Movie Pictures | Zombies Anonymous

Zombie Anonymous (aka "Last Rites for the Dead")
Starring: Gina Ramsden, Joshua Nelson, Christa McNamee, and Mary Jo Verruto
Director: Marc Fratto
Revenant Rating: Seven of Ten Hungry Zombies

The recently dead are rising into a state of undeath with their full
faculties intact and society is struggling to deal with this new situation.
When Angela (Ramsden) is murdered by her abusive boyfriend (Nelson), she too rises from the dead. She first tries to conceal the fact that she is now
dead so she can quietly carry on the business of living. Ultimately, she is
forced to join other zombies in the fight for social justice and equal
rights... and in the violent battle against the anti-zombie movement led by
the vicious Commandant (McNamee).

"Zombies Anonymous" is a cut above the vast majority of zombie movies from
the past and present. It's got a better script, it's got superior camera
work and make-up effects, and it's got a cast of very talented actors. In
fact, it belongs on a level approaching "Dawn of the Dead" as far as the
performance delivered by the cast and its effectiveness is delivering social
commentary and satire while still remaining a perfectly straight and deadly
serious horror movie.

Director/screenwriter Marc Fratto has created a film that not only stands
apart from most of the output from his fellow indie filmmakers but that also
puts recent horror movies from major studios to shame. There may not be
hoards of mindless, flesh-eating zombies roaming the streets in this film...
but the monstrosity the unfortunate zombies in this story cause to be
revealed in the average person is far more frightening. Like the best horror
films (and sci-fi flicks for that matter), the worst monsters in the
"Zombies Anonymous" aren't the creatures in the title but rather the humans
that "fight" them.

First and foremost, Fratto made sure that he maximized the quality of the
one thing that every indie producer has total control over: The script.

With the exception of a couple very minor logical flaws (ones that could
perhaps even be dismissed as artifacts of a society falling apart in the
face of a completely unexpected development but which feel more like plot
conveniences if one is being perfectly objective), the script here is honed
to perfection. The film is virtually free of padding and every line of
dialogue is vibrant and necessary. Each major character even has their own
unique way of speaking, the true hallmark of a well-written, well-polished
script. The mirror it holds up to society and the issues of tolerance and
how quickly we might all give way to bigotry are also explored in very
clever ways--the zombies here are not threatening anyone but are as harmless
as they were when they were fully alive yet they are still hated and abused,
sometimes by those who used to be their friends and loved ones. Finally, the
film offers some of the commentary on the modern, brand-name and
consumption-driven business world. (Interestingly, the marketers and
mega-corporations might well be the most accepting of the new "living dead"
segment of the population in the film, as they quickly jump on the
opportunity to market products to them. I'm not sure if it was a message
that Fratto intended, but it's true that the smart businessman is the least
bigoted person of all... your money spends the same no matter who you are.)

Second, Fratto didn't try to create scenes and effects that were beyond what
he, his actors and special effects crew could effectively handle. Fratto
also has an eye for staging and filming action, with the result that all the
action and fight scenes in the film are convincing and realistic. The
splatter effects are also extremely well done. (Angela's death at the
beginning of the film was particularly excruciating and shocking.)

Finally, "Zombies Anonymous" features an excellent cast of actors. Almost
everyone appearing clearly understands the different techniques that need to
be employed when acting for a camera instead of an audience in a theatre
(something all-too-rare among actors featured in low-budget films like
this), and every important part is filled by someone with a level of talent
that makes me hope they'll go onto bigger films and bigger paychecks in the
future.

Gina Ramsden is particularly good in her part, portraying a character that
could easily have come across either as a whiner or as a cliched battered
woman if someone of lesser talent had been cast. Instead, Ramsden infuses
Angela with a humanity and depth that makes the viewer feel deeply for her
and gives the film an emotional center all-too-rarely found in zombie
movies. We're already rooting for the zombies in this picture, but it¹s the
sympathy and emotional attachment to Angela that Ramsden's performance
generates that really makes us hate the villains in this picture.

The final word is that "Zombies Anonymous" is the best zombie picture I've
seen in years. With enough gore and violence to keep fans of modern zombie
movie happy, enough character development, soul-wrenching horror and tragedy
to keep fans of classic horror movies entertained, and enough intelligent
content and social commentary to keep all but the most snobbish
"intellectuals" engaged, this is a film all horror fans can appreciate.