Zombie films have been a popular part of the Horror genre for a very long time at this point, and the TV show The Walking Dead has ensured that Zombies will not fall out of style anytime soon. Most of the films that are coming from indie directors and companies also want their piece of the undead pie. And for this “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update we will be taking a look at a promo comic that was released alongside the 2008 direct to video film Zombie Apocalypse! This is a film that I am sure many of you readers have never heard of but that you are surely Googling now…go on…I’ll wait. So if you are ready like I am, let’s see what the Zombie Apocalypse world has in store for us in both movie and comic worlds!
The Zombies in Zombie Apocalypse are created by a gas that was made by the Government and the Illuminati to use as a weapon against mankind. What started as a lab experiment now has the gas make the undead rise all over town, and they infect and eat people all around them. The zombies in this film are all over and kill in packs as they overwhelm their victims with sheer numbers, but they also kill by themselves, and as a single zombie, they can be even more dangerous as they are more silent and can stalk with more ease. The zombies look like dead humans with many of them having bloody open wounds on their faces making them easy to spot, but can also cause lots of panic in the living who have to look at them. To dispatch their human prey, the zombies use not only their numbers but also their teeth that carry the virus and can rip flesh as well as their hands that they scratch and rip at their victims. They also attack with fury making them even harder to escape from once they have you in their grip. These zombies also move at a normal speed and are not super slow, but are also not super fast making them a moderate threat when it comes to them giving chase. But while they are dead, they do also have weaknesses as you can kill them with guns, knives and almost any normal way you can kill a person as long as you give them head trauma. They are also not that smart and can be out maneuvered when dodging them. Over all these zombies are not as threatening as the ones we have covered before like Dawn Of The Dead (2004), Plague Of The Zombies or even Human vs Zombies, but they still are a major threats and can kill and eat a human with the best of them. I should also note that the zombies who started this outbreak was set free by the despicable Agent Net who is using them to hunt down the man who trained him and has turned on the Illuminati, making his one of their secret weapons when it comes to killing humans.
Now that we understand the killing nature of the Zombies, we should take a look at the film they are from, Zombie Apocalypse. Like always I will take the film’s write up from our pals at IMDB, and I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you’re ready, let’s see what this Zombie Apocalypse has in store for us.
Zombie Apocalypse (2008)
“Two college roommates get the fright of their lives when they head out to the bar, and come face to face with a shambling army of the undead. All Mark and Tom wanted was a fun night out on the town, but now they’ll be forced to fight if they want to survive until dawn. Thankfully Mark is handy with an axe, and medical student Tom has played enough video games to keep his cool in the chaos. With depressive video store clerk Raven helping to fend off the horde, they may stand a chance of making it through the night without getting devoured – or worse. But who is Miller, and what connection does his missing wife have to these horrible creatures. By the time the weary survivors find out, it may already be too late.”
Zombie Apocalypse was written and directed by Ryan Thompson and was his first feature film. It went direct to video and caused a mini splash for fans of indie zombie flicks. The film’s budget was around $5,000.00 and was released by Phantasmal Pictures that released many of Ryan’s other films as well. The cast included such actors as Kenny James, Hannah Gaff and David Calkins and many others including Kelly Knoll and Matt King, with this being many of their first roles. The cast and crew also went to many conventions and screenings to try and get this film out and in the public eye. The film when released was met with mix reviews with many Horror Fans being very displeased with it and giving it low star ratings. While not a household name when it comes to zombie Horror Movies, this film did make a mark no matter how small. The film did spawn a sequel in 2011 called “Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption” showing that it did have its own cult following.
I remember seeing this film before on the shelves of second hand media stores when I was looking through the Horror section to find a good fright flick to watch, but never bought it as I have been burnt out on micro budget zombie flicks for a long time. Years would pass before I would finally breakdown and buy a copy, and the main reason I did was because the copy came with the prequel comic and was perfect to cover here on Rotten Ink. So I ordered a copy of the film from Amazon and once in I read the comic and watched the film…the comic review will be coming up in this update soon while I can talk about the movie now. The film was not nearly as bad as most reviews would have you believe as it does have some charm with its over all dark humor and zombie shuffling around the streets. Another highlight for me was actress Kelly Knoll who plays Raven a woman who loves Horror and worked for a Video Rental Store…she reminded me of some of the ladies I knew that worked at local rental media stores. The downside is the acting is really terrible in spots, some scenes are out of focus and the widescreen presentation stretches the picture making it look odd. The effects are also pretty cheesy and most major blood splatter takes place off camera or so quickly you cannot make it out or worse is digital blood! Over all I enjoyed watching the film and while it is a bad movie, it does have some cool elements that make it enjoyable watch on a boring late night.
So now that we have taken a look at the film and the zombies who bring the terror in said film, I think it’s time we take a look at the promo comic that came FREE with the DVD! I want to thank Amazon for having this DVD/Comic Combo in stock and making this update possible. I also want to send a big thank you to the makers of this film for making this comic and bringing Horror Films and Horror Comics together. I want to also remind you all that I grade this comic on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready like I am, let’s see what Zombie Apocalypse has to offer in the way of scares on pages with ink!
Zombie Apocalypse # 0 *1/2
Released in 2008 Cover Price FREE Apocalypse Comics # 0 of 0
A biker is riding on a quest to find his wife who is missing and has clearly been kidnapped. He remembers the past and in a research lab his wife Dr. Irene Miller is ordered to fill a room with gas that poisons and turns a group of men into zombies. She is heartbroken that she damned these men, but the Army General in charge is pleased with the outcome. The plan is to use the zombies as soldiers and win wars with the undead, never losing another American life of foreign soil. The biker who was once an agent has gone rogue and is now wanted for all the knowledge he has about the zombie project, and while on the run and searching for his wife, he stops at a strip bar and after talking to an old man, he flashes back to when he met Irene and how his own partner Net turned on him and reported them to the higher ups who in turn took Irene away. As he leaves the strip bar, he is sucker punched by Net who throws him into a car and so ends this prequel comic.
The plot of this comic has a rogue agent on the run form the Government and the Illuminati all the while trying to find his missing wife! While this is a fun prequel comic that showcases our hero, naked ladies and the true evil nature of those in charge of Project Apocalypse…there is no horror at all and the zombies themselves are barely seen and are behind glass. Our hero is Miller, who is a man who is running from his past as well as trying his best to find his missing wife. We don’t get a feel for the character and who he is and in the movie he is a silent badass while the comic kind of has him being a confused man with a one-track mind. Agent Net only shows up on the last page for the most part and is a scum bag who’s idea of a fair fight is punching a man as he walks through a door, what a coward! The Zombies in the issue are an after thought as they really do only appear behind glass when the gas infects men who were locked in the room. The comic is bloodless and does not pack any scares as no horror action takes place. The comic does showcase nudity as a scene takes place in a strip club…so I guess it does at least have one of the three elements of a Horror Comic. The cover for this issue 0 is pretty good and does have a indie zombie look and feel to it. The interior art is ok and while not the style or art I like, Brian Sheehy does a good job with what he has to work with. Over all this is a cool promo comic that acts as a way to start the film, but is a pretty bad Horror Comic…so I guess I will give it a below average star rating as it could have and should have been more. Check out the art below to see the style of Sheehy.
So Zombie Apocalypse was a Indie Horror Movie that made a wise move when they made a comic book to go alongside it, and while this comic was not that great, I do give them credit for doing it as I have said before more filmmakers and companies should do this as it helps add to the film’s story and can even bring viewers in. Let’s be honest, I may have never gotten around to seeing this film and the comic is what brought me to it, showing comics as promo items work! But for our next update let’s leave a world over run with zombies behind and take a look at ghost pirates as we take a look at the 2005 remake of The Fog as well as the Dark Horse Graphic Novel based on it! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for terror of the sea….or is that ocean?
Rotten Ink 