Zombie Fest

"I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,
I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down,
And will let the dead go up to eat the living!
And the dead will outnumber the living!"

-Epic of Gilgamesh

A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful sorcerer. There are several possible etymologies of the word zombie. One possible origin is jumbie, the West Indian term for "ghost". Another is nzambi, the Kongo word meaning "spirit of a dead person." According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word entered English circa 1871; it's derived from the Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, which in turn is of Bantu origin. A zonbi is a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will. It is akin to the Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost. -Wikipedia

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Maiba naman, puro na lang kasi ako laro online pag weekends, kaya for a change. Zombie horror fest sa DVD for 2 days ang inyong lingkod. Since mukhang bloated zombie na rin siya, might as well appreciate my own kind. Haha! Typical American bloody and gore type ang mga movies na ito (kaya naman nakakasawa na minsan to the point na mas gusto ko ang Asian "psychological horror" compared to the western counterparts). Walang pinagbago ang suot nila, gusgusin pa rin sila, pale-skinned, naglalaway ng dugo and other bloody fluids. Pinagkaiba nga lang minsan eh yung mode ng pag-atake nila, pag-kain sa tao, pag-iisip nila, galaw at minsan may personality pa ata. Kawawa naman ang mga hindi bida kasi nagiging zombies lang sila in the end at yung bida either half-alive or puro dugo ang parte ng katawan.

Kahit mapili pa ako sa mga movies eh no choice naman ako kung walang pagpipilian lalo na't nasa pirated DVD package siya (Chairman Edu sensya na po!), although may mga luma namang palabas worth watching. Umay na kasi ang iba ung tipong super tanga talaga na andyan na nga ang kalaban hala sige magpapakagat ka nalang para tumakbo ang story.

28 Days/Weeks Later. Ok ang movie na ito, hindi ka aantukin lalo na't puro sprinter ata mga zombies dito affected by "rage virus", wala lang ang bilis ng infection, malawayan ka lang ng mga ito, within seconds buong area infested na. Nakakatakot isipin na what if maging "air-borne" ang ganitong virus within minutes siguro buong mundo naapektuhan na at magiging wasteland na ang Earth. Can't wait for the next sequel 28 Months later sa 2010 i think. Hmm 28 years, 28 decades parang imposible na mukhang malilimitan na ang mga title na gagawin baka mag prequel na sila ng "28 hours later".

Resident Evil series. Yeah given na ito na dapat kong panoorin since nilalaro ko ito during those PS days (sigh.. how i miss those goolf old PS times with teh PS boys). Buti na lang at kahit papano loyal siya sa game at kumuha ng reference like the characters, villains and the story mismo. Good old Nemesis, Licker eh andun pa din. Sa simula matagal ang infection which takes a couple of hours habang dumadami ang sequel eh pabilis rin ang oras ng paghawa. Final solution nalang palagi ang pagbomba sa Raccoon City. Huhu!

Night of the Living Dead and other Living Dead series by George Romero. Basically ito ang naging foundation ng modern zombie horror genre. Kung paano sila kumilos, kumain and manghawa ng iba. I have to admit medyo inantok ako since iba na ang panahon ngayon. Haha! Wala lang kasing bagal kasi ng mga zombies ang takbo ng story pero it's worth naman since it's a classic. Ang nag-eenjoy naman ako kung paano nila pagpiyestahan mga nakakain nila.

The Serpent and the Rainbow. By Wes Craven another horror director, itong movie na ang ito nag nag-uugnay sa zombie sa Haitian voodo folklore which scientifically proved (according to the movie) kung paano nagiging zombie ang isang tao thru injection of a certain chemical.

Marami pa akong napanood na movie that day pero yung iba eh "indie" na siya and err not worth your time watching since poorly made ang iba, yung tipong parang thesis lang sa school or walang kwentang story. Kaya pag hindi ko naintindihan o nagustuhan ang takbo eh lipat agad ng bagong movie. Wala lang, marami pa akong hindi napapanood talaga at kulang ang mga susunod na Saturdays and Sundays para dito. Parang divertion ko na rin para makatipid at pumirmi na lang sa haus kesa magliwaliw sa labas.