REVIEW: Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story
The zombie infection seems to have spread to San Diego Comic-Con and downtown San Diego this year. There will be numerous zombie focused panels at Comic-Con and over at Petco park, for a fee, you can participate in the ‘Walking Dead’ escape. Zombie Walk, yet another event, will have the “herd” taking over and they will be teaming up with FearNet for a ticketed “dead man’s party.” Now if all that has you dragging your feet, there is something to lift your spirits, Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story will be screening on Friday, July 13th at 6:15 pm as a part of the San Diego Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival. After the 36 min screening there will be a 15 min question and answer session with Maxwell Glick (Parker), Ted Campbell (Co-Director) Dave Dewes (Co-Writer, Director), and Matt Olson (Producer). All principle cast and crew will be in attendance on Friday as well.
This short film stars Maxwell Glick (YouTube’s lonelygirl15, NBC’s The Office, CBS’s Castle, and Gold: Night of the Zombie King), Boston Stergis, and Lisa Musser. Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story opens up at the end of a zombie outbreak where one over zealous zombie hunter who has slaughtered all but two of the zombies. However, the film introduces the audience to a different perspective on zombies and proposes the idea that they are actually rather misunderstood.
Rigamortis is what you would get if you took Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, made a couple of the characters zombies and produced it by indie filmmakers. Within the first minute, the songs begin and the rest of the film is largely flavored by song. The lyrics are well thought out and humorous (if at times a little cheesy). Song is used to move the story along and give the audience a glimpse of what zombies are really like. This insider’s point of view is done in a comical way and, happily, the filmmakers do not overuse the joke.
Do zombies experience love after death? The love story between these two characters unfolds as they run, or rather hobble away, fleeing for their undead lives. Maxwell Glick (Parker) and Lisa Musser (Zoey) make the film with their zombie romance and sweet young adult chemistry. Parker starts off as pessimistic and hopeless, but Zoey’s optimism gives him new motivation. In their first song together, Parker says he is tired of running away and being hunted. Zoey tells him, “Being undead is better than dead” and that being undead, “Sure beats Hell or eternal boredom” (Zoey). Then Parker’s outlook shifts a little and he replies, “At least we have a say in our postmortem”. It is refreshing that both partners have a moment in the film where the other must trust them. Parker just wants to take care of and protect Zoey but he does not come across as domineering. Zoey is rescued by Parker early on but she is no damsel in distress. The film does a nice job at portraying a modern admirable couple, even if they are undead.
The concept is awesome, but some aspects of the overall execution reflect the film’s low budget. Now, for some people this is not a problem, but for others it might be a little difficult to digest. The recycled background actors (as both humans and zombies) and the use of non-professional actors proves how much the film meant to everyone involved such that they all put forth their best effort to make it work. The ADR (additional dialogue recording) is also slightly off at parts which can be somewhat disruptive. The audio is lined up enough that once the viewer registers that it is delayed, the problem can be ignored. The filming style (camera work and lighting), however, is extremely well done and almost on the same level as a big budget feature. Many night shots are quite impressive because they are well lit but do not come across as artificial.
Overall, Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story is a charming romantic zombie film. If you enjoy musicals, it is a pleasant musical that just happens to be about zombies. Additionally, if you are a zombie fanatic, it is a fresh interpretation of a hugely popular chunk of horror. Audiences appear to love the film regardless of any short comings. It premiered at the 2011 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice Award. It also won awards at the Phoenix Comicon in both 2011 and 2012. Rigamortis has also screened at Houston’s 2011 Comicpalooza, both 2011 and 2012 GenCon Indy, and 2011 Dragon*Con, as well as various film festivals across the country. Hopefully, the audience at San Diego Comic-Con will enjoy the film just as much, if not more, and will not be overly saturated with all of the zombie goodness.
Rigamortis is now available in HD on the iTunes Store.
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