Change Your Image
seveng
Reviews
Zombie Planet 2: Adam's Revenge (2005)
Very few zombies, tons of action
Interestingly enough, Zombie Planet 2 actually isn't a zombie film. However, George Bonilla does a nice job of tying up all of the loose ends from Zombie Planet 1.
Pressed to assign a genre to this film, I would say that it falls closer to the action/adventure segment than it does horror.
The fight scenes in this film are incredible. Cheney (Mike O' Donnell) goes toe-to-toe with Kane (Frank Farhat) in some nice martial arts work.
There is no wire-work at all, nor computer-enhanced camera tricks. Just straight action, reminiscent of 1970's martial arts films. Kudo's to the stunt department on this film.
Matt Perry, (not the guy from Friends),returns as Adam. Perry is one of the strongest actors in both of the Zombie Planet films, and his on-screen charisma really makes this film.
Like the original, Zombie Planet 2 is a bit long. I actually ended up watching it in two segments. However, I can forgive George Bonilla for his lack of pacing, because of the well-structured story. Bonilla's later films, 'Dance With a Vampire' and 'The Edison Death Machine' are paced much better, but ZP 2 still stands up as a great independent film. Finding out Kane's dark secret alone is worth the price of admission.
The Edison Death Machine (2006)
Incredibly Original
We had the opportunity to see The Edison Death Machine at the Kentucky Theater recently. George Bonilla has outdone himself this time with a wonderfully original story. The film opens with a three minute silent film that is claimed to have been found in a vault. While there are a precious few things that give away the fact that the silent film isn't truly authentic, I can see if fooling numerous viewers. It has the look and feel of a 1920's film. The pasty makeup, the over-acting, the grainy quality, the music - it's all there. The silent short was a truly unique way to open the film.
Once we get into the film itself, the story is slow to get moving. But once it does, there is non-stop action until the finale. Henry (Stacey Gillespie) is the down-on-his-luck museum director who is set up by the beautiful Karen (Ashley Arkels) and unwittingly become part of an international crime ring led by Renee (Billy Blackwell).
The interesting thing is that while Renee is technically the villain here, he becomes this odd sort of anti-hero that we find ourselves rooting for when the cold-blooded mob boss Dominic Contessi (Frank Santoroski)comes onto the scene. Renee, Henry, Karen and the gang have decided to retire from a life of crime when Dominic surfaces. We are nearly an hour into the film before we meet Dominic, but we soon realize that he has been there the whole time, watching Renee's every move. Dominic forces them back into using the machine, putting the retirement on hold. The way Dominic chooses to express his seriousness on the issue will shock you. You'll have to see it.
Of course, the real stars of this film are the resurrected corpses brought back to life by the Edison Machine. The make-up effects are top-notch; the work with foam-latex translates to film very well. This is almost becoming a lost art with many big-budget films using CGI these days.
The Edison Death Machine is a well-done independent film. Bonilla presents a thoroughly professional look and feel on a small budget. Of course, it's the story that really makes this project work.
Dance with a Vampire (2006)
Wildly Entertaining
I wasn't sure to expect when I read that 'Dance with a Vampire' was a story about disco dancing vampires stuck in the seventies that return in 2004, but George Bonilla has put together a wildly entertaining film. We went to the premiere at the Kentucky Theater last week, and were treated to a great story, with tons of action, that was both scary and funny at the same time. Among the best scenes is when the vampires enter a biker bar looking for a disco that was there thirty years earlier. They find that the upstairs disco, long closed, still has working sound equipment. They break into a dance number wearing full disco outfits that quickly turns into a bloodbath.
The characters of Redwood Justin and Bolt Upright have some great interaction while Redwood is trying to decide if Bolt is truly a skilled vampire hunter, or just a delusional homeless wacko. Stacey Gillespie and Matt Perry are perfect in these roles, and Amy Wills, as Glenda, is as beautiful a leading lady as you could hope to cast.