BRAIN BITES

 SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) USA/Canada 1hr 30mins Dir: George A. Romero "Last time anyone counted 53 million people were dying every year, 150 thousand everyday and 107 every minute" Sarge "Nicotine" Crockett "Shooting the living and sparing the dead... that BASTARD!" Patrick O'Flynn A few weeks into the outbreak a small team of soldiers led by Sarge (Alan Van Sprang) go AWOL in the hope of leaving the massacre behind and finding a safe place to ride it out, somewhere quiet and out of the way...like an island or something. It just so happens that the perfect place, Plum Island just off the coast of Delaware is but a mere drive away. Unbeknownst to them though Plum Island is in the midst of a civil war. If the walking dead weren't enough, two rival families, the O'Flynns and the Muldoons, have been feuding for years over just about anything and everything. The ensuing zombie apocalypse has done little to change this. Patrick O'Flynn (Kennet...

 DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007) USA/Canada 1hr 35mins Dir: George A. Romero "Don't bury dead. First shoot in head." Asian YouTuber "Survival??! Who the fuck wants to survive in a world like this??" Jason Creed A group of Pittsburgh university film students and their Professor are shooting a horror movie in the woods. They hear news reports of major disruption and stories of the dead coming back and attacking the living midway through shooting. Unsure of what to make of it at first they quickly discover these reports are true and Jason Creed (Joshua Close) turns the camera on his friends to document their ordeal. He calls his documentary "The Death of Death" and aims to post it on the Internet as evidence of what really happened rather than the lies and cover ups the media are portraying. As the world drastically changes around them they try to get to their families before it is too late. DIARY OF THE DEAD is the fifth instalment of the franchise choosing not...

 LAND OF THE DEAD (2005) US/Canada/France 1hr 33mins Dir: George A Romero "I thought this was gonna be a battle... It's a fucking massacre" Mike "the Kid". "They're just looking for a place to go... same as us" Riley Denbo. Some time ago the dead took over the majority of the world. Today in a relatively safe city protected by rivers on two sides and a fortified electric fence on the other, the "haves" live in luxury in a posh apartment complex called Fiddlers Green and the "have nots" live in slums outside the complex. Subdued by the rich folks who distract them with gambling houses, drinking and prostitution. A group of "have nots" controlled by the big boss, Mr. Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), led by Riley Denbo (Simon Baker) and his wild card second in command Cholo DeMora (John Leguizamo) go on their final nightly supply run with their team. Riley is planning on getting out of town as soon as possible and Cholo is busy s...

 Hello there Rotters and Walkers! A big welcome to BRAIN BITES! I am your host Mash and I have a question for you all... Do you have a few moments to talk about our Lord and Saviour George A. Romero?  Great... well you will be pleased to know that this month is something I am truly excited about yet also contains a sombre undertone as this July marks 4 years of the passing of the Godfather of The Dead George A. Romero. To celebrate his greatness and remember him throughout this month I will be bringing you 3 reviews covering the final 3 of his DEAD franchise. We all have a huge love and fondness for the first 3 and they are the best by far but this blog only covers movies from the year 2000 and over so sadly they do not qualify a review here. I will however be bringing you reviews of LAND OF THE DEAD (2005), DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007) and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009) as they all fit the criteria and I feel are sadly a little overlooked and to some, rather unloved. I hope you will...

 THE CURSE OF HOBBES HOUSE (2020) UK 1hr 23mins Dir: Juliane Block The curse placed on Hobbes House goes back generations but we are brought into the story in the present day when Alexandria Dormant, a descendant of King Dormant who was the cause of the curse, commits suicide due to high debts surrounding Hobbes House. We meet Jane (Mhairi Calvey) and Jennifer Dormant (Makenna Guyler) her estranged nieces who have been called to Hobbes House by Alex's lawyer Saul (Jo Price) along with the houses grounds keeper Naser (Waleed Elgadi) and Jennifers banker boyfriend Nigel (Kevin Leslie) to find out what has been left to them in Alex's will. Before they discover this though the house's curse turns on them, leaving them to fend off hordes of the undead as the house tries to protect itself.  This British made indie number starts off with a narrative going over the title sequence explaining the beginnings and origin of the curse done very nicely using some great animation then goes...

 ARMY OF THE DEAD (2021) USA 2hrs 28m Dir: Zack Snyder When a team of army soldiers lose an experimental undead test subject in the desert surrounding Las Vegas, all hell breaks out as a zombie apocalypse takes over the city. A group of survivors are barricaded on the outskirts of the city. Fast food chef Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) is approached by a wealthy gang leader to get a team together and head into zombie infested Vegas to crack a safe and bring back the billions before the city is nuked. This movie is everywhere right now... wherever you look on any horror group on social media people are talking about it. By the looks of things it has divided alot of people and the ones that hate this movie REALLY hate this movie! I have read many reviews and comments about ARMY OF THE DEAD so I thought it was about sodding time I added my own thoughts to the mix. So, here goes... First off, I don't care what the haters are saying I actually quite liked it. I wasn't expecting much fro...

 Salutations Maggots and Fungi! Mash is the name, brain eating is indeed the, er, game. Welcome to another installment of Brain Bites!! I hope you all made the most of Zombie Awareness Month this May. I made sure the inhabitants around my cemetery were certainly aware of me... without causing too much mass hysteria of course. With this pandemic looming over the living it sure has been difficult for people to get together although the local graveyards have sure been filling up. That reminds me, I really must introduce myself to the new neighbours sometime. Do not despair though breathers, it would seem restrictions are lifting and you will soon be able to horde as you once used to. There has been plenty of zombie goings on to keep us all gnashing our teeth and wailing into the night! I'm sure by now you have all watched Zack Synders eagerly antisipated two and a half hour zombie action epic ARMY OF THE DEAD?! What did you think of it? You will find my thoughts on it this month as it...