 |
For as long as I can remember I have been
a fan of horror films, especially when they
involve zombies. I'm not sure why, other
that the possibility that they cater to
some of my basest fears. After all, it’s
safe to say that most people have fears.
Some have them to the point of extreme,
and I guess these could be referred to as
phobias. More often than not, these fears
are about tangible things like heights,
enclosed spaces, snakes, or spiders.
Then there are those of us who have irrational
fears. We fear things that will never, ever
happen. I’m going to confess to having
one of those fears, and up until this point
I’ve only admitted it to my wife.
I have an irrational fear of being attacked
and eaten by the undead.
|
On the surface, this might seem silly, but let
me tell you there are times when I have found
myself driving down country roads in the middle
of the night… and in my mind’s eye
I can see zombies shambling up from the sides
of the road. I even start making conscious decisions
of what I would do if they in fact DID start shambling
towards me. (Speeding up comes to mind…).
When I used to get up in the middle of the night
to feed the baby, I would look out through our
sliding glass doors to the field behind the house
and again, my imagination would run a bit wild.
Now, I realize I will never have to deal with
real zombies, shambling or otherwise, so the fear
does not get so bad as to lose sleep or hide under
the bed. Though I will admit to locking the bedroom
door from time to time, but this is more to give
would be robbers a harder time getting in while
I’m sleeping (uh-huh, sure…). The
really funny thing is how I’ve dealt with
this irrational fear over the years. First and
foremost is that I watch any movies that I can
on the subject (this way I can learn what to do
and what not to do to survive a zombie attack),
and have spent a good number of years working
as an effects artist in the haunted house business.
Yep, that’s right. I surround myself with
all manner of creatures, monsters and zombies
on nearly a daily basis. Go figure. Of course,
if any of the guys I work with read this review
and learn of my fear, my life will become a living
hell. (So, if any of you ARE reading this, I’m
just making it up for the sake of this review.)
What all of this has to do with the DVD release
of the new zombie film “Pathogen”
is that by writing about it, I'm not only allowed
a cathartic release of this otherwise secret fear
but it also lets you know that I’m somewhat
of an expert on the subject of the undead. When
I tell you that “Pathogen” is a pretty
darn good zombie flick, you might just lend my
opinion some credence.
In "Pathogen", the zombie threat is
brought to life (so to speak) by a contaminant
in the water. The contaminant breeds an infection
that kills and in turn breeds hordes of the living
dead. And like most living dead, they're not out
to play a round of golf on an otherwise beautiful
Sunday afternoon… they're out to consume
the flesh of the living. (Which in retrospect
is nearly as horrifying as playing golf, uhhh…
anytime…) Our hero in the story comes in
the form of 14-year old Dannie Jacobs (Rose Kent-McGlew),
whose dreams lead her to believe that there has
to be a way to stop the infection. She recruits
a ragtag group of students who soon find that
what they are up against are odds of a seemingly
impossible nature. As their friends and neighbors
fall prey to the infection and the infected, the
question remains… what can they possibly
do to stop it?
For those watching the film without any prior
knowledge of its background, you might notice
that it has a rather amateurish feel to it. Though
this feeling seems to disappear rather quickly
as the creativity of the story and the clever
use of camera shots begin to take over. At least
this is the reaction I viewed while watching "Pathogen"
with a few friends and fellow horror flick fans.
After the viewing, they began to bombard me with
questions about the production and none of them
were surprised to learn that it was an independent
film. However, I counted five slack-jawed expressions
when I told them the film was the work of a 12
year old girl.
Now 14, Emily M. Hagins is enjoying the fruits
of her labors as "Pathogen" is beginning
to make a mark on the horror genre. The DVD release
recently had its premiere at a Film Festival in
Austin, where I understand it received thunderous
accolades. And after seeing the movie for myself,
I can say that they are well-deserved. For someone
so young, Hagins seems to have a natural feel
for the camera as well as a great sense of pacing
(which can kill a film if it’s done badly).
Her screenwriting skills may not have the polish
of those who've been in the business for years,
but you wouldn’t expect them to. But you
can see the talent inherent with someone heading
in the right direction. I was also quite surprised
to see better-than-average special effects, some
of them quite gory. Watching the film and listening
to both of the commentaries available, there was
a definite sense of fun being had during production,
yet you could tell that Hagins took her work seriously
and was very conscious of the high level of quality
she wanted to obtain.
I understand that Hagins is already hard at work
on a new project; one that I believe will remain
within the horror genre (just not zombies). And
to tell you the truth I cannot wait to see what
comes next from the mind of this talented artist.
I heartily recommend "Pathogen" to horror
film fans for a number of reasons, most notably
because it’s a darn entertaining zombie
flick. But also because it's impressive to see
someone so young working so hard to follow their
dreams and ambitions. My own son is 13 and it
seems most of his friends are more focused on
playing video games and the prospect of future
'partying', that the only ambition I see is in
how to con their parents into giving them more
money to get the latest gadget.
There are a lot of talented kids out there and
the ones that don’t waste their talent get
a big thumb's up from me.
Directed by: Emily Hagins
Starring: Tiger Darrow, Rose Kent-McGlew, Alec
Herscowitz, Tony Vespe, Alex Schroeder, Rebecca
Elliott
Extras: Cast Commentary, Director Commentary,
Trailers 1 & 2, Bloopers
Studio: Cheesy Nuggets
Release Date: Available
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Pathogen an A+.
|
