The Digital Dread Report for May 21st

This week's release plate is most definitely a full one, and there are a few movies that we just have to get on day one.

Shout! Factory's Horror imprint, Scream Factory,  leads the Blu-ray charge this week with not one, but two new Horror classics being added to their already impressive catalog. The Burning isn't one of our favorite 80's slasher flicks, but it's a sentimental fave, and one that we need on BD. We've seen the new Blu-ray transfer, and it's truly gorgeous. The Town that Dreaded Sundown is another old school classic that will have its fans salivating, as it too has been given a nice treatment by Scream Factory. Both are well worth picking up for even causal Horror fans.

You didn't think that Shout! Factory was done for the week, did you? Well then you must have forgotten about their release of the ultra-cheesy, 1990 live-action Captain America flick. It's a bad movie in every sense of the word, but it's funny as hell to watch, and for $11, it's a great addition to anyone's bad movie collection.

The ABC's of Death hits BD today as well, and with a price tag under $20, we can't resist picking it up. This movie is uneven, and even bad in parts, but when it's good, it's fantastic. It's worth at least a rent, and we think a buy, just to see "D is for Dogfight" in majestic 1080p glory.

There are also a slew of DVD re-releases out this week, that are good additions to non-HD collections. We don't buy DVD's anymore, but if we did, Suspect Zero and April Fool's Day would be at the top of our list.        

We're really curious to check out Nightfall, as we're suckers for Asian Crime Thrillers, and this one looks really solid. I'm sure that we'll check out The Last Stand and Parker here soon enough, and probably most of the rest of the rent's too. Ooga Booga looks funny in a really, really bad way.

True Blood we'll be skipping. We haven't liked that show in years. For those of you who still love it, knock yourselves out.

As for the movie's you should skip this week, the trailers for all of the above titles look pretty bad, but the one that scares us the most is Beautiful Creatures; Hollywood needs to stop trying to find its "Next Twilight", and focus on finding its "Next Not Twilight." Enough with the half-assed supernatural love stories already. If they must continue to make them, then they could at least start making them better.

Blu-ray Review- Warm Bodies (2013)

(aka The Emo Dead)
Release Date: On DVD & Blu-ray, June 4th.
Country: USA.
Written by: Joanathan Levine and Issac Marion.
Directed by: Joanathan Levine.
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rod Corddry, Analeigh Tipton and John Malkovich.


Here's the thing about Warm Bodies; if you like light-hearted romantic comedies, then you'll probably find this movie to be sweet and enjoyable. Conversely, if you're really into Zombie movies, then you'll still find this one sweet and enjoyable, but otherwise  a bit unsatisfying.

Jonathan Levine has built himself quite an impressive body of work over the course of his young directorial career. We love his first film, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, and to this day we still can't comprehend why it's been on the shelf for the better part of seven years, just gathering dust. We found his 50/50 to be a sentimental and funny little gem, and we were even able to tolerate having to watch Josh Peck try and act for 90 minutes while watching The Wackness.

The guy has a nice feel to his work, and his particular mojo is well at work in Warm Bodies.

Warm Bodies is the story of a post Zombie Apocalypse world in which the undead can actually think and even sort of talk (though  it's mostly through grunts and moans, at least externally.) For them, eating the brains of the living is nasty business, but their hunger is too intense to resist... not to mention that eating brains allows them to experience their victim's most cherished memories, thus making them feel alive again. Nice twist.

Even in the afterlife, teenage boys still mope around pining away for girls they can never have.

After eating the brain of some kid, our zombie hero, R, ends up falling in love with Julie, the girl in the poor sap's memories. After saving her life, R goes out of his way keep her hidden away and safe from his hungry Zombie brethren. Once she realizes that he isn't going to eat her, the two of them embark on a fun filled adventure that involves listening to old records, drag racing, and hiding from hordes of Zombies, you know, like normal kids do.

Nice touch.

Problem is, there are certain Zombies out there that are too far gone to recall ever being human called boners, or bonies or something, and they're so creepy that even R is scared of them. These boners are out to eat and destroy everything living, and the only way that they can be stopped is if humans and Zombies can learn to work together to fight them, with the power of love... don't look at us, we didn't write the script.

Boners.

In the end, the movie becomes one big metaphor for hope and redemption, and shows us all how love can cure any ill... even Zombification.

"You can, like, still get a boner and stuff, right?"

This movie is way more on the romantic comedy side of the fence than it is the Horror side of things, so don't go into it expecting a ton of zombie action. This is a relationship movie that uses the setting of the Zombie Apocalypse to get it's narrative points across. That's not a bad thing, and in fact it's kinda neat for the most part, but it might be a bit too tame for some. If we had to use one word to describe this movie to someone, it would  definitely be "Cute."

Nicholas Hoult turns in a fun little performance as R, the lovelorn Emo Zombie who wants nothing more than to be normal again, so that he can bone the hot chick in the movie. Teresa Palmer is great as the hot chick whom he wants to bone. Everyone here does a solid job with the material they're given, which at times feels a bit run of the mill. We enjoyed the movie, we just have a feeling that we're just a tad outside of its core demographic is all.

Even in death, a teenage boy's main goal in life is to get his hands on some boobs.

Warm Bodies is one of those flicks that comes along that we end up liking way more than we thought we would, or maybe even should. As PG-13 tween romantic comedies go, this movie is more of a joy to experience than most other movies of its ilk are. If you're looking for a light and fun flick that involves Zombies, then this one is for you.

As pedestrian and safe as Warm Bodies is as a zombie flick, we have an odd feeling that it will be a much better one than will the upcoming World War Z. Mark our words; World War Z will not be as good as this Zom-Com. Yeah, we just went there.

C+

Teresa Palmer and Analeigh Tipton are hot enough to cause any Zombie's heart to start beating once again. True story. It happened in the movie.