“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.”
By Maud
All right, ghosts and ghouls, it’s that time of year when we ready ourselves with spooky vibes and spooky aesthetics–a time to scare the ever-loving bejesus out of your significant other or fellow hydro-homies with a choice of horror films and anthologies.
Thank goodness the market is full of delicious, tantalizing blood-curdlers at your fingertips. But that doesn’t mean all of them are good. In fact, when it comes to this new “retelling” of a classic, I’d say ‘keep on searching, ’cause you ain’t gunna find satisfaction in Night of the Animated Dead.
First I’d like to note that I am quite familiar with the original Night Of the Living Dead by the legendary George A. Romero and the many, many, M A N Y retellings that it has undergone over the last few years. I remember a time when they did a scene-by-scene live-cast of the, side by side. Live. You cannot joke about this–it was a BIZARRE experience. For those of you who have been living under a metaphorical boulder, Night of the Living Dead is a zombie horror cult classic where we briefly follow Barbara and Ben as they experience a horrific phenomenon and “try their best” to survive amongst the onslaught of somewhat intellectually functioning zombies–an effort that ultimately proves to be fruitless. You want the official synopsis? Sure:
In Night of the Animated Dead, siblings Barbara and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery in Pennsylvania when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbara flees and takes refuge in an abandoned farmhouse along with stranded motorist Ben and four local survivors found hiding in the cellar. Together, the group must fight to stay alive against the oncoming horde of zombies while also confronting their own fears and prejudices.
But enough about this introductory shit: lets get BRUTAL.
First of all who the hell asked for this????? Like??? Who??? Whoever did, you were clearly deprived of any sustenance, love and affection.
I’m all for a great animated story. However, this was just a gosh-darn waste of potential and most likely budget cuts being obvious as all hell. When I think of the word “retelling,” I think of a story being retold with some dynamic charm, or changes being adjusted into it without compromising the integrity of the story. Couple that with the freedom that animation offers, and you’d think there’d be some exciting scenes and key moments to see in this version.
No. No not here. Not today, Satan.
In the beginning, I recognized the style. It’s somewhat akin the animated adult comedy series Archer but like…Bad. The bland voice acting and the kinda sorta Scooby Doo-esque stylistic choices that accompanied it did us no favors whatsoever. It seemed like the main focal points were just the background settings and the sprinkling of SOME additional gore scenes; there was much care and attention invested into them, as opposed to the main story itself.
The main characters were animated so stiffffffffffffffffffly it made my joints hurt every time they moved–which is honestly quite disappointing (and painful), as the characters and their companions are the main focus throughout the movie. And the poor quality is especially surprising because this comes from Warner Bros. Animation. Usually, when I think of WB I think of quality content like they delivered throughout my childhood. But not this time.
It was rather difficult to get through the dialogue. It lacked intense, emotional cues at key moments; the only thing I got excited for was an interesting-looking green arm chair in the background during a scene where the characters were just meeting one another. I. Took. Time. To. Point. Out. The. Chair. And. Said; “That’s an interesting fucking chair, bro.” The best and ONLY scene worth watching, in my opinion, was the demise of the young couple. Just a split-second brutal end to both of them. Harsh, yes, but that young lady was ALWAYS borderline whispering her lines. (Homage to season 1 Green Arrow series???? I dunno). I audibly laughed out loud to a point where my significant other glanced over with great concern.
The ending didn’t offer anything dynamic or even remotely interesting, since it was already expected halfway through the movie. Overall I was significantly disappointed at what I had witnessed. If anything, I’d steer clear of this clone and invest your time in the original 1968 version; there just isn’t much substance to quench anyone’s horror sweet tooth here. And to whomever brought this up as a great idea: I would like to personally tussle with you in the local Walmart parking lot.
Night of the Animated Dead is now available on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD, and for rent on Amazon for $3.99.
