Anyone who pays any kind of attention to the horror genre already knows about the V/H/S and The ABCs of Death franchises, but there is a brilliant anthology film that I fear is going under too many people’s radars. Produced by Jesse Baget and featuring work by a multitude of directors, Zombieworld is gory as hell and an all out blast!
Like the other anthology series I already mentioned, Zombieworld features numerous directors tackling their own short films, which are connected by a wraparound story. Also like those series, each short has its own unique style bringing a welcome mix of silly and serious all at the same time. The only difference here is that every short deals with, you guessed it, zombies! While this may not sound very intriguing given the overabundance of films we see from the sub-genre these days, I can assure you that you do not want to pass this one up, folks.
You may be asking yourself, “how many different ways are there really to present a story about the undead?” Well, after watching this production, I can tell you that there are certainly a lot more than I would have originally thought, myself. The segments in Zombieworld ran the gamut — from comedic entries like Phil Haine’s hysterical “I Am Lonely” to the more touching “Home” directed by Cameron McCulloch. Then you had the completely wacky stuff like Jesus and Judas pulverizing zombies with various types of fish in “Fist of Jesus” and a portly moustached man striking back against reptilian, water-dwelling zombies with the remains of a child’s corpse in “Brutal Relax,” both directed by the genius duo of Adrián Cardona and David Muñoz. As ridiculous as that last sentence sounds, those two entries were indeed my favorite and I am pretty sure they will be your most enjoyed, as well.
While every short in Zombieworld brought their own flavor, fans will be pleased to hear that they all had one thing in common… gore, gore, gore! The special effects work throughout the film is a mix of CGI and practical effects, but no matter how you dissect it, everything looked amazing. Cheesy or not, the computer generated stuff fit in perfectly with the video game style segments and overly silly entries, while the practical effects were impressive every time they were on screen. Ripped out intestines, punched-through faces, severed limbs, hacked up bodies, and much more are all strewn about for almost the entire 100 minutes.
The wraparound story that was used to connect all of the shorts was put together way better than most other anthology flicks I’ve seen recently. Watching Bill Oberst Jr., a genre legend at this point, slowly turn into a zombie between segments was entertaining as Hell and a nice touch by Zombieworld’s producer, Jesse Baget. Oberst was amazing, as always, and his zombie-like vocal emissions were spot-on. I loved it!
It is quite hard these days to find an anthology project that I can say I enjoyed from start to finish. Generally, and understandably, there are a few segments that are good, some that are bad, and some that are just God awful, but with Zombieworld, I can honestly say I enjoyed every single entry. If you do not watch this film, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Be sure to pick up a copy on DVD and Digital this Tuesday, February 24th from Image Entertainment and Dreadcentral.
I give this film 5 broken walkmans out of 5.
Hey Frank –
Thanks for reviewing Zombieworld! I was really worried about my zombie vocal emissions so I appreciate your vote of approval on them. It was fun to be a small part of the madness. Thank you for all you guys do to support the indie film world. It is appreciated.
Bill
Bill Oberst Jr.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2454994/
Mr. Oberst, thank you for visiting out little site once again and taking the time to read my review. I always enjoy your work and you are now officially the measuring stick of which all performers will be held to, when it comes to zombie-like vocal emissions!
Thanks again,
Frank