Let's face it, folks. The zombie horror sub-genre has really been done to death (pun intended), what with all the sequels, remakes, and shoddy straight-to-DVD crud that delivers little to nothing new. So it's really saying something to note that this particular reimagining of Romero's 1968 classic is anything but another dreary run-of-the-mill rehash. Almost 150 artists from all over the world pay affectionate tribute to their favorite scenes and the picture's most iconic moments using all different styles of animation that include oil paintings, comic book panels, acrylic, CGI, legos, stop-motion animation, rotoscoping, Claymation, and even sock puppets (!). Some approaches are serious and respectful, others more comic and irreverent, all are impressive for their admirable sense of bold go-for-broke imagination alone. Granted, the broad assortment of wildly contrasting styles occasionally threaten to cancel each other out, but fortunately director Mike Schneider keeps it all cohesive and compelling throughout. Wisely retaining the original score and voices of the cast members, this film does a surprisingly sound job of recapturing the stark terror and grim humor of this groundbreaking fright feature without ever diminishing its impact or importance. Best of all, this movie offers one the rare opportunity to see the living dead premise from a fresh and unique perspective. Proof positive that there's still plenty of life left in the moldy old zombie horror sub-genre.
A brilliantly novel and creative take on George Romero's seminal horror landmark
15 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers