Perished
Written & Directed by Aaron McCann & Stefan Androv Radanovich
2011, Australia
This accomplished piece of apocalyptic cinema is obviously not for any readers suffering from zombie burnout.
For those readers not afflicted with that particular cinematic condition, you are in for an intense and very well made look at one man’s struggle with the end of the world as he knows it.
Perished has shades of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend and that is intended as a very strong compliment.
M is for Malnutrition
Written & Directed by Peter Czikrai
2013, Slovakia
An ABCs of Death 2 contest entry, Czikrai’s zombie short may be slightly over-directed at the beginning but ends up very effectively channeling a classic Twilight Zone feel in the best way by film’s end.
Zombie burnout may be growing in the horror community but Czikrai finds a way to hit a fresh note just as Ben Howling & Yolanda Ramke did with Cargo and creates something compelling and memorable.
Cizkrai also wrote and directed the exceptional horror short films Good Night and A….
Cargo
Directed by Ben Howling & Yolanda Ramke
Screenplay by Yolanda Ramke
2013, Australia
At this point in cinematic history, it’s very difficult to make something special in the zombie subgenre.
Ben Howling (great name for a horror director) and Yolanda Ramke do just that with Cargo as the directing duo puts the focus on the devastating personal losses that follow in the wake of a plague of the undead.
Spoiler
Written & Directed by Daniel Thron
2011, USA
Incorporating a high-tech police procedural element, Spoiler’s unique take on a zombie apocalypse has been very accurately described as “Michael Mann meets George Romero” by both viewers and Thron himself.
An accomplished visual effects artist who made a crime short film called Code 77 in 2015, let’s hope Thron returns soon to the world of horror filmmaking.
DRAG
Written & Directed by Mark Pavia
1993, USA
Much has been written about how Stephen King was very impressed by Pavia’s zombie short film which led to Pavia co-screenwriting and directing the film adaptation of King’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker-influenced short story The Night Flier (1997).
The talented Pavia has since had difficulty launching another feature film but that is not for lack of effort as the screenwriter/director has made it into various stages of development on horror projects including Slice, an adaptation of the acclaimed zombie comic book series Deadworld and a 1980s-style killer Santa Claus film Sick Nick to name a few.
Pavia has recently announced he’s working on an anthology film based on four Stephen King short stories called The Reaper’s Image and is currently in production on a new horror film called Fender Bender.