Badmovies.org Forum

Movies => Bad Movies => Topic started by: dean on December 29, 2005, 10:32:29 PM



Title: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on December 29, 2005, 10:32:29 PM
In the efforts of providing realism [yeah right] to a zombie short film idea I'm playing around with, I am striking out to you, the B-movie public, to assist me with a few details/ideas.

I'm setting out to educate the public via this flick on how to live with Zombies after the holocaust has subsided, through acts such as de-chomping your zombie relatives, through to regular baths to help get rid of the smell, or even perhaps rehab to get your zombies 'up and running' for todays hectic lifestyles, training them to run instead of stumble, like all good new-age zombies.

Also, zombies in domestic service, or even telemarketing could be a viable direction for this as well, but I welcome suggestions, especially from you fine folk, either in way of technical suggestions [such as what is a good way to tear off a limb that looks good, but is done on the cheap] to situations that could be used.  Essentially this is a public service announcement, and I have only just put a bit of thought into exactly how this will be achieved, which is why I came here.

Anyways, I'm  also wondering what a name for a zombie professional would be in real life [such as an ornothologist or whatever is for birds] or if there is an actual real professional sounding name for such a person.

Alright that's it for now; it's too hot a day here at the moment to be sitting in front of the computer and I really should work on my tan somehow...




Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: The Burgomaster on December 30, 2005, 08:16:01 AM
How about a "Necrovivatologist," coming from "necro" (death) and "viva" (life)?


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on December 30, 2005, 08:25:23 AM

You know, that sounds pretty great Burgo, I really like the sound of that.  If something comes of this project, which I really hope [although i'm the first to admit I'm fairly off and on when it comes to my short film projects] credit will be given where credit is due, so thanks for the input!

Any other ideas as to what situations you will need to learn about? That is if we assume that there are zombies in the world, but humanity has regained control and are basically making a whole new consumer market of 'zombies for sale' [such as owning a former 'celebrity zombie' or using them, as I said, as domestic servants]


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Rombles on January 02, 2006, 08:50:38 AM
I have a vision - a group of 11 zombies, locked in battle with 2 other zombies.... voila, cricket! Kerry Packer would have to be one of them though ;-)

My zombie movie is intended to contain a scene where zombies simply ignore a cricket match, believing that anything so slow and boring could only mean that the participants are also already zombies.  This would not necessarily be mutually exclusive to how cricket could be used in your movie, Dean. I like your premise, too - immediately after Shaun Of The Dead kinda thing. Cool idea.  I may need to convince the wife to let me drive to Melbourne to participate in some way though when the time is right (if you can find a use for a fat geek....).


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on January 02, 2006, 03:20:19 PM
Rombles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have a vision - a group of 11 zombies, locked in
> battle with 2 other zombies.... voila, cricket!
> Kerry Packer would have to be one of them though
> ;-)
>
> My zombie movie is intended to contain a scene
> where zombies simply ignore a cricket match,
> believing that anything so slow and boring could
> only mean that the participants are also already
> zombies.  This would not necessarily be mutually
> exclusive to how cricket could be used in your
> movie, Dean. I like your premise, too -
> immediately after Shaun Of The Dead kinda thing.
> Cool idea.  I may need to convince the wife to let
> me drive to Melbourne to participate in some way
> though when the time is right (if you can find a
> use for a fat geek....).


You know that Cricket idea is pretty good [though not really something I'd use in this one]

I mean, I really love taking the p**s out of the cricket.

[on an odd side note, Rombles, have you heard much about 'Boonanza?'  Now that's a hell of an idea right there!]

Anyways, this film is by no means a professional work, but is mainly being made in that style in order to hide the fact that this is pretty much filmed on a handycam with absolutely no budget.

Though I still would like to know a good way to tear limbs off that looks good, or even just generally passable zombie make-up.

Also, I'm thinking of having armed children, and a demonstration of what happens when a kid forgets to pack his/her gun when going outside.  Also, how does this sound as a slogan: 'Shoot at the head; they stay dead' ?


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Rombles on January 03, 2006, 12:11:11 AM
Rule #1 for dealing with Zombies. Everyone should be taught that at school - "Shoot at the head; they stay dead".  I like it!

There just isn't enough education and preparation for zombie attacks in our schools.


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Scottie on January 03, 2006, 02:20:54 AM
Not enough education on how to deal with zombies means wasted bullets, kids. "Shoot in the head; they stay dead."

Ask yourself, what possible services can zombies provide for the living? True, they can stumble around and moan, meaning they can double as student actors, but can they really be anything we want them to be? What about live... well, moving military target practice? I like the idea of buying a celebrity zombie. You can really go far and deep with that one. I bet zombies make great Halloween decorations too. Fashion models? With their insatiable desire to walk and walk, dress them up in the latest clothing lines and have them walk the runway. Security? I bet they'd make good or at least vicious junkyard guards. Soldiers of fortune? For a slab of meat, you could send them on operation "shield" similar to the black characters from South Park The Movie.

I keep seeing military benefits wherever I look. Could this be why movies like Shockwave and other "harness the power of zombie" films exist?

Dean, I think the post-apocalyptic zombie world is in serious need for a cure from zombie bites. I bet it's something real simple like a tetanus shot that stops the spread of zombie. Also, there needs to be a plan for how to dispose all of the zombie bodies that become deanimated with guns or decapitation. You certainly can't have bodies laying around in the open. It'll be like Katrina all over again.

Which race do you see living the longest? Will humans prevail over the zombies, or can you forsee zombies out-"living" humans? Also, how long does it take for a zombie pandemic take to wear off? Meaning, will there ever be a time again when the dead can die and never rise again? If it goes on for too long, do you suspect there will be injections for future generation's youth that will prevent them from ever becoming zombies when they die? Then we'll only have zombie infants in theory. Unless of course the child is born in the backwoods and boondocks of the world, away from civilization where it can't get the injection, and, where after death, a force of backwoods zombies will band together and raid the cities for living flesh. Hell yeah! Is there a way to make more room in hell for the dead. As the saying goes, "when there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth;" well, maybe we can make some more room. Maybe open up a new scientific branch of the government that deals with the supernatural aspects of life and death that becomes exposed thanks to zombification.

If zombies ever do become more intelligent than mindless walking/eating drones as Land of the Dead implies, will they ever reach a point when they can begin to demand equal-rights protection and require by law that humans not kill them? I can see it now, *frames image of D.C. with hands* zombie lobbyists in the White House.

Oh man, this is fun. Dean, I'm jealous of your project. I wish I had more time to work on stuff like this myself. My own disillusioned android story has its own perks, but nothing beats zombies. There was this guy in my creative writing class this last semester who wrote a zombie-like story and my critical comments were wild. I went on and on for two pages about everything I could think of zombie-wise, and by the end of it I was so hyped I was literally juming around the room. Brainstorming zombie ideas has got to be the best job in the world. Here's to a great year! Cheers!


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Scottie on January 03, 2006, 02:30:21 AM
Dean, give me until tomorrow to make a post about how to make realistic flesh tearing special effects. I've already got a technique for gushing blood that's real simple and low-budget, but tearing flesh is an art form unto itself that needs time to perfect. I'm no Tom Savini, but I'll think about it.


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Ash on January 03, 2006, 04:05:26 AM
I've always been partial to the Evil Dead term "Deadite".

A Deadite can perform many tasks, including eating your sister's brains.


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on January 03, 2006, 10:59:51 PM

Thanks for the suggestions Scottie, and that info on fake blood and tearing flesh would be a great help since I really don't know much about any of that stuff.

As for the tasks that Zombies do, I'm vaguely going by the Romero version of Zombies, particularly in Day of the Dead, where they can be taught to do menial tasks, such as washing dishes.

If I wanted to get particularly nasty I could make it that zombies remember vaguely their past lives and as such can perform tasks related to that, and therefore in a nice, yet terrible, twist, the working and servant classes become really valuable commodoties.

This is all has to fit in under 7 minutes so I can't really afford time for much exposition, but in my mind when people die, they die, unless they die because of a zombie.  So it's a sort of super-virus that can only be contracted if bit by a zombie, and they draw blood.  Obviously there will have to be a limit on zombies allowed to roam around so as to stop them overrunning us, so special permits of, say, one per family will be given.

Humans are in control in this society, with the initial zombie threat catching us by surprise, but of course we gain back domination, and now the zombie threat is treated as more of a lethal form of the flu, and everybody is relatively nonchalant about the whole thing, which makes for a great potential story for the future: humanity has gotten so used to zombies, that they get caught by surprise after thinking of them as no real threat.

Also, this society has the odd zombie wandering round everynow and then, but these 'epidemics' are usually finished pretty quickly.

Basically I want to paint the picture of a really fickle, commercial society still operating post-zombie apocalypse.  

Boy, I'm really going to have to figure out what to cut from this to keep it in the allotted time frame!


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Scottie on January 04, 2006, 03:10:04 AM
Dean, visit this site for air compressed gun shot wounds.

http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/blood/

Gushing blood can be accomplished by opening the airvalve and pumping a steady stream of air through the hose so long as a steady stream of fake blood is in the hose. Air goes in, blood comes out.

I'm still experimenting with ripping flesh. For low budget, your best bet is to hide the real tearing under a t-shirt and only showing the hanging tendrils and bone from the ends of the arm and from the torso. Skin is a tough consistency to match in a tear. Sorry I can't help any more.


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on January 04, 2006, 04:47:09 AM

Well the film is in Black and white so the colouring shouldn't be a problem!

Bah, my timeframe for this project just got sliced in half, so I'm going to just have to go with the low budget, crappy effects options anyway so it's all good.  Thanks for the help!


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Amanda on January 07, 2006, 08:21:38 PM
Dean - your question made me think of this movie:

http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com/movies/fido.php


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: dean on January 07, 2006, 10:07:17 PM

Damn... whoever said that original thought is dead must be right [or just ripped off someone else]

Ah well, at least mine's different for the most part!  A bit annoying though!


Title: Re: Zombie Project Questions
Post by: Amanda on January 08, 2006, 09:30:15 AM
Sorry 'bout that.....