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End Times
State of Desolation
USA 2023
produced by Jamie Bernadette, Jim Towns, Craig Stark, Travis Ely (executive), Christopher Otiko (executive) for Shadow Kamera/The Asylum
directed by Jim Towns
starring Jamie Bernadette, Craig Stark, Dominique Swain, Kaiwi Lyman, Dan Buran, Sadie Katz, Jessica Morris, Maria Olsen, Victoria De Mare, Stefanie Estes, Madison Wenn, Brett Easton, Sam Aotaki, David Villada, Dave Johnson, Bruce Burns, Ire Wardlaw, Brooke Pierson, Kaylee Brown, Matt Poeschl, Mandy Woodward, Paige Snyder, Moe Fujimoto, Paris Verra, Jackie Lastra, Yohan Lee, Nyabel Lual, Chris Zafares, Avi Bernard, Fritzi Marth (= Fritzi Luca), London Durham, Mia Danielle, Jamey Srock, Bryan Hanna, Evan Clements, DaVohn Williams
written by Jim Towns, music by Michael Zeibekis
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Claire (Jamie Bernadette) has just partied the night away ... and then
woken up in the thick of the zombie apocalypse, to which she, in only a
short dress and flip-flops is by no means dressed, much less equipped. So
for the next two weeks she manages to stay alive more by mistake than
design, as she's not only prey to the zombies but also to the living, like
rapist Ciro (Dan Buran) and his gang. Freddie (Craig Stark), former covert
special ops for the gouvernment, just had to shoot his wife (Victoria de
Mare) after she had turned and since then rather aimlessly wanders the
dilapitated city. He stumbles into Claire, saves her from some zombies,
and somehow takes a (very innocent) liking in the girl, so he persuades
her to accompany him as with him she at least has a fighting chance. And
he teaches her in the art of fighting and killing, skills she has to apply
a lot over the next several weeks, be it killing zombies or having her
revenge on Ciro and his gang. Eventually, and rather unexpectedly, they
find a safe haven, the Garden run by Hayden (Kaiwi Lyman) like a
hippie commune. Freddie's initially skeptical, but the days in the Garden
do Claire wonders, mentally - it's just, some of the Garden's residents,
first and foremost Hayden's favourite girl Deirdre (Sadie Katz), might
have their own agenda ... Genre favourite Maria Olsen plays one of
Ciro's gangmembers, Dominique Swain one of the Garden's residents. This
is as much a zombie film as it's a character piece for both Jamie
Bernadette and Craig Stark's characters, giving them depth, motivation and
an arc, and that these two - amid a solid ensemble - give excellent
performances doesn't hurt one bit either. Still, the film has everything
one has come to expect from the zombie genre, including jump scares,
violence and bloody deaths, and a feel of desparation films like this one
desperately need. And filmmaker Jim Towns sure has put an emphasis on
suspense and atmosphere, making this a film as tense as it is gloomy, and
a very worthy genre entry indeed.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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