DOOM: ANNIHILATION (2019)

A group of UAC Marines are tasted with answering a distress call from a secret base on Phobos, one of Mars’ moons.  Thus, begins the latest film adaption DOOM: ANNIHILATION (2019) of the popular video game.  Although this film takes inspiration from the video games it has nothing to do with the previous live action film of 2005 and instead goes on a different path. Joan Dark (Amy Manson) is one of these Marines who must learn the nature of the secret military base once they arrive and realize that they cannot communicate with any of the staff or personnel.  They don’t have much time as they soon learn that they base is set to self-destruct if they can’t get everything back online in time.

To make matters worse is the fact there is something else on the base with them that wants to kill everything it comes into contact with.  Like Most films of this type, it borrows heavily from Aliens (1986) while also making sure audiences who enjoy the game also get what they are expecting.  Manson does a great job bringing her A-Action Game for this film as I was constantly reminded of actress Millia Jovovich in the Resident Evil films especially when the creatures reveal themselves.

There are many hokey elements to the film, but they actually add to the overall entertainment of the proceedings especially if you’re a fan of the video game and know what you’re getting into from the start.  Writer/director Tony Giglio is obviously a fan of the game and wants audiences to become one soon after watching his film. 

The visual FX are really good, and the production design is excellent making for a highly enjoyable film despite the clichés that come with this genre of film and its low expectations.  Video game adaptations are not usually films that audiences really lavish much attention to but this version of the game is far superior to the previous and opens the door for future sequels.  Doom: Annihilation may not be the best film adapted from a video game but its certainly one of the better ones.

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER BECAME ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR!”

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER BECAME ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR!”

It may come as a shock to many people (even horror fans) but Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017) became one of the highest grossing traditional horror films of 2017 (with the exception of the monster hit remake of Stephen King’s It).  With $312.2 million at the Worldwide Box Office the final chapter in the long running zombie-action-horror franchise comes to a satisfying conclusion.  This film is the highest grossing of all the others in the franchise proving the extreme popularity of the films with fans of the actual game and general horror fans (and franchise star Milla Jovovich).

 

With this closing chapter writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson went back to basics in terms of style with the grittier action sequences and look of the zombies and monsters; he strayed from the more colorful visual palette of the past two films to return the franchise to the roots of the look of the original film.  Despite some questionable story elements, the film does a fantastic job putting all the pieces of the franchise together into a complete puzzle which fans, who have stuck through the duration of the films, will appreciate.  This is one of those few horror franchises where the same person has hung in there with each of the films till the end.  Anderson may not have directed all the films (just the original and the last three) but he has written them all and was producer for all of them over the course of fifteen years!  Some of the only other franchises to have a similar track record is writer/producer/director Don Coscarelli with the Phantasm franchise (37 years), writer/director Victor Salva and Jeepers Creepers films (17 years), writer/director Don Mancini with the Child’s Play franchise (29 years), writer/producer/director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert with the Evil Dead films & television series (34 years) and writer/actor/director Leigh Whannell with the Insidious films (7 years), to name a very few.

 RE fans and general audiences have enjoyed watching the journey of the main character Alice (Jovovich) or “Project Alice” as she is also called in the films.  She has changed and developed from film to film gaining and loosing friends and allies on her quest to stop the Umbrella Corporation from destroying all of humanity on Earth.  The franchise has become one of the most ambitious horror franchises in history with characters from all over the world interacting in this zombie infested world.  The franchise has not only showcased some amazing fight choreography and action sequences but delivered the goods when it comes to the numerous monsters on display and death throughout.  Very few long running horror franchises have been able to have a protagonist as engaging and dynamic as Jovovich’s Alice and that is a testament to the commitment of the actor to the character and the Anderson’s writing to continue to test the character with new obstacles.

In terms of Box Office, all the films have grossed over $100 million at the Worldwide Box Office with the distinct oddity of The Final Chapter being the lowest growing Domestically (whereas Afterlife (2010) has the highest Domestic gross of the franchise with $60 million).  Obviously, the franchise is more of an International Box Office phenom then a domestic one.  By the time The Final Chapter was released earlier this year, interest in the franchise here was gone; only the die-hard fans came out to see how the franchise would finally end.  Internationally, the film did extremely well with over $285 million (a franchise best)!  With these numbers, even though the current run of Anderson films has come to an end, there is already talk of rebooting the franchise and starting over.  It should also be noted that the third film in the animated franchise Vendetta (2017) was also released this year (but Anderson has nothing to do with the animated films that stay more faithful to the games).

I don’t particularly like all the films in the franchise myself.  I still love the original film which is straight forward and retains the simplicity of an action-horror film that showcased both Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez’ talents for kicking ass and looking good while doing it.  I hated the Apocalypse (2004) as the cast was not nearly as strong as the original but it did add Oded Fehr and Jared Harris to the otherwise forgettable cast and I never liked the look of Nemesis.  They were back in form with Extinction (2007) but I think it’s because director Russell Mulcahy gives the film a great visual look and style with the desert looking apocalypse landscape (he did, after all, direct Highlander, Tale of the Mummy, and Resurrection, to name a few) and they added Ali Larter to the franchise (one of the great additions).  Anderson returns behind the camera with Afterlife (2010) which is the first to film in 3-D (with the same cameras used for James Cameron’s Avatar); all subsequent films would also get the 3-D treatment (I should know as I saw them all in 3-D on opening weekend).  Afterlife would bring new life into the franchise with its bolder color palette and more balletic fight choreography as the fights would become even more dynamic then in previous films.  Anderson’s cinematography would be the best here than in any of the previous films as the film took the strengths of the previous films and amplify them more.  Retribution (2012) would be a step down (in my opinion) as it focused more on the action sequences and less on the story as the whole film didn’t really seem to go anywhere as if it was a filler film for the next impending film (needless to say, Box Office for this film would dwindle tremendously from the previous film which became the franchise high domestically).  The tepid Box Office and audience response to this film meant that it was time to call it quits and thus The Final Chapter was released with a whimper domestically but to enthusiastic response Internationally.  This is one of the stronger films in terms of the actual story and plot as you see a lot of the stories of characters you’ve come to know finally come to a satisfying end.

 

In terms of longevity and profitability, the RE franchise is one of the most successful despite the quality of some of the films which is typical of any franchise that’s run through six films (and three animated films) over the course of 15 years.  Anderson was able to have actors come and go throughout the run of the series keeping continuity and consistency which is also rare with horror franchises (or any franchise).

I’ve always been a huge fan of the films and will continue to be one even when the franchise is finally rebooted for the next generation.  This was a franchise by and from fans to and for the fans and that is a rare thing indeed.

TOP 66 ZOMBIE FILMS OF ALL TIME (Part 5)

PART 5: No.# 40-31

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to conduct my own list of Top 66 Zombie films is the fact that the article in SFX Magazine Special Zombies kept putting films that they didn’t even like at the bottom of the list.  This is a huge travesty as there have been hundreds of zombie films produced and not one zombie film on that UK magazine’s list they should have been ashamed of.  On my list I am not ashamed of any of them.  I’ve seen a whole lot of bad zombie films (ZOMBIE LAKE and FLESH EATER come immediately to mind) but despite the questionable quality of some of the films on my list (and I’m sure you dear zombie lovers won’t agree with all my choices nor their placement on my list) they are all entertaining and films that I would gladly include in my video collection.

Hitting the half way mark of my list is an exciting moment as all the films from here on out are films I’ve seen several times and recommend to others both lovers of the genre and those who are coming to the genre…well, late.  As we get higher on the list we come across films with stronger stories and more personal risks so I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say about these films and go out and see them for yourself.

40. DEAD HEAT (1988)

I remember seeing this as a child and being totally blown away by the sheer lunacy of the plot yet still managed to be about the characters and the bond between two cops in an almost hopeless situation.  This was the film that put actor Treat Williams in my stratosphere (well this and the fact that he also starred in the immensely entertaining Deep Rising) plus it had Joe Piscopo (whom I had known from Wise Guys and Johnny Dangerously).  This film was a happy accident as it had two actors with great chemistry in an unorthodox zombie film.

39. CREEPSHOW (1982)

I was a huge fan of the original Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Vault of Horror (1973) anthology films so when this film came out I was all over it.  It was also a film plastered with author Stephen King all over it and at the time King was the only author whose books I had a steady diet on.  It was funny and horrifying and a downright tour de force of sheer lunacy with a rather particularly horrifying final segment in “They’re Creeping Up on You” which had cockroaches in it – and I HATE cockroaches.

38. AMERICAN ZOMBIE (2007)

I don’t know why it took until 2007 for someone to come up with this inventive idea about a “realistic” film documenting the undead as they go about their business in the real world.  This film works because its about real characters going through real problems that mirror that of how minorities and the disenfranchised have always been treated in this country.  This is a concept that could have fallen flat on its face but the actors make the plight of the characters so real that you can’t help but sympathize with them.  Despite its low budget this film excels on many levels because the film makers and actors never forget that character comes first.

37. ZOMBI 2 (1979)

This was my very first Lucio Fulci film so it holds a special place amongst all other zombie films.  Fulci may have been an uneven director but this is his masterpiece (and one that I watch at least once every year).  When I first saw this film in my teens I thought I was going to be arrested for watching a film so vile and disgusting and taboo shattering.  I mean you see an eye ball gouged out by a splinter of wood in all its gory delight.  This film introduced me to truly gory films (an alternative to the Friday the 13^th and A Nightmare on Elm Street films that at the time I thought were gory).  I just love this film!  Faults and everything there is no other Italian made zombie film that even compares with the entertainment value of this film.

36. RESIDENT EVIL (2002)

I know that some people may disagree with this film being on this list much less #36 but let me first say that I never played a Resident Evil game until #6 just last year before the 4^th film was released so I didn’t come to the franchise with all that history or back story.  Instead, I came to this film with the knowledge that at the time the zombie genre had all but been dead for years.  This was a shot in the arm for the traditional slow moving zombie film and it starred 2 of my favorite female actors in Millia Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez and was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, whom I thought had done a fantastic job with the video game based film Mortal Kombat (a game I was a fan of).  The film exceeded my expectations by being both an action film and a horror film with cool deaths and zombies and it didn’t end on a happy note.  What more could you have asked for in a zombie film?  I was hooked and with the exception on the second film I think this is one of the best zombie franchises out there that continue to get better with each subsequent film.

35. DEAD SNOW (2009)

Hands down the best zombie film that features Nazi zombies!  Some people look at Shock Waves (1977) as one of the best if not the best but I was never a big fan of that film.  Don’t get me wrong it’s a good film and it gets added mileage from Peter Cushing and Brooke Adams but other than that there isn’t much else there.  With Dead Snow you get so much more…of everything that a Nazi zombie film should have.  I have the same feeling about this film as I do with Fulci’s Zombi 2 except this film is more fun and extremely gorier.  If you don’t like this film then you don’t like zombie films.

34. DEAD & BURIED (1981)

This slow burning zombie film gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that it is one of the best written of many from the ‘80s.  Written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon (who both wrote the original Alien) this film is both strong in story and character and in mood and atmosphere (as directed by Gary Sherman).  This is a different kind of zombie film for a different kind of fan.

33. PLANET TERROR (2007)

The craziest zombie film since…well, ever.  Director Robert Rodriguez throws everything into this film (and the kitchen sink) and comes up with one of the most entertaining zombie films ever crafted.  Never mind the fact that the story is just crazy, you have one of the best casts put together for a zombie film that has no bounds and no limits – Rose McGowan, Josh Brolin, Jeff Fahey, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Freddy Rodriguez, Bruce Willis,  and Naveen Andrews, to name a few.  Non-zombie fans probably won’t want to take this ride but those who truly love the genre will just need to jump on the bus and go for the ride.

32. LA HORDE (2009)

If there is one fault to be had for this film it is the fact that the characters never become smart enough to just shoot them in the head.  Instead the character litter the film with bullets which makes this one hell of an action and siege zombie film.  The one thing that truly sets this above other films is the fact that the film makers have such a love for the genre that they craft this film on such a low budget and still manage to come up with one of the best endings for a zombie movie.  It’s like John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) with zombies.

31. MULBERRY STREET (2006)

Very few indie zombie films are as good as this little film which created the “rat zombie” and took it to horrifying new levels of terror.  The limited location creates suspense and terror that few films of the modern era have been able to capture.  The other thing is that this film never forgets that in addition to great creature FX that you also need characters that audiences will care for and this film exceeds in that department.  This is a film for fans and people who think that there is no new way to tell a good zombie story and I’m here to say then look no further than this film here.

I’m over half way done with this list and had I done the article all in one big article it would be at over 15 pages already (so I’m glad I broke it up).  The biggest reason that I am doing this series of articles like this is to give you – the Reader, a better understanding of why these films are on my list and why I think they should be required viewing on your list (if you are interested in these types of films).  I hope you enjoy this segment and I’ll have more for you soon.

Novel Review: RESIDENT EVIL: GENESIS by Keith R.A. DeCandido

I don’t really care for reading novel adaptations of screenplays and films because 9 times out of 10 they will be a carbon copy of the original film with very little extra thrown in.  It is my opinion that these types of books are meant for those who have not seen the film first (for all others who have seen the film then reading the book is all but useless).  Very few novelizations of films/screenplays have been anything other than a carbon copy of the film but this is not entirely true of Keith R.A. DeCandido’s adaptation of the first Resident Evil film.  His novel Resident Evil: Genesis takes a lot of detours from the film.   

The novelization does indeed follow the film (so if you’ve seen the film you already know what’s going to happen and I don’t have to relay those events down here) but it is the first third of the novel that differs tremendously from the film.  DeCandido takes all the minor characters introduced at the beginning of the film (who all die in the original outbreak before Alice and company descend back into the Hive) and gives them an entire chapter with which to give the reader insight on how they got into The Hive and why.  This goes a long way in not only introducing us to these “minor” characters but more importantly they give us an insight on the inner workings of Umbrella Corporation and how it goes about recruiting its employees.  These early chapters also explain how Alice got mixed up in the terrorists trying to bring the Umbrella Corp. down.  In these early chapters are a lot of character bits so that when the zombie mayhem does happen you don’t feel as those you are just waiting for nameless people to die (which is how the film sometimes comes off).

The book does go into the predictable territory expected of these types of books once events jump into and parallel those of the film but there are several times where DeCandido takes the time to give the reader background on the relationships between the Umbrella soldiers (most notably Rain) and these moments are a welcomed diversion from the zombie mayhem.

The book is not without its flaws which is mostly the fact that it has to retread the events in the film but DeCandido adds enough of his own spark to make the book worthwhile for the fans of the franchise.  Another added bonus is that DeCandido also writes the novelization to the sequel Resident Evil: Apocalypse so both books meld into one experience.