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Released By: Vicious Circle Films
Released On: 10/18/2011
Director: J.T. Seaton
Cast: Peter Stickles, Michelle Tomlinson, Carlos Larkin
The Film:
In a not-so-distant future, the concept of the zombie is pretty well-known; enough so that the origin of the creatures is discussed in animated educational videos for school children. Zombies, as the film explains, are just people that we love who have been infested by spores. When the people that we love pass on, the spores awaken and animate the body. No biggie. Sure, they may have the urge to munch on human flesh, but they're no more dangerous than the irate neighbourhood dog that the kids avoid. The need to feast on other people is basically boiled down to any addiction, like alcohol, drugs, or gambling.
And so it goes that when the friends of George, a laid-back California dude who has recently become one of the undead (and looks strangely like Damien Echols of the West Memphis 3), have reservations about his man-eating tendencies, they do the natural thing and call in an intervention therapist. Much like the counselors on modern reality shows, George's interventionist decides that the best way to deal with the affliction is to have George's friends gather at his house and discuss how his murderous tendencies are affecting them.
Sure, it sounds like a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre something-or-other, but George: A Zombie Intervention has a lot more going for it than a simple whodunit. At a time when zombie films have oversaturated the market and independent horror essentially equals suck, this film mixes up the gore and the comedy with good results. Although the over-the-top humour falls falls flat for most of the gags, the subtle comedic jabs play out surprisingly well. A solid ensemble in the cast department doesn't hurt either; though some of the acting could best be described as amateur, the majority of the performances are decently carried out. Relative newcomers to the scene, writers Brad Hodson and J.T. Seaton have delivered a script that won't blow you away, but definitely succeeds where many others have failed; entertainment. George's story is entertaining, without being overblown and overambitious. Likewise, Seaton's style of directing, straight-ahead and not lavish, delivers the story in an appropriate manner and doesn't get lost in taking itself too seriously.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vicious Circle Films presents George: A Zombie Intervention on DVD with an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer that looks decent enough, given its low-budget roots. The occasional artefact may present itself if you're looking for that sort of thing, but otherwise, it's perfectly acceptable. There's not a huge range of colour to be found, being that most of the film is shot inside with lower light, but the picture stays pretty sharp. Likewise, the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is adequate, being that the film is primarily dialogue driven. No hisses or pops to be found, and the spoken word stays clear and coherent.
Breaking Glass has also included some extra features on the disc. First up is the Original Ending/Deleted Scenes that run just over 11 minutes and offer a slightly different ending and some alternate footage.
Next up is a Behind The Scenes which runs 14 minutes and focuses on the re-shoots done in a Venice kitchen, with some good low-budget gore effects.
Lloyd Kaufman Outtakes runs a way-too-long 27 minutes, and features Troma dude Kaufman doing his PSA speech from the film. It's entertaining for a few minutes, but definitely overkill at almost a half hour. There's also some really bad accordion music done for pretty much no reason.
Zombie Group Therapy is a fake group therapy circle session done for zombies. It's not mic'd properly so the audio suffers, and it's overall pretty lame and not worth bothering with. At 11 minutes, it falls into the overkill department.
A slide show groups together some promo shots from the film, and Sunday on the Set With George is another Behind the Scenes featurette that runs about 4 minutes and has some squirrels and candy to jazz things up.
Two Commentaries are also included; the one with Writer Brad Hodson and Director/Writer J.T. Seaton has some interesting information about the film, dealing with location and the problems of shooting with a low budget, among other things. The second commentary features eight of the cast members and, although it contains some amusing anecdotes, is way too confusing to listen to without a moderator.
A Trailer for the film is also included, as well as 3 other trailers, one of which looks like it was downloaded from youtube.
The Final Word:
The advertising stating that it's the funniest horror-comedy since Shaun of the Dead is not exactly accurate, but George: A Zombie Intervention is a decently done flick with a different take on the zombie genre.
