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SYNOPSIS __________
STORY SOURCE:
Toronto
Film Festival
Berkeley is a quaint little town where you
can find good fishing and homemade pies. Life here is like
living in a holiday postcard until a meteorite shower rips
through a lazy summer day. The onslaught of space rocks brings
a deadly plague that twists the happy citizens into zombies
with insatiable appetites for human flesh.
Led by Rene, a beauty queen fallen from grace,
a group of desperate survivors finds shelter in an old farmhouse
owned by Marion, who was cast out of the town for telling
weird tales of alien abduction. With an army of rotting corpses
surrounding their sanctuary, our survivors count their ammo.
When escape is within reach, a discovery sheds light on the
epidemic: the infection is only the first step of a greater
plan.
Springing from the imaginations of twin brothers
Peter and Michael Spierig, Undead is an ambitious low-budget
endeavour that succeeds on every level. With the zombie genre,
there is no way to avoid certain obvious references and the
Spierig brothers bow their heads in respect not only to George
Romero, the Zombie King himself, but to the Princes of the
domain, Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson – and even to the
Court Jester of gunplay, John Woo. Undead is more splat-stick
comedy than pure horror, with zombie fish, an insecure cop
who spews the most inventive curses ever and re-animated torsos
galore.
The groundwork for this tale was laid out in
a trilogy of short films the brothers shot while in college
in the mid-nineties – Attack of the Undead, Rampage
of the Undead and Massacre of the Undead. After cutting their
teeth on these and various other shorts, they went ahead with
their first feature, producing and directing their tale of
horrorific havoc in an equal partnership.
Zombie fans: forget Resident Evil. Replace
that experience with Undead, a rollicking horror ride loaded
with laughs and grue that threatens to slop out from the screen.
– Colin Geddes
Peter and Michael Spierig were born in Germany
and reside in Brisbane, Australia. They started making films
at the age of ten after discovering their father’s home
movie camera. Both graduated from Queensland College of Art
in Australia, Peter with a degree in film, Michael with a
degree in graphic design. They have jointly directed dozens
of television commercials, numerous music videos and more
than fifteen short films, including their Undead Trilogy (94-96),
The Garden (97) and the multiple award-winner The Big Picture
(00). Undead (02) is their first feature.
DETAILS__________
Studio:
Lions Gate Films
Release Date:
TBA 2004 (USA)
September 4, 2003 (Australia)
December 22, 2003 (DVD / VHS; Australia)
RELATED LINKS__________
"making of" video clips:
(scroll all the way down)
undeadmovie.com --- click
here
Undead interview with
brothers/ directors, Peter & Michael
Spierig
joblo.com/arrow --- click
here
ARC FX Official site (Make-up
and Creature Effects):
arcfx.com.au --- click
here
Composer,
CLIFF BRADLE's Official site:
cliffbradley.com --- CLICK
HERE
Cinematographer, ANDREW STRAHORN's
Official site:
andystrahorn.com --- CLICK
HERE
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