African-made zombie movie rises above Romero rip-offs
<b>Reel Life review: 'The Dead'</b>
At least when the U.K.'s Ford brothers rip off George Romero's zombie formula - an Armageddon of cannibalistic, shuffling corpses that can only be stopped by destroying their heads - they do it with visual panache.
In their horror tale "The Dead" (not to be confused with John Huston's Oscar-nominated drama of the same title), cinematographer Jon Ford creates an inferno on earth by shooting on the red and arid African landscapes captured in grainy, old-fashioned 35 mm celluloid.
The visuals elevate the genre and turn "The Dead" into a hellish vision of the world's end. Both Jon and his brother Howard Ford hail from the world of TV commercials, so their attention to detail - the use of color, wide lenses, shadows and frame compositions - makes "The Dead" the best-photographed zombie movie since Romero's 1968 classic.
Not as much attention has been lavished on the dramatic aspects of the movie, or on the plot, mostly about two characters looking in buildings and wandering around until they run into carnivorous dead people whose heads must be shot, crushed or lopped off.
White American soldier Lt. Brian Murphy (Ron Freeman), the sole survivor of the crash of a rescue plane, hooks up with black African soldier Sergeant Daniel Dembele (Prince David Osei). Murphy, a family man, agrees to help Dembele look for his teen son, reportedly sheltered in a nearby military camp.
If Murphy had been made an Afrikaner, "The Dead" might have been a nice metaphor for old Apartheid enemies coming together to combat a mutual enemy. If only.
Osei plays his soldier with stoic charisma, but Freeman's attempts at revealing his vulnerable side come off as vacuously amateur and unconvincing.
One supremely disturbing scene in "The Dead" stands out. Murphy comes across a screaming mother carrying an infant. Her compound-fractured leg forces her to walk slower than the zombies surrounding her. Murphy has only minutes to decide what to do with the baby - and the baby's suffering mother.
Still, "The Dead" arrives at an unfortunate time when it will be compared to AMC's engrossing TV series "The Walking Dead," a show (just picked up for a third season) that has breathed new spontaneous life into the undead genre.
Far more interesting than "The Dead" is the story behind making it.
The filmmakers, especially Freeman, became sick from malaria and other diseases. They were constantly stopped by corrupt, armed police, who demanded payoffs or they would impound their equipment.
Cast and crew worked in sweltering heat with no running water or restroom facilities or AC. And with cockroaches running up their legs.
Howard Ford was mugged at knife point, his cash, credit cards and driving license taken. (Then the cops tried to jail him for driving without a license, of course.)
Forget "The Dead."
"The Making of The Dead" would be much scarier.
"The Dead" opens at the River East 21 in Chicago. Rated R for graphic violence and gore. 95 minutes. ★ ★ ½
<b>Make our day, Clint!</b>
Join me and James Bond novelist/film historian Raymond Benson as Dann & Raymond's Movie Club presents "Make My Day: The Films of Clint Eastwood," 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg. Clips from "Dirty Harry," "A Fistful of Dollars," "Play Misty for Me," "Mystic River" and 13 others. Free admission! Call (847) 985-4000 or go to schaumburglibrary.org.
<b>Cat or bee, Banderas?</b>
At the red-carpet premiere of "Puss in Boots" last week at Chicago's ICON Theater, I grabbed star Antonio Banderas' attention as he passed by along with his co-star Salma Hayek:
Which is more difficult to portray as an animated character, Puss in Boots or the Nasonex Bee?
"Puss in Boots!" the actor replied. "No question. He is dramatically stronger."
Banderas looked at me and added, "That was a good answer to not-a-good question."
<b>Scary Halloween stuff</b>
As we fall into the Halloween weekend, here are some last-second suggestions for scary fare, in addition to Lisa Friedman Miner's 13 things to do in today's Time out!
"Munger Road," the chilling new feature shot in St. Charles and Bartlett by St. Charles native Nicholas Smith. At selected theaters. Go to mungerroad.com for details.
The 19th annual "Halloween Happening" happens at 9 a.m. at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove, with a kids' costume contest, followed by an 11 a.m. screening of Jim Carrey starring in "Mr. Popper's Penguins." For film critics, that really is a horror movie. Go to classiccinemas.com.
"Flick or Treat," a joint program between the Chicago International Children's Film Festival" and the historic Music Box Theatre. "Princess Lillifee and the Unicorn" will be shown at 9:30 a.m. followed by "The Magicians" at 11 a.m. at the Music Box, 3733 N. Southport, Chicago. Admission: $9 for adults, $6 for children. Go to facets.org/kids or call (773) 281-9075.
<b>'Last Rites of Joe May'</b>
The Midwest Film Festival presents the Chicago-made feature "The Last Rites of Joe May" (starring former Chicago cop Dennis Farina) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Century Centre, 2828 N. Clark St., Chicago. A social hour precedes the movie. A Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the movie. Go to midwestfilm.com/nowshowing or midwestfilm.org.
<i> Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire's column runs Fridays in Time out!</i>