excreationist

I hadn't heard the style of music that was in the movie since the 80's when I was a little kid... it was pretty cool music.
The sounds the zombies made seemed very classic yet original... usually when I hear zombies in video games, etc, they have stupid low-pitched moans all the time.

AquaVita:
I read your post before I watched the movie and I thought the part where they met the military was the good bit... though of course the military didn't turn out to be such a good place after all (for women, etc). I liked the ending though... how it was in the countryside and it was a surprise to see a big "hello"... quite refreshing.

Acinom:
Well most or virtually all of the soldiers expected the women to be sex-slaves for the men... even the leader I think, who turned out to be quite bad even though he seemed good at the start. The main character wanted to free the girls from the military I think, and that guy probably would have stopped them. He didn't know if he could trust that weak guy (to not kill him and to respect the girls) so he would have thought that he might as well not take any chances. (BTW, the weak guy was holding a machine gun I think)

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BTW, does anyone know of anyone know of any other movies where the main character wakes up and all the streets, etc, are completely empty? I like stories like that... when I was young I remember watching the start of a movie like that but I don't know what it was called.

B34RZ0R

I let loose a happy satisfied chuckle-sneer when he popped that arseholes eyes out! Being he was the more viscious of the 'soldiers' I didn't find anything wrong with that! The whole idea of containment was really cool!...

... goes to find out more about the movie .. the eye?...

Be Well .. and DONT TURN AROUND
*Bear*

bocajeff

Vanilla Sky opens like that. It's pretty weird to see all of Times Square empty.

You maybe thinking of Day of the Triffids.

I haven't seen them but possibly Omega Man or Last Man on Earth. Bot are adaptations of Matheson's I Am Legend which is a killer story.

cheetah

OK, I really, really liked this movie. It was tense in parts, a little scary, dramatic and to me, REAL. The grainy film and sparse music added to it. I was so tense toward the middle, because they don't use that crescendo-ing music that normal horror/scary movies use, so I didn't know when the startling parts would come!

SPOILERS
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So, the reason I thought it was so real was because of the main character primarily. He was a bit stupid and egomaniacal. I think he went into the hamburger stand on purpose to try to be tough. And I was pissed at him, but you know, in real life, I often see people doing things because of their egos, too. I also didn't like the random kissing between Jim and Selena, but ti seemed real, too, because people in situations like that have heightened emotions and are confused and do weird things like that. I felt his "heroism" at the end was a little over the top, but he was pushed too far.

The infested were GREAT, especially when they tried to talk a bit. I thought it was good that they left them somewhat mysterious. Too many times, movies do that thing where the knowledgeable character tells the unknowledgeable character (and thus the audience as well) the background. Sometimes that's necessary, and they did it to a certain extent here, too, but it would have been so fake if they had told us more about the infected, though I would have liked to have known more about them. I thought one of the most interesting scenes, where we get a hint about them was when they finally got the tire changed and got out of the tunnel. The infected were running after them, but after they really were out of danger, you see the infected slow down and stop running, and they still look totally human when they stop running. This makes us realize they really aren't zombies at all. When they have "prey" hey are like zombies, somewhat, and that is mostly all we see of them, but when they are alone or with each other, they aren't always lurching around and yelling. Very interesting to me.

I thought the soldier/women thing was pretty good. I hate rape scenes and was afraid I might have to leave, but they went just far enough I guess, and I am thankful for that. On a similar note, I was exasperated on the opening scene when Jim shows full frontal nudity and nearly everyone in the theatre began giggling and what-not. Have some maturity people! Americans are such prudes!

Anyway, hope I didn't go too far with the point by point analysis, but I just really appreciated the uniqueness of this movie!

AquaVita

Ahh yes...the opening nudity.

I almost got into fisticuffs with some other people in the theatre over that little deal.

These idiot guys were sitting next to me and my date and would not stop laughing and making retarded comments about everything that happend, the whole creepy beginning was pretty much ruined because of that shit. I finally screamed "SHUT THE FUCK UP" as I turned and looked at all of them. A few people clapped and most laughed. Of course they started saying all this shit about "after the movie motherfucker". Then 10 minutes later they all got up and left. They probably didn't even pay to get in.

Sheesh.

[/rant]

excreationist

bocajeff:
Vanilla Sky opens like that. It's pretty weird to see all of Times Square empty.

You maybe thinking of Day of the Triffids.

I haven't seen them but possibly Omega Man or Last Man on Earth. Both are adaptations of Matheson's I Am Legend which is a killer story.
Thanks... I'll check them out sometime....

dangin

You can find the I Am Legend screenplay on the web. It's freaking great for it's genre. I love the opening where the protagonist is mouthing along with the "live" Today Show and NPR.

Animesh

I remember, back in the mid 80's, some movie called "Quiet Earth" or something like that.

Anti-Creedance Front

Heh heh, sorry I'm posting this from the DA boards, but this is my take on the film, and I don't feel like typing it all over again for a different board. Bottom line: It's going in my home movie collection for sure.

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I have to echo everyone else - this is NOT a fucking ZOMBIE THRILLER. It is not even a horror movie. The "horror" element is an extremely miniscule. There's some shocks and things, but most of them are EMOTIONAL, not *scare you out of your pants*. Also as others have said - the virus is more like rabies, it makes people crazed, and it was more of an excuse to decimate 98% of humanity so the director could use the high emotions created in that situation. The preview looked really great to me, then the media touted it as "the new age of zombie horror", which prompted me to download it rather than go see it in the theater.

Man, am I sad I didn't go to the theater. I think I'm going to go see it in the theater just because it's what would feel right. This movie is absolute fucking genius. It could be compared to Night of the Comet, an 80's movie with real zombies, but it's not half as corny. It's a lot like my favorite anime movie A Wind Named Amnesia, but that also got gratuitous at times. The film mixes human drama with strong philosophical questions about civilization and our place in the world. Although I know fundamentalist Christian groups are going to bash it as "gore coupled with new age mysticism" or something, it shares a message for people of any kind. Because you should care when struggles divide people even when most of their species is gone. Whatever religion you are.

The emotion and gut-wrenching feelings the film created in me were undescribable. I did get teary eyed at a few parts, but the strongest emotion it brought out in me was disgust. My continued disgust with people who can't exist outside their own society, who can't stop a second from their busy day to consider where they're going. I don't really feel animosity towards them, but it saddens me that so many aren't capable of that.

Anyhow, the directing was brilliant, the actors were also very good, and the scenery they used to create such high emotions was spectacular. It was no-holds-barred, and that's the way movies should be made. That's what makes independent movies so much better than big budget. I'm still curious as to how they cleared out half of London to film the first scenes though.

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Aquavita, I feel you on the stupid people thing. It seems like people in large groups have much more potential for stupidity than they are alone. And it's not very often I've talked philosophy with 3 or more people (including the philosophy club).

cliff999

This was my only disappointment in the movie. It seemed like they were going to do something with the main character's proclivity for violence based on those two scenes and link it with his past somehow. They dodged the issue though, making me wonder if scenes based on the above did not make the final cut. It will be interesting to see if the DVD contains either deleted scenes or a directors cut.