Zombiefeast

(2006)

reviewed by Jonathon Rocks

12.17.2007

“ZombieFeast” is a collection of films that were competitors in the “Scrapshot” film competition. Unlike a traditional film festival, Scrapshots is set up as a film competition, where each filmmaker is given the same general subject and the same restrictions with which to come up with an entry. While such competitions don't often yield the highest quality products in terms of production value and scope, they do push the limits of the filmmaker’s creativity and resourcefulness.

The limits of this particular competition were obviously that all films must be, in some way, about zombies, and each film must be comprised of one, uninterrupted take. As hefty an assignment as that may be, it was interesting to see the different ways each filmmaker went about the subject matter. While the quality of the films would leave even the most open minded mainstream movie fan rolling his eyes, the fact is-- that's not who these movie are made for. These films are made for the hardcore, gore-fiends who are more forgiving of a film's shortcomings if it's made up for by the sheer ingenuity and zeal with which the guts are spilled onscreen-- and all in one take!

This film bought back memories of the days when a few friends and a dv-camcorder was all I needed to shoot a backyard masterpiece of my own. The acting is bad, the sound is atrocious-- but the heart is there. I couldn't help but think of someone like “American Movie's” Mark Borchardt, whose excitement for making films perhaps overshadows his talent-- by a lot-- yet he still has loads of fans. These films aren't for the mainstream, nor would they want to be. They are for the niche horror fans-- in fact they're pretty much only for them, and I have a feeling that's just fine by them.

Score: 2.5 out of 5

Purchase your copy at Champions of Hell: Zombiefeast