The seminal zombie film of zombie films that wasn’t originally meant to be a zombie film — so zombie-genre fans everywhere just may look at this as a happy accident. As for the rest of this review, I’ll write it when after I’ve seen it again.
This not a zombie film, but it is relative to some of my zombie-film review — hence its being here.
It is a Dutch film and it has a couple of different names — Saint, Sint, and Saint Nick. For the purposes of this post, it will be referred to as Saint.
If you watch this film and you say to yourself “Hey, these Christmas traditions are totally messed up!” — well, Xmas practices and winter traditions differ around the world.
When it comes to the winter holidays in the Netherlands, for many of the children the most important dates are in early December. While St. Nicholas’ Day is on the 6th December, the major celebrations are held on the 5th December, which is St. Nicholas’ Eve — when the jolly old soul arrives and brings them their presents!
Apparently you leave these treats in your shoes — no joke.
On St. Nicholas’ Eve Dutch children leave treats out for Sinterklaas. They also spoil Father Christmas’s horse (not reindeer) with water, hay, and carrots. In exchange, they get marzipan, chocolate coins, and hot cocoa.
The Saint takes a different twist on the popular traditions in the city of Amsterdam, portraying St. Nicholas and his Black Pete helpers as ghosts who murder large numbers of people when his annual celebration night coincides with a full moon.
And now… The Reason Why I Have Included This Film In My Zombie Movie Reviews
This film is a hell of a lot better than A Christmas Horror Story (2015) or the mass liberty-taking Krampus (also 2015). It has its scary bits along with being fun and funny. It also plays accurately to Xmas traditions instead of taking total license and doing whatever they want. This is cleverly done whereas IMO the other two are hack works. If you want to pepper your holidays with a Christmas horror film, watch Saint.
Okay, so if you’ve looked at at my blog at all — and if you haven’t I wouldn’t be surprised — you know that when it comes to movies, most of my thing is reviewing zombie films …. and occasionally movies that I think are important for musicians/artists to view. As much as I get a kick out of Z-films, I am as much or more of a fan of Sci-Fi. Kill Command
I got my hands on Kill Command by accident — call it a happy accident. When I go to my local library looking for films, I have a habit — I check the Sci-Fi section, followed by Action, then usually Westerns, and then whatever else. The organization at the library strikes me as weird sometimes when it comes to films — this was listed-as and filed-in Action … which it is an Action film but in my mind it’s Sci-Fi before that. Whatever … I watch every zombie film I can get my hands on, so of course — I took Kill Command home!
You know when you’ve watched all the recent movies … you feel like there’s nothing to see and you have nothing to do … and you pick up some film to relax with even though it doesn’t look very promising … and as you get into the flick you expected to be a potboiler and suddenly you’re faced with the reality that the film is pretty durn FANTASTIC? And then the more you watch you feel like you’ve discovered some secret film that your friends don’t know about because usually all you see is HolloWood or American films and pretty much miss everything that comes out of Europe. Yeah, if you’re a Sci-Fi fan, that’s Kill Command!
A glimpse into the near-future — placing your order at a fast-food joint…
KILL COMMAND, also known as IDENTIFY …
… takes you into a technologically advanced near future. The Harbinger Corporation supplies the military with warfare A.I. systems. A programming anomaly has been discovered at an undisclosed island — the Harbinger I Training Facility. A scientific specialist has been sent in with a team of six American marines — all of whom have been assigned to a two-day training mission.
As the night and following day unfolds, they discovery that the team has been inserted into a coup de grace where the intelligent and flawed combat machines have taken over the facility … and are beginning to attack the team … and learn their human combat tactics.
Trust me, these guys are worse than unannounced visits by door-to-door religious fanatics.
The film was released on 13 May 2016 in the United Kingdom and received a limited screening in the US on 25 November 2016, ultimately receiving mixed to positive reviews. Here’s the thing, my fellow ‘Murcians — there are a lot of films outside of the U.S. that we are unaware of. In the world of film, the American/HolloWood arena is the big player — and not everything outside of that arena makes it in* …. and a lot of it is good material, too! Maybe “Kill Command” wouldn’t have been a huge film on the U.S. scene, but with the right marketing I think it would have gone over well. Instead, you heard it here … for free …. because I love Sci-Fi. (*Did you see the 2001 film “The 51st State” staring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyleand Meat Loaf? I was in Glasgow when it was out. We drove by a theater that displayed a movie poster for a flick I had never heard of. I was told two things — there are a lot of films made in Europe and I will never see this one in America. For that reason alone I thought to go see it while I was there, but I ended up seeing The Lord Of The Rings instead sitting in the worst movie theater seat in all of Scotland. Fortunately, the film did make it to America as “Formula 51“.)
No red shirts on this guy!
You had me at “GIANT KILLER ROBOTS”
Kill Command has everything Action Sci-Fi fans LOVE! A futuristic setting, advanced technology, soldiers with cybernetic enhancements, things blowing up, lotsa guns going PEW PEW PEW, and GIANTKILLERROBOTS. There’s even a cyborg! Oh, and a super-cool weird-techy vehicle like this…
I am currently 23 minutes into seeing this film for the first time. Frankly I’m not paying full attention — I’m busy on my laptop working to start my company (yeah … that’s all) — I am, however, forming a few first impressions. Without pulling any punches, I’m trying to figure out how to say that this film delivers … moreover it delivers where the re-make of Red Dawn flat out failed. Yes, I know, neither of the Red Dawn films were zombie flicks — that’s not the point.
I’m impressed by the depiction of chaos and survival once the invader have hit — in Red Dawn the U.S. being invaded by one or more foreign countries whereas in WWZ humanity world wide is being invaded by our favourite plague … ZOMBIES! My impression of the Red Dawn re-make is that it was crafted in part to grab the teeny-boppers who went nutz over hunky werewolves and love-lorn glittering vampires. In other words, the re-Red Dawn survival and tactics would have gotten the Wolverines killed.
Pretty freaky, eh?
In my mind WWZ does a good job of depicting post-catastrophe society and tactics necessary to survive. As Z-films go, this film clearly has money behind it. It gets off to a start quick, and then gives its set-up. The zombies have intense movement and drive which doesn’t seem to be explained (but like I said, I’m not giving it my full 84% focus), at least not as of yet.
I’ve been curious how this might play out; I haven’t read the book but I have heard some of the audio-book. Action, adventure, mystery. There is a journey, but not the typical journey. In a way the zombie chaos is worse than the survivor chaos.
Stylistically speaking, I quite like the movement look that the production achieved for the zombies. Time and time again you seem similar movements from zombies — but in this film not only did the film-makers find a different way for the zombies to move, it ties in with the zombies’ drive, how they work as zombies.
This may be the biggest (stand alone) zombie film made yet.
To avoid this, get to the airport WAY EARLY like your dad.
Train to Busan, or by its original title “Busanhaeng“, is a South Korean zombie apocalypse action thriller film released in 2016. The film takes place on a train to Busan, as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out and compromises the safety of the passengers.
Fast moving zombies. Fast infection. Zombieism also affects animals (<– very slight spoiler). Hordes of zombies like in World War Z — and this film could easily be the South Korea part of the WWZ outbreak (same universe). People on a train feels like Snowpiercer (which if you’re a sci-fi fan and you haven’t seen Snowpiercer you are seriously missing out – IMDB/Wikipedia). It even has little touches that remind you of Speed. This has got to be one of the best Z-films I’ve seen since 28 Days Later! OH YEAH, Train to Busan is rated Green Ooze and is one of BagpiperDon’s Favourite Zombie Movies!
…screw that, MF — this film has Zombies On A Train!
The zombies move in this totally different than any I’ve seen in other films …. and having both been a zombie in a film and having been in a car accident and gotten whiplash, what these actors did not only looks amazing for a zombie film but from my perspective now …. painful. The Z-film journey element is in this film, but works totally different (well, the way it’s applied maybe one could say ‘re-imagined’) than I’ve seen in previous films. There’s also something I haven’t seen in zombie films before in how the zombies do and don’t notice non-infected people. And there were a few old lady wigs.
PHEW! For all of my reviews, writing something for The Serpent and the Rainbow is frankly a bit daunting — but let’s do it anyway. Prepare for a long, drab description in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Synopsis
In 1988, a Harvard doctor by the name of Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) has been hired by a large pharmaceutical corporation to travel to Haiti in 1985 (which is tricky because they don’t supply him with a time machine) to investigate the case of a man who died in 1978 and has apparently returned to life with the aid of a Voodoo drug. The pharmaceutical corporation wants Dr. Alan to acquire the zombie drug so they can research it; their intent is to mass produce and sell it as a type of “super anesthetic”. While in Haiti, Dr. Alan hooks up with a brainy local hot chick by the name of Marielle Duchamp (played by Cathy Tyson), then gets mixed up in deception and Voodoo. Apparently this fictional film is loosely based on the non-fiction book of the same name.
Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson) doing the Safety Dance … either that or she’s tied up. Who knows … it was the 80s!
Or at least to say, if you have a sense of humor, you can interpret this film that way and write big long run-on sentences, because really who reads all of these reviews anyway?
(Although I was told once that a person read, and had a good laugh, my review of the zombie film “Billy Elliot” — yes, it’s a zombie film.)
So on a more serious note… well, somewhat more serious…
This film was budgeted at $7M and made nearly $20M at the box office, so I don’t know if that makes it good but the marketing was good enough to get people to watch it. I guess Wes Craven was trying to cash-in on his good name and Nightmare on Elm Street success. Whatever the case, it kind of looks like an 80s film and it definitely feels like an 80s horror-mystery film. I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to watch this, but if you are looking for something to play while you hang out … well, spin it up. I’d rate this film Yellow Puss.
Between 1986 and 1991 singing was the weapon of choice for the people of Estonia who sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During these years masses of young people, without any political party, gathered in public to sing patriotic songs and to rally for national independence — patriotic songs that had been made forbidden.
People tend not to think of singing when it comes to revolutions, but with the Estonian culture and tradition of song not just tens of thousands but Hundreds Of Thousands gathered to sing and to give their nation a renew spirit.
“The Singing Revolution”, by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty, tells the incredibly moving story of how the people of Estonia peacefully regained their freedom and helped to topple the Soviet empire in the process.
My fellow musicians, If Ever You Question The Importance And The Power Of Our Craft … watch The Singing Revolution. Imagine a revolution that looks like this with everyone you can see singing…
So far as I’m concerned, Return Of The Living Dead Part 2 (1988) is a zombie-film masterpiece –rated Yellow Puss all the way. And by ‘masterpiece’ I mean that most sarcastically.
It looks and feels very 1980s, which is probably because this film was released on January 8, 1988. It looks and feels pretty budget. Why? According to Wikipedia this gem “…was a minor box office success, making over $9 million at the box office in the United States against its $6.2 million budget.”
The action and horror-humor gags are obvious. The zombies are semi-aware. The semi-aware zombies contribute to the obvious gags. You hear the zombie desire for “BRAINS…” so much you can watch the film and climb the wall at the same time. There were no gratuitous zombie-movie boobs in this film, which as tired of it as I am, frankly it would have helped this schlock. Because of this, I thought I’d supply some…
Politicians Fighting AKA semi-aware zombies
Smartest person in the zombie situation is a kid in grade school, which I think is part of the point to this film.
Does that guy kinda look like Michael Jackson? Yeah, I think that was intentional too…
At the end it appears there’s a zombie family dance as the horde is getting killed off. I’m not sure if that was intentional, but it’s funny to think about it that way.
The one not-so-direct-from-the-film comment I was say …. the source of the zombie outbreak gets into the water supply. Think about it …. your city, your town, are you on supplied water?
Last night there was a meteor shower over Australia … then, inexplicably, some people started turning into zombies the following morning … normal types of fuel no longer work, but zombie breath and blood is flammable.
Weird — yeah …
Fun — OI, MATE!
Long/short — this film was a lot of fun, and surely is a film for my Top 10+ List. Amazingly this film was budgeted at $160,000, and written by brothers Kiah Roache-Turner (director) and Tristan Roache-Turner (producer).
This was a kick because it showed some new ideas — not just with the characters Frank and Barry discovering that zombie blood can be used as a substitute for gasoline. They take to the road to find Barry’s sister, Brooke. She’s been nabbed by soldiers and a scientist, and gets injected with a chemical concoction that somehow gives her the ability to control the hungry hordes. This helps to bring something fresh to zombie-genre after it’s received a heavy flogging in recent years.
In February 2015 a sequel was announced with a potential return of the original actors, with the release proposed for early 2017. The Roache-Turner brothers later announced that their next project would in fact be the Wyrmwood sequel in the form of a 10-episode TV series titled “Wyrmwood: Chronicles of the Dead“. The team released a short teaser for the series on 19 May 2017, featuring Gallagher and Bradey reprising their roles as Barry and Brooke.
Not bad for a crowdfunded film where no one got paid (HOORAY FOR DIY) and made this film as a labor of love for 3+ years.
After a deadly zombie outbreak in Louisiana, a team of highly skilled U.S. Navy SEALs are sent into Baton Rouge to rescue the Vice President. Embarking on the battle of their lives, they must fight for the city and their survival against an army of the undead.
That sounds pretty good right? For zombie films it sounds par for course — and let’s face it, Z-film par has a history of being schlocky. While I have seen worse (not to mention better, Much BETTER), this seems to be a throw-back to 1970s and 1980s schlock.
The guys — ready to go fishing!
Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies came up when I searched my local library system’s website for all-things ‘zombie’. Surprisingly, enough other people where interested it took weeks to become first in the cue. Watching this, I give it a Yellow Puss rating. Don’t break your neck to see this film — if you are a zombie fan with a couple of hours to kill on the weekend and need to recharge your batteries, crash your couch and check it out.
Who needs a good script when there’s at least one pretty girl in the film
This is a film with C-string actors and a B-string script working in an industry that is well known for being tough with rare breaks. It seems that this is such a B-film that they couldn’t cast an actor as the president — he had to be the vice president. Frequently the dialogue lags, but then if the timing was better then this wouldn’t be a 97 minute film. Between the costumes, props, and language the main characters give just enough of the right vibe to feel like Navy SEALs. They even have operator beards, however I have never heard of an operator pony tail. As for the zombies, they move fast, their makeup is pretty rabid, and when they attack they have their moments of intensity.
On a personal note…
I loved to pick this up, I hated when I needed to put it down … but I fella has to sleep sometime.
Around the time of viewing Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies I was finishing reading “Affliction Z: Patient Zero” by L.T. Ryan. In his book a team of SEALs are dropped into Nigeria to rescue a group of U.S. Army Rangers who went in earlier — and like the SEALs in this film, they get surprised by zombie afflicted people. While this film is so-so, it gave a visual representation of similar fiction (just that I’ve enjoyed L.T. Ryan’s book much more)
Night of the Living Dead – Green Ooze OF COURSE!
(*Did you see the 2001 film “
