Movies
Ninja Zombies
“Sometimes a simple marketing gimmick of labeling a film as a cross between two fan favorites works. In the case of Ninja Zombies, claiming the film is Zombieland meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer will probably turn some heads. However, it would be more accurately labeled as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for half-wit adults.”
Sometimes a simple marketing gimmick of labeling a film as a cross between two fan favorites works. In the case of Ninja Zombies, claiming the film is Zombieland meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer will probably turn some heads. However, it would be more accurately labeled as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for half-wit adults.
The film’s marketing also boasts a few other things: amazing action sequences, suspense, gore, violence, and plenty of laughs. Written and directed by Noah Cooper, the movie definitely delivers over the top ninja fighting action – which could be considered violent. Sadly, it has zero suspense unless you consider anticipation for the end to come. The production boasts amazing quality – including screen spattered blood – much like a video game – but the biggest hang up is the acting. That is where the laughs come in.
The story of orphaned 25 year old Dameon Kim finding he must fight the agile undead -with the help of the spirit of a samurai isn’t half bad; it’s actually pretty solid. Having a thespian that knows his exact cues and delivers his lines with the inflection of a grade school talent show, though, is brutal. And it doesn’t stop there. The ‘hot girl’ Trish is practically wooden and Goth sword expert Kara’s performance is so unbelievably forced and cliché that it had to have been done on purpose. Even Lloyd Kaufman shows up as himself in complete over-the-top fashion. The only relief, if you can call it that, comes in the form of G and Lar-Dawg – the Bulk and Skull of this world. The two bumbling idiots are convincing with their overuse of ‘That’s what she said’ and the like.
The rest of the cast is mostly skilled swordsmen and martial art experts – and it shows. Probably the most impressive piece of Ninja Zombies are the films namesakes. 75% of the film is filled with fighting that is incredibly impressive even if some set pieces are overpowered by filters and effects. Unfortunately, this is also a downfall, as it becomes repetitive and definitely gives it the villain of the week Power Ranger feel. Even the effects on the sword of destiny (that will rid the earth of the ninja zombies) looks like it’s out of the inserted stock footage from the original Japanese TV show.
Entertainment-wise, Ninja Zombies fits perfectly into the world of Americans loving Japanese things like eating Pocky, cos-playing at anime cons, and living otaku.
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
You must be logged in to post a comment.