I'm sure glad I didn't allow the naysayers from Lexington to discourage me from seeing this movie. The people from Lexington should be proud this movie was shot in their back yard. One of the things I look for in a saga such as this are heroes and villains. ZOMBIE PLANET, like the BATMAN series, has cool heroes and even cooler villains. My favorite hero: Dr. Warren played by Christopher Rose. He's the kind of hero we can all relate to. Favorite villain: Stiletto. Jon Shelton's over the top performance reminds one of a cross between Caesar Romero's Joker and Jack Nicholson's. Of course, the main villain and hero are both dynamic characters. Frank Farhat as our hero Kane has the perfect nemesis in Adam played by Matt Perry. I can't wait to see them clash in the sequel. Of course, hottest villain of all is Mari Stamper as Jamaica. I can't wait to see what she does to Kane in the sequel! Karl Lindstrom as Cowboy Frank plays the kind of character who could go either way. And who can blame him when the bad guys have it so much better than the good guys do. Rebecca Minton also turns in a sympathetic performance as Frank's suffering wife, Julie. Someone criticized her performance, but I say it's believable because Julie's emotional growth would have been stunted by such tragic events at such a young age. Each character is well portrayed by the actors. There are many subplots that are jammed into the film's two hours and I think this may overwhelm some viewers. But if you stick with it, ZOMBIE PLANET is a well acted and imaginatively produced film filled with interesting characters.Great makeup work, too! Since this is an independent film, I'm willing to overlook a few technical flaws that often go with the territory. Viva la Zombie Planet!
... View MoreI think that Zombie Planet was a great film. I mean look at how well it has done. It has been released on DVD by Tempe. Tempie also said that that it had the highest pre-order count of "any" film that they have released. Now for such a "tarible" film it sure has done pretty dam good if you ask me. The film was made by a lot of first timers, they put their heart and soul into the production. The story was a great idea. Not only dose it make a interesting film, but it hits a problem that is plaguing America. Obesity. The fact that the still of diet that was used in the film is now all the rage goes to show that they hit the nail on the head with what some people will go through to look like a supermodel even if it risks their health and their life. So just back of and look at the big picture that is panted.
... View MoreI live and work in Lexington, Kentucky, the town where Zombie Planet was filmed. I'd heard about the film forever ago, from various people who claimed to be a critical part of the production. Then, for several years, I heard absolutely nothing. Imagine my surprise when I found it sitting all by itself at the local video store, just itching for a rental. So, being the cinephile that I am, I decided to give these local filmmakers a shot.Bad idea.Zombie Planet is overlong, boring, poorly acted, miserably shot -- and that's just the good stuff. I tried my hardest to enjoy it, which included removing my brain and setting it on the table so that it wouldn't get in the way of the horrible storyline. Alas, nothing worked. Zombie Planet is so bad it's pathetic. And the very idea that they're planning a sequel leads me to believe that the director and his henchmen have listened to none of the criticisms I'm sure they've heard. Move on, you guys. Please. In fact, refrain from film-making altogether. Or attend a few classes on pacing, storytelling, and, well, basic direction.Otherwise, for the love of God, hang it up.
... View More~Spoiler~A zombie flick was practically filmed in my backyard, I know people who are in/worked on the movie, and it still escaped my knowledge. How did that happen??? I still don't know, but it hit DVD and a copy found its way into my hands. I couldn't wait to watch it so a lot of people came over and we made an event out of it. Sadly to say, we were all disappointed. It's hard to write a negative review for it because I feel like I'm rooting against the home team or something. But there are some aspects to the film that could have been drastically better. My biggest complaint is the pacing. Zombie Planet clocks in at 2 hours!! WHAT?? That's just not necessary. And the sad part is it ends with a "to be continued" feel. Where was the editor? So many scenes could have been cut down...needed to be cut down. Just fixing that alone would have made this film light years better. Most of the acting is laughable, but that's to be expected. You can't really complain a whole lot. They're all amateurs, but with so many familiar faces on the screen it's hard not to laugh. Everyone kept saying "Wow, I know that guy." or "I've seen that guy on campus." So that was equally fun and distracting. But the two main characters, Kane and Adam, did fine and that's enough to please me. Another plus is the make-up. Some of the gore is really amazing and it definitely holds up. It's probably the film's biggest strength. Too bad the zombies weren't used more. Much of the movie is backstory and talking. And that's just not what I want to see with a movie titled Zombie Planet. I want to see loads of zombie mayhem and carnage. Another strength was the plot. The zombie plague in this film was brought about due to experimental weight-loss supplements. Of course, they work a little too well and you know what happens next. This is especially effective considering the carb craze as of late. From there the film enters post-apocalyptic territory and it may have been too ambitious for the budget. Maybe the director can fix these problems in Zombie Planet 2: Adam's Revenge. And maybe I'll like the film a bit more when I get some sort of conclusion that was missing from this movie.
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