riddleone
16-May-2010, 07:38 PM
Zombies have been a main target for low-budget filmmakers that sometimes actually hurt the genera, rather than help it. But that doesn't mean a low-budget zombie film can't be a good one. Some of the best cult classics came from low-budget films ( Evil Dead, ect) and in an irony, some big-budget films with zombies in them have been an embarrassment.
What seems to matter in both big-budget and low-budget endeavors is one simple element - quality. Even if the viewers don't like all the content in a zombie film, they can tell whether or not a lot of effort was made. I think this bodes well for some controversial films like the Dawn Remake of 2004. Although many didn't like Snyder's running ghouls; or maybe even Boyle's "Infected" (in 28 Days Later) -there is no doubt that a lot of effort and quality went into those films.
And then there are the trend-hoppers which have a queer phenomenon about them, because you can't tell whether the director was making a comedy/parody or if their content was un-purposely funny. Example: the film "Flight of the Living Dead." This straight to video release was a pretty cool entertainment effort, but I believe it was meant to be funny, while one of my friends says that it was "not" meant to be a spoof, but a scary thriller. At any rate this was a medium-budget film that to me - due to its title was, meant to be a parody. So I think films like that do well on an entertainment basis.
With Romero, the budget issue is often paramount; and according to interviews, has been a plague to him since the old days. Day of the Dead (A film I think was among the scariest of his trilogy) was said to be cursed by budgeting problems and that many parts of the original screenplay had to be scrapped, including more scenes outside of the underground. But Romero uses creativity and a crafty sense of directing to compensate for low funding. However, with his new trilogy - it seems that there is some real budget differences therein. I.E: Land of the Dead seems to have had a much larger budget than Survival of the Dead.
Do you think that Romero should continue making zombies films, even if the budgeting isn't there, or should he give up the medium until he finds a large enough resource to fulfill his cinematic visions in full?
:rant:
What seems to matter in both big-budget and low-budget endeavors is one simple element - quality. Even if the viewers don't like all the content in a zombie film, they can tell whether or not a lot of effort was made. I think this bodes well for some controversial films like the Dawn Remake of 2004. Although many didn't like Snyder's running ghouls; or maybe even Boyle's "Infected" (in 28 Days Later) -there is no doubt that a lot of effort and quality went into those films.
And then there are the trend-hoppers which have a queer phenomenon about them, because you can't tell whether the director was making a comedy/parody or if their content was un-purposely funny. Example: the film "Flight of the Living Dead." This straight to video release was a pretty cool entertainment effort, but I believe it was meant to be funny, while one of my friends says that it was "not" meant to be a spoof, but a scary thriller. At any rate this was a medium-budget film that to me - due to its title was, meant to be a parody. So I think films like that do well on an entertainment basis.
With Romero, the budget issue is often paramount; and according to interviews, has been a plague to him since the old days. Day of the Dead (A film I think was among the scariest of his trilogy) was said to be cursed by budgeting problems and that many parts of the original screenplay had to be scrapped, including more scenes outside of the underground. But Romero uses creativity and a crafty sense of directing to compensate for low funding. However, with his new trilogy - it seems that there is some real budget differences therein. I.E: Land of the Dead seems to have had a much larger budget than Survival of the Dead.
Do you think that Romero should continue making zombies films, even if the budgeting isn't there, or should he give up the medium until he finds a large enough resource to fulfill his cinematic visions in full?
:rant: