Posted By John Sears on May 18, 2011

This preview from Destructoid is useful for gleaning an insight into the upcoming and obviously Anti-Zombie game ‘Dead Island’, whose haunting trailer has already been revealed to have nothing to do with the game itself per se.

Apparently, it focuses heavily on what the designers perceive as realism, but not to the extent that it would get in the way of a cliche/convention or three from the huge library of Videogames that Hate Zombies:

Scattered throughout the shacks and buildings around these areas are blueprints and workbenches, both of which you’ll need to combine weapons for increased damage and awesomeness. Much like in Dead Rising 2, you have the option to combine a baseball bat with a box of nails to create a nail-studded bat. Of course, all of the weapons you find will be in varying shape, so repairing and upgrading them is crucial to doing damage on your opponents. It will cost you cash, though.

…

Although Dead Island is being marketed as a heavily melee-focused game, there are a number of ways to go about killing zombies, not all of which involve melee combat. Pulling the left trigger automatically places a target on the nearest zombie. If you’re approaching a group of them, pressing B will activate a special one-time-only skill that does extra damage to mobs. You can throw a weapon at a Suicidal Zombie to kill it before it has a chance to explode near you. Or if you’re like me, you can approach a zombie in the water, pull a bitch move and kick it with the left bumper to give it drowning damage. What’s neat is that the game features manual controls that allow you to slice and dice as you please. The default is automatic, which shows your standard two-second cutscene of a zombie’s head falling off or something equally as gory.

…

Overall, I think Dead Island shows promise. Though I was slightly underwhelmed by the clunky controls, I think the game visually looks great and the full storyline (which publishers are keeping under wraps for now) is deep enough to keep you coming back for more. I wasn’t able to demo online co-op mode just yet (the game has no local co-op), but I was told the gameplay would be very similar to that of Left 4 Dead, allowing up to four players, each with their own unique abilities.

So in a nutshell, it has ‘Dead Rising 2′s weapons crafting system, ‘Fallout 3′s miniature cut-scene based combat mechanic, and ‘Left 4 Dead’s co-op play, along with the usual assortment of magical health kits. It also consists largely of running around doing missions to fetch this or that for NPCs, like an MMO.

That’s some ‘realism’ there, right along with the part where you choose where to invest your XP to gain new skills. Which reminds me; I need to invest more my Patience stat at the next level-up.

Anyway, the graphics and gore are apparently outstanding from a technical perspective, and that’s really all that matters, so ‘Dead Island’ seems to be on track to be the next big and shockingly evil Anti-Zombie game on the consoles and PC.

I can’t wait. /snark

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Mainstream Media, Videogames

Posted By John Sears on May 18, 2011

It’s undeniably true: we live in a Youtube age. I mean, just look how much time the ZRC spends on media available on Youtube, or how many trailers we’ve embedded on the site hosted on the mega-behemoth video service. Likewise we have found the service an invaluable resource for hosting our own videos and short videojournalism pieces.

It’s also undeniably true, however, that Youtube is full to the gills with ‘funny’ short videos, often of wacky pets or precocious children, and that these videos can rack up millions of views, something that many aspiring filmmakers would kill for.

And thus, there’s some bitterness on display, perhaps, with the following:

In today’s snack culture, there’s no shortage of home videos circulating online, garnering millions of views worldwide. To demonstrate the difference in quality between a short film and a video, we had three directors turn the popular viral video “Charlie Bit My Finger” into a short film. We ended up with three very different cinematic interpretations, but they all share one thing in common: a great director makes all the difference. Come see the world’s best short films at the Worldwide Short Film Festival.

There’s an ideology advanced here about the relative value of directly recording and minimally editing reality vs. carefully composing a film, and that’s a topic that can be debated heatedly; it isn’t, however, our focus here at the ZRC.

I tell you about this little promotion from the ‘Worldwide Short Film Festival’ because, naturally, one of the three short films they’ve commissioned is an Anti-Zombie flick.

First, here’s the original ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ video, a relatively harmless piece of pablum:

It has been seen, as of this writing, an astonishing 322,316,802 times.

Anyone could envy that kind of exposure, except perhaps a criminal caught on tape.

Now, take a look at what this innocent expression of childhood was turned into by a sick puppy named Jeff Chan:

Truly shocking and appalling stuff. Not to mention derivative; it reeks of ’28 Days Later’ crossed with ‘Left 4 Dead’. Plus all the video overlays? They don’t make things scarier or more impressive. Little squiggly blood vessels, seriously? Does anyone actually ‘see red’ when they get mad, or does Zombiism supposedly infect the camera too?

At any rate, the ‘film’ gets a thoroughly negative Living Supremacist rating from the ZRC, and director Jeff Chan should be deeply ashamed.

Thanks to Horror Society for the tip on this one.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Euro-zom, Movies, Youtube Mischief, Zombie Flavored Creativity Substitute

Posted By John Sears on May 17, 2011

The Horror Society folks pointed us toward this map of the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ mall, and I have to admit to a bit of puzzlement:

First of all, it’s tragic to see the poor Zombies excluded from the mall, as they so often are thanks to George Romero popularizing the segregationist practice.

Secondly though, if you go to the original site and view their larger graphic, you can see that this mall features some odd stores.. Hot Topic, Boscov’s, etc.

The first Hot Topic was opened in 1988, so this is obviously not Romero’s ‘Dawn’ mall… and Boscov’s is apparently only located on the East Coast and Pennsylvania, so it’s not Zach Snyder’s Wisconsin ‘Dawn’ mall either.

I guess it could be a statement about how Zombies are cruelly excluded from retail establishments in general. My suspicion, however, is that the designers at BrickHut wanted to make a mall map from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and didn’t quite sweat the details.

Yes, btw, I am very anal-retentive on almost anything Zombie-related, why do you ask?

Man I need to get out more. Maybe hit a Zombie Walk, get some sunshine.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Zombie Art

Posted By John Sears on May 17, 2011

Great, just what we need: scorekeeping for Anti-Zombie bigots and their acts of violence:

Shirt: Zombie Killer

Some people like to keep a tally of the number of things they do. Sometimes its how many women a guy has slept with, sometimes its how many men a woman has slept with, sometimes its how many animals a hunter has killed. However sometimes it’s how many of the undead a person has brought down.

Really? I feel bad for hunters and sexually active individuals, being compared to someone who’d murder another human being based on their Vitality Status.

Go on, guess what rating this one gets from The Zombie Rights Campaign:

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Anti-Zombie Products, Clothing, ZRC Reviews

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

Really, sometimes our adversaries in the Anti-Zombie Movement are just childish.

Case in point: equating Undeath with the common boredom and dissatisfaction of adulthood:

In his 1982 hit, Jack and Diane, John Mellencamp captures the allure, terror, and truth of the modern zombie in a single line:

“Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.”

…

With the protective veil of youth removed, we recognize the long road stretching out before us for what it is: repetitious action – wake up, go to work, eat dinner, sleep. We become office Zombies, or Zombies to a dead relationship, or bills, or illness, or our children.

…

You think you’ve got it bad? You think it’s too late for you? Its too late for THEM. They don’t have a choice in the matter.

First of all, let’s take a moment to feel deep, deep pity for people who look at all the opportunities and chances adulthood offers and see only a grinding, meaningless existence that has to be made better by comparison to something they despise.

It must be so sad in the Anti-Zombie Movement.

Second, I love how they compare children to bills and illness. These people must make excellent parents.

But most of all, I can’t understand their theory here. Undeath is akin to a boring and mundane existence? What part of *coming back from the dead*, profoundly transformed, animate and yet not conventionally alive is boring? Why wouldn’t one find a ‘thrill’ in that?

Honestly, how jaded can a person be?

This particular post reads like a grade schooler aghast at the thought of life without recess. Yes, little Anti-Zombie ‘researcher’, Unlife might not have the particular pleasures you’re so addicted to, but if you open your mind just a little you might find other thrills to consider.

And no, I’m not talking about gnawing on skulls either. Yeesh you people are fixated. Is there a Freudian interpretation for the brain-eating obsession?

There should be. I’ll work on that.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Don't Use the Zed Word, Journamalism

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

Or to be more precise, it brings the cinematic ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ there, as the novel on which it is based already did so:

Vaca Films, the company behind the previously announced Welcome to Harmony, is now in development on Apocalypse Z, which is being adapted for the screen by Javier Gullon. David Alonso is set to direct the film based upon the Manel Loureiro novel Apocalipsis Z: Los días oscuros.

Look for more on this one soon!

The synopsis shows that there is very little here for the enlightened Zombie ally, as one might expect:

What would happen if one day it’s discovered that civilization is falling apart? That’s what happens to a young attorney who leads a quiet life and routine in a small provincial Spanish town, until an obscure medical incident in a remote country in the Caucasus takes place. Gradually what was only a small news item in newspapers is transformed into an epidemic of devastating proportions that threatens to annihilate mankind. As the disease eats country after country, the chaos begins to spread in Spain when the zombies invade.

Are we doomed to have a nationality-specific version of the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ for every nation on Earth? That would be at least 193 movies to slog through. Perhaps 203; quite probably more, if you take ethnic/nationalist/secessionist movements into account.

It’s a daunting task, but one we’re up for at the ZRC. Though of course, if we don’t *have* to watch those movies because they’re never made and instead replaced by Zombie Friendly media, that’d be outstanding. Trust me, I’ll find something else to do with my time :D

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Euro-zom, Movies

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

Of late we’ve been in a bit of a spat with the ‘Zombie Research Society’. They think the Undead are a menace to fight with shotguns and grey ribbon; we think they’re our clients and deserving of advocacy and protection.

Clearly we’re right, and someday we’ll bring them around.

In the meantime, the ZRS chose to highlight a page full of haiku purportedly about Zombies, including their favorite:

just a little bite

my single-minded purpose

brains, brains, brains, brains, brains

Now, we’ve covered the topic of Zombie haikus a surprisingly large amount here on the ZRC blog, actually. There are at least two books of Zombie Haiku out on the market, from decidedly different perspectives. ‘Zombie Haiku’ by Ryan Mecum covered the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ from the perspective of a stereotypical Romero-esque ‘zombie’, while ‘Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku?!‘ is on our list of books to review for the ZRC and is apparently a Zombie Friendly book of haiku aimed at kids.

So clearly there is a sizable interest in the melding of this particular art form and Zombies, for some reason, and not all of it is Anti-Zombie by any means. The question of why that is the case is one the ZRC is not prepared to answer. My personal hunch is that haiku is a poetic form with easy to remember rules and a focus on brevity, which makes it perfect for the internet, or even Twitter.

It’s worth clarifying that when people on the internet speak of haiku, they’re almost invariably referring to the Western and rather extremely simplified form of the poetry; originally haiku was a lot more complex and bound by tradition. Tradition, and of course, rules that had to be followed.

Naturally the ZRS picked an inflammatory and offensive haiku to highlight, but was the whole original page like that?

Well… mostly. Take a look:

I hunger for your
delicious cerebellum.
Where’s the ice cream scoop?

Isn’t that our dead
garbage man? I wish he would
throw himself away.

Desolate wasteland,
Howling wind spreads putrid stench,
Wish I’d brought the gun.

There are, however, a couple of haiku here that are relatively Zombie Friendly, or at least force the reader to question their assumptions about the Undead:

I was once but a
little boy playing catch with
my new zombie Dad.

I am here my love
To end your eternal sleep
Let my words revive

Nothing more terrible
than zombie adolesence . . .
except Grandpa’s breath.

I’ll put it to the ZRC readers: is this a poetry trend to get behind, for advocates of the Differently Animated? Feel free to submit your own Zombie Friendly haiku in the comments and let’s see if we can bring this artform around.

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Zombie Art

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

Here at the ZRC, we take intellectual property seriously. Note that I don’t say ‘copyright’, I say intellectual property, and there’s a good reason for that distinction. Intellectual property is the precious commodity of creative thought and copyright is an antiquated and abusive system to try and guarantee payment for the use of said commodity. The two things are not synonymous.

We respect the work of creative individuals, and the ZRC doesn’t appreciate it when our own material is stolen by a third party either. But at the same time, we recognize that there are limits to the control a creator can, or rather should, be able to impose on the use of their work.

Last night when I logged into Youtube I saw that the ZRC’s account had a message; a video of ours had been flagged for containing someone else’s copyrighted content. That was interesting, I thought, since every single video in the ZRC Youtube channel was recorded, live and in person, by myself:

Your video, Bascom Hill Performs “I Won’t Back Down” at Capitol 2/26/2011 , may include content that is owned or administered by these entities:
Entity: EMI Publishing Content Type: Musical Composition

It turns out that EMI (or someone acting for them) has flagged the recording taken by the ZRC at the downtown political rally on 2/26, where the band ‘Bascom Hill’ performed a cover of Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’. EMI must represent ‘Bascom Hill’ as the original Petty song was released, according to Wikipedia, by MCA, which later became part of Universal. I can’t find anything to that effect on the ‘Bascom Hill’ website, and the notice posted in our Youtube account doesn’t actually say what EMI is claiming ownership *of*, just that someone says their content is in our video of a public performance on the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol during a public political rally.

Yes, you read that correctly. EMI, or someone acting on their behalf, is claiming that a public performance of someone else’s song on the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol, the most public space in the state, during a political rally, completely free and open to the public, belongs not to the person who recorded the video, nor to the person who originally recorded the song, nor to the public whose space and air was used for said political rally, but to them.

EMI owns the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol, or so it is claimed. Record video there at your peril.

*dun dun DUN*

This is a microcosm of everything that’s wrong with the copyright system, and a great example of why The ZRC voluntarily refuses to avail ourselves of the standard ‘protections’ of copyright, instead utilizing Creative Commons licensing for our art, shirts, prints and writing.

The original idea behind copyright was that if artists couldn’t get paid for their work they’d have to quit being artists; copyright is supposed to ENRICH and PROTECT public expression and creativity. Instead it has become an arcane tool of oppression, snuffing out creativity wherever it can be found in the name of protecting entrenched rights-holders who are as far removed from actual creativity as one can possibly imagine.

And now they want ownership of our public spaces too.

Youtube is of course free to enact whatever policies they want on videos they host, and I recognize that they’re not (necessarily) the bad guys here. They have to stay in business, and thus have to accede to the ridiculous and outrageous demands of the extremely well-heeled music industry or face the usual legal apocalypse.

At the same time, I don’t have to stand for it, to allow EMI to run ads alongside the video until the day they arbitrarily decide that it isn’t enough to own our video of our public space but that they want to vaporize it entirely. I’m removing the video from Youtube. EMI, or whoever acted on their behalf in this instance, can get bent.

The ZRC, on the other hand, knows that a public space belongs to the PUBLIC. We would never claim that, because a ZRC shirt, or poster, or pamphlet, or anything other creative work appears in public that we have the right to control forever and all time what others can do/say about that material. People can, and do, take our picture protesting all the time. Sometimes we give interviews. Never once, nor ever shall, the ZRC claim some special right to control that media coverage. The commons doesn’t belong to any one person, any one organization or company. It belongs to everyone.

At least until a record company says otherwise.

Category: ZRC News | 1 Comment »
Tags: Music, Public Appearance, Social Justice

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

We got linked to this trailer for an upcoming Zombie Musical (yes, really!) on Twitter and it seriously blew our minds.

What to think about ‘Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story’? Well, the best way I can describe it is Dr. Horrible meets Zombies. And it looks seriously Zombie Friendly!

The story:

After humanity quells an undead uprising, the last two remaining zombies pair up
in search of sanctuary, but instead find love.

Rigamortis takes place shortly after humanity has put down a recent zombie outbreak. The last two zombies left “undead” are looking for their place in the world, while one lonely zombie hunter’s newfound fame and glory can’t fill the hole in his heart left by the recent loss of his now undead love. The characters are forced to confront zombies, angry mobs, double-barreled shotguns, and an ever-dangerous thing called love, until fate brings them all face to face in an explosive finale.

Can the zombies avoid a gruesome second death at the hands of chainsaw-wielding mob and find a place in which they can live in peace? Can the zombie hunter complete his quest and rid the world of zombies, or will his past relationship with his prey cause him to falter? Can any of them hit the high notes?

Check this out:

The trailer is amazing, jaw-dropping. The Zombies are the good guys! The Zombie hunter comes off as a misguided zealot, a bit Captain Hammer-esque too (again, reminding me of great things is not bad). However, according to the synopsis we get to see the story from both sides of the Living/Undead divide, a divide that the ZRC is well aware can only be bridged through tolerance and mutual self-respect.

Violent, shotgun-wielding ‘apocalypses’ don’t serve anyone’s best interests. We suggest that people read pamphlets, attend get-togethers and try to work out their differences peacefully.

Perhaps by screening this movie. We’re so incredibly excited, and hopeful, to see the final result here at the ZRC.

So very, very hopeful.

Category: Zombie Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: Movies, Music, Youtube Mischief, Zombie Art

Posted By John Sears on May 16, 2011

Not to get all religious on you or anything, so close to the alleged apocalypse, but the fifth ‘Resident Evil’ movie has just been confirmed, proving once and for all the existence of evil incarnate in the world at large, and I think it’s time for us to prepare for our doom:

First, she confirms that she will be returning as “Alice” and that she “thinks” that the official title is Resident Evil: Retribution, while also adding, “but i have to ask paul 2 b sure.”

Paul would be her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, who directed the first and final installments. She confirms his involvement, but solely as a writer at the moment. For hardcore fans, you’ll be happy to know that he’s at least “trying”: “jst 2 let the RE fans know, cause there’s been a bunch of questions abt the nxt film, paul has kids that are proffessional players… all they do is play the games till they master every level and unlock every code. they play the games for WEEKS and give paul the footage.” She continues, “He’s literally watching days of the most awesome RE players out there to get inspiration 4 the nxt installment of the franchise.”

There’s nothing like having children play a videogame franchise to help you write a winning screenplay.

Literally, because that is about the worst possible idea for a brainstorming session in the history of film, literature or human thought.

This surely is a sign that the end is nigh. Or, to get biblical:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

I kid, I kid, and at any rate, the only proper response to such an outrage is defiance, so, here’s that video of the ZRC burning RE: Afterlife in effigy again:

Down with Smirky. Up with Zombies!

Category: Zombie Media | No Comments »
Tags: Movies, Youtube Mischief