Entries Tagged 'websites' ↓

365 Days of the Dead – Every Horror, Every Day!

At 365 Days of the Dead Scott Emerson, a Pennsylvania writer and projectionist, has taken up the honorable challenge of watching and reviewing one zombie movie each day for an entire year. Trolling through the current and archived reviews on 365 is a great way to find out about zombie movies that you have never heard of before and learn more about them from an honest review (and in most cases a video clip) from a person who has watched A LOT of undead cinema. As an added bonus Scott also does reviews of short zombie films and entries from George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead Video Contest.

Other reliable zombie movie resources:

ZMDB - Zombie Movie DataBase
A free, encyclopedic reference of zombie films and television appearances that is searchable alphabetically, chronologically or by country of origin.

Wikipedia - List of Zombie Films

A list of zombie films which is by no means exhaustive but that links to instances where an individual film has its own wikipedia page that may include details on the film's plot, cast, filming, release as well as subsequent historical facts and trivia. An example of such would be the wikipedia entry for the original Night of the Living Dead (1968).

Zombie Movie Reviews from ZRC

The Zombie Reporting Center does reviews of zombie movies pretty often. The ZRC is a great site in general but their film reviews are particularly helpful and in depth.

Was Goerge Romero Hired by President Lyndon B. Johnson?



Our poor Photoshop skills aside, is it possible that Romero's zombie films were commissioned by the U.S. President? If a government knew that the undead existed and that they might one day become a threat to the living population, how would they warn us? Is it possible that a young film-maker from Pittsburgh with no full-length feature experience or ties to the Hollywood community was hired to create a dramatization of a zombie rising so that, in the event of a real undead epidemic, the public would have some idea of what they're up against and how they should respond? These are the questions posed and answered in the affirmative by a recent post from the Night of the Living Romero blog.

What NLR claims to have uncovered is the transcript from a Spring 1967 address by Lyndon B. Johnson to top government officials and community leaders discussing "the Romero Project." Here are some excerpts from that transcript:
[...] My purpose is to bring to your attention an issue of such catastrophic importance that it requires we transcend all human prejudices. I ask all of you now, put aside your differences and bridge your diverse backgrounds. The only distinction that really matters anymore is the distinction between the living and the undead.

[confused glances and slight mumbling is heard]

I’ve spent several nights now, gazing at the Washington sky from my balcony on Pennsylvania Ave, Lady at my side, grappling with the best way to deliver the words I must say to all of you. And I believe Lady put it best: though they may laugh, scoff, protest, or even attempt to leave at first, history always honors direct and truthful leaders. And so in honor that fact, ladies and gentlemen, the dead are walking the earth.

[outbursts, cries, laughter fills them room]

Ladies and Gentlemen, please, contain yourself. Please hold any comments you wish to make about my senility until after I show you what I have seen. Major, please roll the footage.

[Lights dim. Footage comes on of what could be any small southwestern town. Though people are screaming, blood is everywhere, and what looks like human beings with decaying flesh is tearing everything in sight to bits. Even men with guns cannot seem to bring down such devilry]

[The audience is now silent]

My esteemed colleagues, right now you are looking at in the simplest terms the dead rising from the earth to eat the living. Voodoo calls them zombies and I find the name appropriate. We don’t know what caused it and are at a complete loss to what is fueling its onslaught. All we know is that it is happening and that whatever virus or plague drives these creatures is highly contagious.

[He flicks off the video and turns on the light]

We do however possess a certain degree of knowledge about our foes. They possess limited motor skills and an almost complete absence of cognitive processing. They appear to show no need for water, sleep, or even food. Our initial tests confirm that even though they eat human flesh it appears not to sustain them. It’s as if they eat out of the most primal of need. A need we may never fully understand.

But like all organisms, we can stop them. We have discovered that destroying the brain or severing it from the body, we can eliminate the zombie menaces.

I’ll admit, recent decision I’ve made regarding Vietnam and my almost complete inability to follow through with the War on Poverty is in a large part a consequence of what you’ve seen here today. And although popular history will never forgive me for what they can’t possibly understand, I hope that you all will.

As of now, the problem is small and largely isolated in the Southwest. So we can contain it. But for how long? Arrogance and pride, my friends. We cannot let these dual mindsets guide our hand in ignorance ay longer. Too long have these vices led us astray, charging us headfirst into the future, never once facing the consequences of our actions. This arrogance would have us pridefully declare our superiority over the zombie menace, and as a consequence we would never prepare our people for the possibility that we might not be. The grand What If.

We must warn the American people. But can you imagine for one second what that means? Amid the turbulent seas that shake the fragile ship of these 1960’s, could this nation which holds on by hope alone withstand such a blow to their reality?

I think not.

But we cannot leave them unprepared. Thus is our great burden. How do we inform without directly altering, and how to we prepare without alarming?

The solution, ladies and gentlemen, lies in the mind of one man. This man was fortunate to witness the destruction in the Southwest first hand. And because of what he saw, he shares a similar mindset and what must be done. It is my pleasure to introduce you to George Romero[...]
The transcript continues for several pages and is entirely worth a read for anyone interested in the zombie threat. To read the full transcript, check out the Night of the Living Romero blog.

Notes From a User-Generated Apocalypse



Lastdaysjournal.com is a record of future events written by the survivors of a zombie apocalypse. The site, which can be described as part role-playing game, part-blog, and part social network, is now accepting registrations from anyone with a heartbeat and a story left to tell. Having perused lastdaysjournal ourselves, we here at ZNN are quite impressed with how remarkably well this is put together. Each new survivor can join other survivors throughout the globe by contributing to their own on-site journal, uploading images, and recording video and audio logs of their struggle. Below are a few examples of content contributed by existing survivors:

VIDEO: Short video journal entry by a couple barricaded in and getting irritable in Hollywood.



VIDEO: A filmed first encounter with a running corpse by a border patrol officer.



AUDIO: A looping radio message posted by a survivor and heard by several others heard in and around Sydney, Australia. (Listen HERE)

BLOG: YellowDrakex is a surviving youngster who writes a lighthearted blog about what remains of living in a well-protected town in Wisconsin, USA (Read it HERE)

In case you missed all of the above link, you can join the last days journal by going to lastdaysjournal.com.

The ZRC Store is Open!



As of Black Friday, the Zombie Reporting Center has opened it's own webstore offering branded merchandise from their own site. For those of you who have not yet heard of the ZRC, it is easily one of the most thorough and often updated zombie sites on the net today. As loyal ZRC readers, we here at the Zombie Notes Newsgroup whole-heartedly support ZRC's merchandising efforts and suggest to all readers, even if you are not interested in buying zombie merchandise, to check out ZRC for frequent updates on zombie stuff. Below are a few images of the items currently available at the ZRC Store:



ZRC Tees: quality printing in 3 colors on American Apparel shirts. Comes with free ZRC sticker.



Zombie Survival Kit: Comes complete with a copy of Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide, a REAL machete, and a non-functional firearm, all contained in a glass case illuminated from the inside by blue LED lights (not shown).

How to Kill Zombie Robot Jesus Shirts

We here at ZNN found some fun zombie shirts on SplitReason.com, one of which we had thought was sold out but we are glad to now find it is still available considering we are now in the holiday season. See Happy Zombie Jesus Day tee below.



How to Kill a Zombie



Zombies Can't Live on Electronic Brains



Happy Zombie Jesus Day - Originally from Explosm.net

5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen

The fine people over at Cracked.com featured an entertaining article which discussed, you guessed it, five scientific reasons a zombie apocalypse could actually happen. While the article relies heavily on images and references to zombie films, like Return of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead, each reason is supported with some kernel of plausible science. The reasons are also graded as to their likelihood of actually causing an undead armageddon by a helpful, color-coded scale purposely reminiscent of that used by the U.S. government to dictate the country's current terror alert level (pictured below).

Desktop of The Living Dead



WinZombies comes to you from the creator of Horror Hype Blog, a site which covers all things horror related that is also a great source for news and reviews of new horror films, books, and games. The WinZombies program draws zombies that crawl around your desktop, climb your windows, fall off and explode. According to its creator, the program is based on WinPenguins by
Michael Vines (who did all of the hard work), but with substituted animations from MSlugDB. The WinZombies program is still in Beta and the creator is still planning updates, including adding more zombie types and even possibly some sound effects. Until then, this is a still of the current incarnation of WinZombies:

You can download WinZombiesby left clicking HERE and saving the program to your desktop or wherever you want it to go. If you have any difficulty opening WinZombies on your computer or you think you might be able to contribute to the programs further development, see the original WinZombies post on Horror Hype for further instructions.

Versatile Solutions for Modern Surviving



Zombie Outbreak Survival Kits, assembled by Z.E.R.O., the Zombie Emergency Response Operation, have sold out several times from the shop at Fearwerx.com but are now being offered via pre-order for a new shipment to be coming this October. While calling the package a "Survival Kit" may be a little misleading (considering it includes neither a machete, a sidearm nor even a supply of bottled water) there is no doubt that it is an inexpensive collection of unique zombie-themed products that would add a touch of class and decorum to any bomb shelter, boarded-up home or Halloween party. Each kit includes:
  • approx. 20 ft. of "ZOMBIE OUTBREAK" barrier tape
  • 4 warning/hazard signs
  • 8 warning/hazard stickers
  • 16 trading cards
  • 2 toe tags
  • instructional poster
  • sterile "bite kit"
  • glow sticker and lapel button
  • BONUS: Target practice CD-ROM w/game and wallpapers!
The Zombie Outbreak Survival Kit is available for $19.99 alongside a plethora of other zombie products available at Fearwerx.com. All of which are great accessories to the independent Fearwerx production: War of the Dead, an episodic zombie series which premiered last year.

Zombie Squad – Apocalypse Relief Through Disaster Preparedness



While many teams have formed for the purpose of fighting the undead, ZNN holds a special place in its heart for those selfless and fearless groups who actually take to the streets and make a difference. Zombie Squad is such a team, a rare collective of preparedness minded persons who have joined together to educate the public about the importance of self reliance and disaster planning so that in the event of an undead onslaught, or the more common but no less deadly earthquake or tornado, the average citizen will be better able to see to the protection of themselves and their loved ones.

In addition to spreading the ghoul stomping gospel, ZS members plan food drives and other charitable events such as team days on Habitat for Humanity projects. A percentage of the proceeds from the Zombie Squad webstore even goes to support charities like the American Red Cross, Feed my People and the American Cancer Society. In their own words:

"[Zombie Squad's] goal is to educate the public about the importance
of personal preparedness and self reliance, to increase its readiness
to respond to disasters such as Earthquakes, Floods, Terrorism or Zombie
Outbreaks. We want to make sure you are prepared for any crisis situation
that might come along in your daily life which may include having your
face eaten by the formerly deceased."

Support Zombie Squad by donating time and resources if you happen to be in the Missouri or New Jersey area and can attend an upcoming events. If you can not attend an event, you can still show your support by becoming a dues paying member of Zombie quad and perhaps even picking up some cool ZS merch in the ZS Webstore.

If you want to learn more about Zombie Squad, you should visit the Zombie Squad website and listen to a behind the scenes interview with Zombie Squad members.

If you are interested in receiving updates from Zombie Squad, you can also join their google group or subscribe to their blog feed or e-newsletter.


The Dead Walk…and Run…For Office.



“I would certainly prefer an undead Kennedy to a living Republican in 2008,” Washington political strategist, Peter Loge, said, adding that "if worse comes to worst, I’ll vote for the zombie.” In that vein, Zombie Presidents has released a line of t-shirts, bumper stickers and other cool gear supporting the candidacies of undead presidents from our nation's past over the existing options for presidential hopefuls.

Whether you think of bumper stickers, t-shirts and babydolls claiming to support campaigning corpses as social satire on the quality of candidates available to today's voting public OR you see them as just a great opportunity to portray well known guardians of the executive as putrified corpses, most zombie fans would have to agree that the concept is fun and the art used by Zombie Presidents is pretty awesome (see below).

In addition to offering great products though, Zombie Presidents has also begun a photo contest that will award several prizes each month. The contest, titled Dead Men Running, will involve Zombie Presidents selecting its favorites from user submited images of Zombie Presidents shirts being worn at political campaign events and in the proximity of campaigning hopefuls.

To learn more about this contest, see the official Dead Men Running page on the Zombie Presidents site. Also, if you are interested in purchasing Zombie Presidents gear, go directly to the Zombie Presidents page on WikedCoolStuff.com.