Night of the Living Dead (or how I learned to love a remake)

 Let me start off by saying that I loved the original Night of the Living Dead shot on black-and-white in the late sixties and directed by George Romero. This film defined the modern zombie film and has been a cult classic over forty years. In this day of horror remakes coming out in droves, it might surprise you that a remake of Night of the Living Dead was actually made in 1990 before remakes and the current zombie craze was actually cool. Directed by Tom Savini and scripted by George Romero, who was executive producer as well, this remake of the original is very good. Shot in color with excellent acting and state of the art zombie make-up this turns out to be an excellent retelling of the original. I had seen it when it came out in the theaters back in 1990 and I seem to remember it as a Halloween release at the time. Fast forward 22 years later and as I'm winding down the final chapters of my own zombie novel, I decide to revisit the film. (You can watch it free online on HULU by the way). I was surprised at how well this remake really is; especially in light of all the failed horror remakes that have been made since then including Halloween, Nightmare of Elm Street, etc. This film captures the spirt of the original, but with a few twists added by Tom Savini's vision. I shared an elevator with Tom Savini at Texas Frightmare in Dallas earlier this year.  If you don't know who the man is then you're reading the wrong blog, but I'll  refresh your memory. He was the premiere make-up effect artist who is responsible for a mulitude of horror's top movies including Dawn of the Dead (the original), Friday the 13th (original) etc. He's also an actor who has played in various films including Knightriders ( another Romero film you should check out), Dawn of the Dead (original) and Dusk til Dawn. Inspired by Lon Chaney in Man of a Thousand Faces, he saw first-hand the carnage of blood and violence as a combat photographer in Viet Nam which helped hone his craft as a make-up effect artist. I was surprised at how well he directed this film. In the middle of the current zombie craze it is also very relevant and ground-breaking by being one of the first horror remakes. If you want to watch a really good zombie movie by two masters of the genre then Night of the Living Dead (1990) is for you.  I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Soonercon

There is an annual gathering in Oklahoma called Soonercon where the Sheraton in downtown OKC is invaded by sci/fi, horror, fantasy, and comic book geeks and nerds. It’s always been great fun and this year was no different. From the moment I arrive around noon on Friday, rolling my books before me and eagerly searching out where my table is located, until late Sunday afternoon when I finally break down my table and pack up my books, it’s an absolute blast.

 I attend a lot of cons but Soonercon is always one of my favorites. It’s like a weekend long party with friends and this one was no different. I had a reading Friday night which was fun and then saw one of the weirdest bands I’ve ever seen called Balthazar complete with road-warrior dressed singers, cart-wheeling acrobats, and a giant dancing Robot.

 Saturday was crazy with a packed dealer’s room and a time-traveler dance Saturday night. Sunday was slower and was spent talking to others and just hanging out and recuperating from the festivities. A lot of beer and laughs were shared with old friends and new friends throughout the weekend. 

 

I had a great time and went home, tired and exhausted, with money in my pocket. Who could ask for more from a con? My only complaint is it only happens once a year.

Fifty Shades of Gray Flesh (or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Zombie Apocalypse)

Zombies!  Zombies!  Zombies! They’re everywhere!  In hundreds of books, on our television sets, in our movies, and lately in the news.  I’m even working on a zombie novel which is in its final stages of writing at the moment.  I didn’t really intend to write about zombies at first. In my mind, the genre was too commercial and didn’t have a lot of life left in it (pardon the pun). I knew this zombie bubble wouldn’t last forever and the whole genre would go the way of vampires which have ended up blasé and stale over the last few years.  So why did I jump on the zombie bandwagon? When I first started writing this novel for Nanowrimo over a year ago, I just wanted to put something down on paper as fast as I could. In the second chapter, my main character and his family are visiting a graveyard when a major earthquake struck.  Lo and behold, while I was writing that chapter, a quake rattled through the state of Oklahoma; an unheard of event which sent everyone to Facebook commenting on how they just felt the earth shake.  I took that as a sign to continue to write the novel.  I played around with a few chapters and rewrote them over and over again. The novel wasn’t clicking for me. There was something missing. That final oomph needed to push me to finish the tale.  Enter Jack the Zombie Killer. Jack is my main character.  Just a regular guy with a family until the zombie apocalypse happens. He becomes something more.  A man who would protect his family at all costs in a world turned into a zombie hell.  Even when there is no hope, he keeps fighting. In the writing process, the novel turned from a simple story of survival horror to something deeper. In the fabric of this tale are woven questions about religion, family, marriage, country, and death.  It doesn’t have answers, but it asks the questions wrapped around a lot of zombie ass-kicking.  I learned that the genre is not as important as the character’s story. Here it is one year later and the writing is nearing completion and the book is tentatively titled Zombie Run at the moment since all the really cool titles were taken.  Chalk it up to being late to jump on the zombie bandwagon. Whatever the outcome of this novel, I learned a lot about writing a character's story thanks to Jack, the Zombie Killer.

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