “R” (Hoult) who begins an unlikely friendship with the girlfriend of one of his victims (Palmer). It’s based on the book by Isaac Marion.
It has been extremely difficult to keep our excitement about the newest addition to the Zombie Survival Crew Command team quiet. But we’ve been given the green light to let you guys in on the secret. Our newest ZSC Second Lieutenant is….
Yes, we were all heart-broken when Madison said her farewell on The Walking Dead. However, she has been very busy since then, traveling to conventions across the country to visit with loyal Walking Dead fans and filming new projects—on top of a couple under cover missions for the ZSC.
Catch Madison in Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, which releases on December 25th. She is also appearing on the new show, Nashville, airing Wednesdays on ABC.
There will be plenty of toys for tornado victims this Christmas thanks to the efforts of Boy Scout Joshua Henderson, 14, of Lincoln.
Henderson decided to help the child victims of the tornado by gathering 800 toys and transporting them 274 miles south to Harrisburg. The project will help him earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a goal he set for himself long ago.
With the highly scrutinized end of the Mayan calendar (December 21st, 2012) fast approaching and referred to humorously as the upcoming “zombie apocalypse” by young adults and teenagers worldwide, UK born and Vancouver based pop-rock artist, Kieran Strange has released “Merry Undead Christmas” a single and music video combo that is sure to deliver a few laughs this holiday season. “I read a story where a gentleman actually spent his life savings building a huge ark to escape the Mayan end of the world,” said Strange. “There’s so much serious face when it comes to this subject, I couldn’t help doing something satirical.”
Five fresh new character posters promoting Warm Bodies are making the rounds online thanks to Summit Entertainment today.
The posters feature Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, and Rob Corddryas characters living and undead, but more importantly, each contains a prominently placed pun, so this series of posters is also a pun run.
The best part? The hour-long special will feature interviews with people actually preparing for a real invasion of the undead.
While the amount of zombie-related media out there is approaching ad nauseam, this particular upcoming special from the Discovery Channel has all the makings of a must-watch.
The Charlotte Zombie Walk will again take to the streets for its sixth anniversary on Saturday. It will be its biggest and deadest event yet, according to organizers.
When it comes to zombie movies we know the drill: some terrible plague or catastrophic event has caused the dead to rise and crave the flesh of the living. Bonds of family and friendship mean nothing to these ambling undead cannibals. They are mindless, soulless and heartless. This is certainly the school of thought accepted by the remaining humans in Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies, but one brooding zombie boy might change their minds, and the world.
Boundis the second book of Shannon Mayer‘s Nevermore trilogy, a Zombie-ish Apocalypse novella series.
A continuation from “Sundered” that will again shock you with life in an apocalypse with twists, thrills, monsters, and, of course, an undeniable love story.
The trilogy is “I Am Legend” meets “Resident Evil.” The Nevermores are similar to the “vampires” in I Am Legend with their feral pack mentality, and the cause is because of a supposed cure-all drug, similar to the toxin inResident Evil. The Nevermores are quite zombies, in that they aren’t dead, but they will eat anything and everything.
Bound continues right where Sundered left off, where Sebastian attacks Mara along the back path behind their house. Directly after, they’re captured by an “army” squadron and taken from their farm. One of the Nevermores consistently outside the fence of their home, whom Mara named Scout, crawls up under the truck without being seen and makes it to the squadron’s compound, to Mara’s pleasant surprise. When the leader discovers she has control over Scout, mainly due to the fact that she stopped Scout from killing him, he decides to have Mara train the Nevermores.
Bound is a quick and easy read. There seemed to be a character name mix up at one point, but I could be mistaken and misjudged the relationship the author was attempting to build. It left me a little confused. Listed as paranormal romance, Bound is full of warmth and the power of love at its best, and heart wrenching at its worst.
We can only hope that in the next book, Dauntless, love truly will conquer all and Mara and Sebastian will get their happy ending.
Whether zombies are knocking on your door, or a natural disaster forces you to evacuate, there are a few vital skills everyone should know in order to keep your family safe.
Food storage is a huge concern in any disaster. More often than not, families are caught completely unprepared and are forced out of their homes with merely a day’s supply of food, or less. Yes, food is heavy, but it is vital. Below are some tips and tricks to help you prepare appropriate foods to keep your family safe in any disaster, from floods to the Zombiepocalypse.
FEMA and the Red Cross suggest storing foods that are high in calories and nutrition, require no refrigeration, water to cook, or special cooking techniques in case of emergency. They also said to take into account your family’s nutritional needs and tastes. Familiar or comfort foods will make a tough situation, as in a disaster, easier on everyone.
Storage:
Ensure boxes and resealable packages are kept sealed tight. Repack items in zip-top bags to keep pests out and preserve freshness if original packaging is damaged.
Store dry goods such as sugar, flour, nuts, and dried fruit in screw-top jars or airtight containers.
Throw away canned goods that are swollen, dented, corroded, or rusting.
Store non-perishable items in a large plastic tote, along with cooking/eating utensils, a manual can opener, a large pot with lid, and waterproof matches.
Do not forget non-perishable food for your pets.
Viability:
Use these foods within six months- Boxed Powdered Milk, Dried Fruit, crisp crackers, potatoes (stored in a cool, dry place).
Use within a year – Condensed canned meat and vegetable soups, canned fruit, canned fruit juices, canned vegetables, ready-to-eat cereal and oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, hard candy and canned nuts, vitamin supplements.
Canned foods can be eaten out of the can- remove the label and open the can before heating. This saves on dishes, or allows you to have a warm meal, despite a lack of pots and pans. Place a few medium-sized rocks around the can on top of some coals. The rocks will hold it in place.
Boil non-store bought water for 5 minutes before adding food to cook. This ensures any and all bacteria in the water are killed and don’t latch onto the food, making you sick.
Cook all foods thoroughly, especially meat if you plan on hunting to feed your camp. Storing meat is not ideal in a disaster situation. Cook everything you have and let it cool before storing it in plastic bags in your ice chest to prevent possible cross-contamination from raw meat in the ice chest. The meat must be eaten within hours** unless you find a way to make jerky out of it or a magical way to consistently keep it under 38* Fahrenheit***. Beans and grains are excellent sources of protein that don’t require refrigeration.
**Hot or cold food left at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if the outdoor temperature is above 90°) should be discarded.
***According to the USDA FSIS, cooked meat can be refrigerated safely for 3-4 days. For storage longer than four days, cooked meat should be frozen.
Preparation:
To prepare for the first few days after evacuation, take a couple gallon containers and fill them with water to just below the neck of the container (water expands when frozen). Add 1/4 cup of salt to each container of water, secure the cap, and shake well. Stow them in the freezer. Every so often, give them a shake to keep the salt from clumping together. This brine solution freezes colder than ice and lasts longer, as well. It’ll get you through a couple days if you keep the ice chest closed and in the shade. After that, stick to food that needs no refrigeration.
Nutrition Tips:
If necessary, you may safely ration food by cutting down to at least one well-balanced meal a day. Only ration your food if you are able to keep activity levels low. Eat enough calories to cover your activity level; otherwise your body will cannibalize itself to find the calories to burn. You may take vitamin supplements to help. However, some of them will require you to eat extra food and drink extra water. Vitamin B complexes, for example, require food to break down and provide added energy.
Do not ration water. Ever. Be prepared to pack or purify at least one gallon of water per person per day, half a gallon of that is for consumption alone. If water supplies are low, do not eat salty foods, as they will make you thirstier.
Sundered is the first book of Shannon Mayer‘s Nevermore trilogy, a Zombie-ish Apocalypse novella series.
Compared to “I am Legend”, Sundered will take you into the dark realms of an apocalypse, with a new breed of zombie that will have your heart pounding, your palms sweaty and the pages flying. A Novella with true bite.
This is Ms. Mayer’s first release, and it’s a good start. The story is an “I Am Legend” meets “Resident Evil” book, in that the creatures are similar to the “vampires” in I Am Legend without the vampire aspect but having the wolf pack mentality, and the cause is similar to the Resident Evil drug/toxin that kills everyone off. Except in Sundered, people don’t die from getting the Nevermore shot; they become feral predators. Quite the unique little twist—one of many within the book.
Readers can easily identify with Mara, the main character. She’s trying to lose weight and trying to get pregnant…again. After having a miscarriage, her world was devastated and it threw her into a deep depression. But when the Nevermore “miracle” drug becomes available, Mara’s excitement can hardly be contained. Her husband Sebastian isn’t quite so convinced, but when Mara goes in to get the shot, her world shatters once again. She discovers it may have been her saving grace, but as the apocalypse takes hold of the world around them, Mara soon learns that not every story has a happy ending.
The novella could have used another edit, as the timeline is a bit off in one area, but all in all,Sundered is a quick, easy, and entertaining read. Listed as paranormal romance—and no, there is no “zombie” sex, thankfully—Sundered is full of warmth and the power of love at its best, and heart wrenching at its worst, enough to make one cry. Three. Times.
We welcome Shannon Mayer into the world of published authors and look forward to reading more from her.
Rated: Not Rated (Extreme Violence and Gore)
Rammbock starts off a little slow, building the tension to the first reveal of a new, frightening zombie breed. They’re red-faced, veins bulging under their discolored skin. Foam flows from their mouths. They scream and run as though possessed by demons. In other words, they’re not to be trifled with. The virus that creates them works quickly. Those infected do not die. Instead, an adrenaline rush triggers the change. In theory, if an infected person can remain calm for long enough, their immune system will attack and destroy the virus. It is only a theory; no one can stay calm in the middle of a zombie attack for very long.
The way the virus works was supplied through an age-old zombie film trope—the news feed. It is understandable in the case of Rammbock; the film is just about an hour long. There isn’t enough time to demonstrate the full effect and possibilities of the virus. However, I wish someone would think of a more original way to convey vital information from the government to the people. Use carrier pigeons for all I care, just find another way that doesn’t make the audience begin to zone out after a while.
I had a hard time with the premise of Warm Bodies from the start. Not just because of my standing as one of the shambling undead. Zombies are, and have been for decades, soulless reanimated corpses who only want one thing—to feast on the flesh of the living. Going into the theater (hidden under a large Hello Kitty blanket), I knew I wasn’t the target audience for the film. The previews and trailers showed fresh-faced kids traversing the zombie apocalypse and surviving on the strength of their love. Call me jaded, but a gun goes a lot further to keep one safe from being eaten than doe-eyed heroic zombies.
Today, we have The Walking Dead, Being Human, Warm Bodies, and World War Z for you, as well as natural disasters, databases to keep yourself updated and out of harm’s way, and a nationwide earthquake drill. Will you participate?
The third installment of the Emmy award-winning zombie fest series, The Walking Dead, features an |array of exciting and intriguing new characters. Among them is seasoned British actor David Morrissey as The Governor. Debashine Thangevelo found out how he feels about depicting the villainous comic book character…
Kieran Strange Wishes Everyone A Merry Undead Christmas!
Five New ‘WARM BODIES’ Posters Provide Undead Puns
The best part? The hour-long special will feature interviews with people actually preparing for a real invasion of the undead.
Undead to take over Uptown as fundraiser for local charities
Bound
You can find 
We welcome Shannon Mayer into the world of published authors and look forward to reading more from her.