The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse

A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

If you’re excited to see Survival of the Dead (and my poll says at least some of you are) then rest assured that wherever you are, it looks like it will be sold in your area. (Screen Daily)

Our good friend Jay Clarke over at The Horror Section has a report on the Toronto International Film Fest’s zombie day, including a ceremony honoring George A. Romero, a zombie walk and the Survival of the Dead premiere. (The Horror Section)

And Fangoria has something similar on Toronto’s special zombieriffic day. (Fangoria)

If you prefer your zombies a little gayer than Romero’s, enjoy this set visit to Bruce LaBruce’s hardcore gay zombie porn epic LA Zombie. (Fangoria)

Chicago residents can bowl with zombies on Saturday, September 19. Yes, zombie bowling. (Dread Central)

All that, plus the final Zombieland trailer hit the net today — you can watch it after the break.

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A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

The first clip from George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead is out. I’m holding off, because I prefer to see the film whole, but don’t let that stop you if you don’t want to wait — it’s embedded after the break. (Dread Central)

More details on Left 4 Dead 2 are here! This time, it’s the “Dark Carnival” campaign, where you’ll find a clown zombie who can call for backup; a new boss, the Jockey, who can ride a player and steer him away from his group; and other stuff, such as a guitar that can be used as a melee weapon. (Eurogamer)

And here’s another take on the same stuff from Left 4 Dead 2 from our friends at Kotaku. (Kotaku)

Speaking of zombie games, how about a game focused on finding and fortifying a location against the zombie hordes? It’s called Fort Zombie (lame name, I know) and it’s a game I have been waiting for for a long, long time. Don’t screw it up, folks. (Worth Playing)

Sick of remakes yet? Well get sicker, because someone is working on a Plan 9 from Outer Space remake. On the bright side, they’d be hard pressed not to improve on the original. (Horror-Movies.ca)

In Atlanta the September 12? How about going to a zombie symposium? There’s a presentation, a couple of movie showings and a dance. Sounds fun. (Examiner.com)

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A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

The zombie-filled nights of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness program get a preview. (CTV)

Zombies protest for universal, single-payer health care. God bless America… (NBC Chicago)

Washington, D.C. area residents can participate in a zombie walk October 24 and a screening of Shaun of the Dead afterward. Lucky. (CultureMob)

A while back, I caught wind of a new, zombie-themed energy drink. In the post I mentioned I was sure it was some generic swill, but that I’d be happy to try it to see if I was wrong. The distributor took me up on the offer, sent me a can and now, my review.

Ingredients: Pretty standard mix of energy drink basics. 1000mg taurine, 75mg caffeine, some guarana (basically more caffeine) and panax ginseng extract (smooths out and boosts the buzz, in my experience). 27 grams of sugar for extra zing! All that adds up to 110 calories, in case you’re counting. Me, I’m a scrawny fuck, so I am not.

Appearance: You can see what the label looks like up top, there. It’s a little cheesy, but not too bad. The actual drink has a pale, golden color, similar to ginger ale and definitely less “colored” than Red Bull. Actually looks quite appetizing — see for youself there to the left.

Flavor: The flavor reminded me of Monster’s base flavor, with the caveat that I haven’t had a Monster energy drink in two years or so — I could be misremembering or they could have changed the flavor in that time. It seemed slightly less sweet than what I remember Monster tasting, which was good because the reason I haven’t had Monster in two years is it is way too sweet for me. Honestly, this was also a bit sweet for my taste. And it had a lingering aftertaste that would not go away. It wasn’t bad, but definitely not one of my favorite energy drink flavors.

Buzz: The most important measure of an energy drink is the kick and I thought this one was just fine in that regard. I substituted it for my morning coffee and was able to get my day off to a reasonable start with its help. And it had more legs than my morning joe — the one can kept me going through lunch time.

Mixability: I didn’t get to test its ability to mix with booze, since, as mentioned, I kicked my day off with it and I try hard not to start on hard liquor first thing in the morning. I think some vodka would cut that sweetness nicely, so I could see this going down just fine as a mixer at a haunted house party. Just supposition, though — I have no evidence. If they want to send me another can, I promise to mix this one with vodka and get back to you, though…

Verdict: Not bad, but not great. Monster fans who want to honor the undead might really dig it. I’d drink it in a pinch, but that sweetness and lingering aftertaste keep it from being top tier for me. Worthy of the name zombie? Well, it’s not going to bring anyone back from the dead, but it certainly opened my eyes in the morning and I have to admit I am yearning to develop a vodka zombie cocktail using it as a base.

Get more info or order a case from the Screaming Zombie website.

A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival will show Opening Night of the Living Dead, a movie about a play that gets invaded by zombies. Sure, why not? There’s a trailer embedded after the break. (Zombie Command)

I’m not an iPhone owner, but if you are you’ll probably enjoy this list of ten zombie games for your shiny toy. (Examiner.com)

The first print issue of zombie magazine Revenant is coming near the end of September. Get yours here. (Revenant)

Even conservatives love zombies, as this blog about the recent zombie uprising mathematical modeling paper shows. (National Review Online)

Here’s a couple more REC 2 images for you. (Bloody Disgusting)

Wii zombie shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles gets a release date and that date is November 17. There’s also some details on where to get a fancy RE t-shirt that flips up into a zombie costume. (Kotaku)

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A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

I really liked Plants vs. Zombies (review here), so I am pleased to hear it is coming to iPhone, retail outlets and t-shirts. (Kotaku)

One of the coolest and most surreal things about living in the midst of the zombie zeitgeist (which surely has to be the precursor to the zombie apocalypse) is the joy of reading things like this editorial about surviving the zombie uprising in mainstream papers such as the South Africa Times. (South Africa Times)

Get the scoop on the zombie web series Lady Wasteland. (Tilzy.tv)

A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

After a whole long period of hearing nothing, details on the Nazi zombie epic The 4th Reich are emerging. It’s about a last-ditch attempt to create unkillable super soldiers, which is officially the least original premise ever for a Nazi zombie movie. Better news is Tom Savini is already cast, and his scenery chewing is always fun. Get a more detailed synopsis and some more cast info here. (Dread Central)

The recently released  and brilliantly/moronically titled top-down shooting zombie game I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1es!!!1 is just … wow. Trailer after the break. Kick-ass theme song, dude. And it only costs a dollar on Xbox Live Arcade’s Indie Games section. (Kotaku)

Speaking of top-down zombie shooters, PlayStation 3 folks have one coming called Dead Nation. There’s a trailer on that one after the break, too. (Zombie Command)

Sick of zombie games yet? How about a zombie tycoon game, where you play the part of a mad scientist using the undead to take over the world. Naturally, it’s called Zombie Tycoon. Duh. It’s headed for the PSP minis platform. (Zombie Command)

A disturbed teen claiming to be a zombie stabbed three siblings in the Bronx. Dude, you are taking all of the fun out of zombies. (1010 Wins)

How about another production diary for upcoming zombie flick The Gatekeeper? (Fangoria)

New release date for Resident Evil: Afterlife, the upcoming fourth installment of the Resident Evil franchise: August 27, 2010. See you this time next year, Milla! (ComingSoon.net)

In other Resident Evil news, yet another preview of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles for Wii. This one reveals the camera is less shaky. So. Fascinating. (Kotaku)

The avian-flu zombie movie Virus Undead is being retitled The Beast Within and released November 3. Haven’t heard anything good about this one — one person told me it was the most boring movie he’d ever seen. I’ll try to lay hands on a copy and tell you before November 3 rolls around. (Dread Central)

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A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

Writer Nick Tapalansky tries something new with zombies in Awakening, a noirish take on the zombie apocalypse. (Fangoria)

More evidence of the zombie zeitgeist surfaces. This time, it’s a zombie-themed bar in the Twin Cities. Wonder if they have a special on the Zombie, the rum-soaked favorite of the ’50s? (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune)

New Yorkers, be a zombie in Purgatorio, New York’s “premier Halloween experience.” The open casting call is next Wednesday, August 26 and they ask you to come in costume. Anyone that goes and sends me pictures will get a special zombie gift… (Fangoria)

A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

How would a zombie uprising affect foreign relations? Find out here. (Foreign Policy)

In the “what if” department, you can now lie awake nights, sleepless and wondering what a Guillermo Del Toro directed version of Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead series might have looked like, as may have almost happened. (Splash Page)

The good, ol’ BBC has a nice write up on that Canadian math paper about surviving the zombie apocalypse. (BBC News)

Intrigued about the zombie rock musical Diamond Dead (which at one point was going to be done by George A. Romero!) I mentioned yesterday? There are a few more details here. (Fangoria)

A daily roundup of all the undead news that shambles into view… Bookmark the home page or add the feed to your RSS reader for your daily dose of walking dead. Got news tips? E-mail me at cory.casciato[AT]gmail.com.

A bunch of new info on Left 4 Dead 2 dropped on GameTrailers TV. Watch it here, or wait until next week, when I will be posting a compendium of everything revealed about the game thus far. (GameTrailers.com)

To commemorate George A. Romero becoming “officially” Canadian (guess that means he is a citizen now? he’s lived there for years) he’ll be meeting the zombie walkers at the annual Toronto zombie walk and introducing  a special outdoor screening of the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. Later that night, Survival of the Dead premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness program. All that and universal health care, too? Lucky Canadian bastards. (Fangoria)

Some science types went and did the math on whether a zombie apocalypse could really happen and what the odds of survival are. Read a summary here or go for the full PDF report here. (io9)

If you get excited over movie posters or are salivating at every morsel of Zombieland propaganda, happy days are here: the official one sheet has dropped. (Bloody Disgusting)