By Geno McGahee
There are too many zombie movies. It is an incredibly popular sub-genre of the horror world, but there are so many sad attempts at making a movie of the sort that they get tiring. It is the same problem that the found footage sub-genre is having now. It was good the first million times…but move on. Now, I don’t mind a found footage or zombie movie if it’s good and I especially enjoy it if it stands out, bringing something different to the world. CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD is one zombie movie that was a positive step forward for the zombie sub-genre.
We begin with zombies and the human resistance, shooting them with their shotguns. I immediately assumed that we were going to see the same zombie vs. human movie that I have seen one hundred times over. Tom Savini plays “Deputy Hughs,” a kick ass zombie hunter. He kills a dozen or so before meeting his match in the coolest zombie in film history. (Note: Jason Voorhees is NOT a zombie. He does NOT eat brains.)
Abbot Hayes (A. Barrett Worland) is a serial killer and rapist that was killed in prison, but his body went missing. He came back as a strong zombie that controlled his own army of the undead. He wins the round and 14 years go by before he is a problem again.
A group of kids going to a concert run into Abbot and it ends in their death. What I love about Abbot is that he is always so joyful. Most zombies just kill and move on without much emotion. They are just going on instincts. There is no joy. With Abbot, there is nothing but joy. When he watches the kids fall to their death, he rejoices, smiling from ear to ear. That joy would continue throughout the film…and I should mention the camerawork and direction of the film. I tip my hat to the director, Tor Ramsey and cinematographer, S. William Hinzman, for how they brought this movie to life. They knew that they had gold in Abbot and got plenty of tight shots of him just doing various emotions…mostly smiles. How I love a happy zombie.
Abbot becomes a big problem as he raises his army of the undead to take vengeance on the town, and it becomes a human vs. zombie with a super zombie leader movie. It was a different angle on the zombie genre. There was also a lot of love and heart in this film. You can sense it as you watch it. The makers wanted to make a good movie and they did just that.
CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD stays true to the zombie lore, brings some very fun camera work and direction, mixed with the coolest zombie ever. I highly recommend this.
Rating: 7.5/10 – This zombie is cool!
