DEAD STOP at the truck stop.

Greetings my shambling shuffling friends!


Please excuse me will I drink a beer. It helps me rinse away the taste of hooker spit from the local lot lizard at the truck stop down the road. Speaking of truck stop, I have encountered a wonderful truck stop zombie story titled, DEAD STOP, by D. Nathan Hilliard.


This novel was released just this past August and is screaming to be read by zombie fans, and made into a major Hollywood movie.  I am going to say right off the bat, that even though it was a different writing style, this story is at the top of the list right along side with World War Z.


Yes, DEAD STOP is that good.


DEAD STOP takes place over the course of one night, and reminded me of the first zombie movie I ever saw in the 1980's,  Return of the Living Dead.  That is because in DEAD STOP, just like the movie, the horror only continues to increase, with the fate of the main characters becoming more grim by the minute, a rare escalation of story that never lets up.


This story begins with the most detailed and scientifically accurate description of a rotting corpse in a casket, long dead, and the first stirrings of life that swims through the remains lying in their own puddle of decomposing goo. The moment I read that, I knew I had a gem in my hands.


Immediately following, a county worker mowing cemetary lawns becomes our first victim in the book, in beautiful gory detail. Not just his death, but every death afterward, as if an angelic muse gave the magic touch to our author as he described the gore in detail.


But I am not going to spoil the story for you, I want you to buy DEAD STOP and read it. So let me jump into the G.R.E.A.T. Score with both feet and make a bloody splash.


G-ore: Top notch and magnificiently descriptive, he has moved to the head of the class on this one. 10


R-ealism: The science woven into the fiction kissed this story with a sense of realism rare in zombie and horror. D. Nathan Hilliard did his homework. Another 10


E-ntertainment: The kills, the people's reactions, not wanting to put the book down. Perfection achieved. 10 again


A-ction: The way the people were struggling for their lives, even when there was no chance, the horror the expierenced, and the smooth flow of the story, mated with a constant sense of urgency, makes this baby a nail biter.  10


T-hrills:  Very creepy and horrifying. I have prided myself with having my own zombie escape plan, and yet this story left me rethinking my options, and feeling vulnerable deep in the back of my mind. A rare 10 again.


Total G.R.E.A.T. Score is a 10!


I don't believe that I have ever given a perfect ten to a zombie story before. Nor have I ever read a novel twice before writting a review, but I did with DEAD STOP.


At the age of 36, to have relived the same terror and fear deep in the recesses of my mind that I experienced as a kid when I saw Return of the Living Dead, was fantastic.


So tell me my rotting friends, will the patrons of the local truck stop be safe behind locked doors, or will they have to keep truckin down the road to find their refuge?

You will have to read DEAD STOP by D. Nathan Hilliard to find out.

Follow this link to buy your own copy:

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Stop-D-Nathan-Hilliard/dp/1478297611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355022828&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+stop


Thanks for reading, and until my next post, I will be shuffling along with the lost.


Jimmy Blue Eyes
jbe.zombieblog@yahoo.com
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
'Like ' me on facebook @
www.facebook.com/jimmyszombieblog
and brought to you by the
Network Of The Living Dead webring and
www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com


Edited by: Stephanie Stump
fields2stump@gmail.com

Christmas with the Dead, movie update.

Greetings my shambling shuffling friends.

Last holiday season, I gave the gift of review for the short endearing tale, "Christmas with the Dead", by Joe R. Lansdale, with dreams of a movie soon to follow.  Well good things come to those who wait, and the wait is over, "Christmas with the Dead", is now traveling the film festival circuit.

But wait there is more, because Joe R. Lansdale and the team behind the movie were kind enough to share a few words about the film with me along with some screen shots, and in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, I am going to pay it forward by sharing all of that with you too!

It’s really a short story, so it would have made about a fifteen or twenty minute film. We had the chance to make a film, and we picked "Christmas with the Dead" because it was essentially a solid idea with a simple framework and we felt we could make it less expensively.

We worked in co-operation with the SFA Film Department. They supplied equipment and most of the crew. The director I brought in, Terrill Lee Lankford, is a friend, and has had a lot of film experience.I also brought in Damian Maffei as the lead. Damian is a good actor that I thought wasn’t getting enough attention. I had a hunch he’d be great, and he was. Everybody else was local.

Brad Maule, for instance teaches acting at the University, and he was on GENERAL HOSPITAL and had done a number of other roles over the years and he was perfect for the character of G.M. There’s a dog in the short story, but not in the movie. My son expanded the story, and in doing so he had built in limitations due to time and money, and the fact that a lot of our crew weren’t experienced. We couldn’t have a dog, because they’re too hard to work with, and the kid had to be minimal because of the work schedule, and kids are as notorious to work with as dogs so we joke that Brad got the dogs role.

We knew we would have to cut a lot of corners, but we brought in Marcus Koch and Cat Bernier, who made it all look better with their makeup and effects work. We had a good DP in Bil Arscott, and Marion Arscott, our art director was great. It was a kind of family affair. My daughter played the wife and sang two of the songs in the film and co-wrote them as well. Friends like Judy Pancoast contributed music and singing, and Spence Peppard, a local, friend and sometimes band member of my daughter’s band, created the song "Dead Beat" for the film. My son-in-law, Adam Coats is in it, and friend and writer, Chet Williamson has a very nice role. Most of these roles were either expanded on from the story, or were made up out of whole cloth.

The locals of Nacogdoches were great, helping us with locations and information and played small roles in the film. As for my contribution, my wife and I donated a bit of money and helped put people together, but it’s their film, not mine. The story I wrote is the inspiration, but that’s about it it. The film doesn’t look like a big expensive production, but it doesn’t look cheap either. It’s playing at the Torino Film Festival in November, and we’re about to start looking for a distribution deal.

Wow my shambling shuffling friends, I am absolutley excited about this film and cant wait to see it myself, and for a double bonus, I am providing my review I wrote last december for the short story "Christmas with the Dead" and I am glad I aquired it when I did because it is now out of print!

Tis the season for giving, and I am giving a big thumbs up to "Christmas With The Dead" by Joe R. Lansdale.

This short story is perfect for being read aloud to lil kiddies in bed who are waiting for the jolly fat man to squeeze his butt down the chimney and give them presents. But don't expect them to have visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, no no no. This story will give them unjolly nightmares ho ho ho.

Two years after the zombie apocalypse began and he was forced to put down his wife and daughter like rabid dogs, Calvin is tired of spending Christmas alone.  That lonliness finally gets to him causing him to brave the streets and risk flesh and limb for Christmas supplies so he can have the hap-hap-happiest holiday. 

I loved this story, and will be making it a Christmas tradition to read to my kids (or at least myself) every jolly holiday from now on as my new twisted tradition.

Time for the G.R.E.A.T. score.

G-ore: nice and meaty, great descriptions of putrid faces and exploding heads. 10

R-ealism: some of the elements in the story convince me the author actually thought about survival in a zombie apocalypse. 9.0

E-ntertainment: Well, I loved it, it kept me interested, my wicked Grinch smile spread from ear to ear, and my heart grew three sizes at the conclusion 10

A-ction: Non stop, of course there was a lil backstory, but that's what made me root for the hero even more. I wanted to see him celebrate Christmas after two years of isolation. 9.5

T-hrills: there were some great close calls and the pace remained steady. 9.0

The total G.R.E.A.T. score comes to 9.5 !

So before I finish off my eggnog, let me pose these questions: Will our hero get the supplies he needs to light up his house for Christmas Eve? Will he celebrate the holiday alone? Will his trip bring him unexpected company, and is it possible to hang christmas lights, or will the dead just make a mess of all his preparations? You will have to read CHRISTMAS WITH THE DEAD to find out.

Thanks for reading, and until my next post, I will be shuffling along with the lost.

Jimmy Blue Eyes
jbe.zombieblog@yahoo.com
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
'Like ' me on facebook @
www.facebook.com/jimmyszombieblog
and brought to you by the
Network Of The Living Dead webring and
www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com

Edited by: Stephanie Stump
fields2stump@gmail.com

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

    

                                                                                                                                                                         

YELLOW, not just a color.

Greetings, my shambling shuffling friends!


Recently, while attending the Freestate Comic Con in Lawrence, KS., I was shuffling passed the tables of local artists and comic talent & stumbled across the display for YELLOW (just another post-zom-pocalyptic comedy/adventure love story). YELLOW is an independently produced comic, written by Bobby Bierley & Illustrated by 'Zeu' Gouveia.


I have often heard that the color yellow can make someone feel happy when they're sad, and the main character Quinn, could sure use some cheering up. After just being turned down for a date to the dance with a hottie, that he's had an ongoing crush for, Quinn mopes along in a state of melancholy between attending school, working at Zombietowne, and going home. A mundane, and totally pointless existence, for a teen who should be enjoying the best years' of his life. Did I mention Zombietowne is the local zoo for re-animated corpses? Well, someone needs to sweep the walks and that someone is Quinn.

Of course, if you've seen one zombie, you've seen them all, right? Well, that's the way the rest of America feels at the moment, so times are hard on Zombietowne and revenue is down. That's why they're investing big bucks into a new zombie, unlike any they've seen before; a totally sexy hot zombie. Unfortunately, Cupid has a sense of humor. The first time Quinn lays eyes on her, he's struck with one of Cupid's arrows and falls in love instantly. That arrow causes him to bungle his job and gets zombie babe in trouble with the authorities of Zombietowne.

Let's score this G.R.E.A.T. review.

G-ore: This comic takes place after the post apocalyptic emergency once society has regained a grip and carried on with its normal daily existence, which means there's not much gore, so G will stand for graphics. The illustrations are well done. YELLOW has a good team on-hand making this comic happen. I also enjoyed touching the paper this comic is printed on. 7.5

R-ealism: Some of the scenes are pretty silly, but YELLOW does have a touch of comedy to it. The main characters are also very well-developed. The way Quinn interacts with his fellow classmates, with the back and forth banter, reminds me of the lunch time conversations I used to have in high school.
7.5

E-ntertainment: This story moves smoothly and is also well written. I couldn't stop reading until I was up to date with issue four. 9.5

A-ction: The pace keeps your attention and doesn't bog you down or bore you. Watching between the past and modern day zombie epidemics with Quinn, and then to the management of Zombietowne, there's plenty going on without overwhelming or confusing the reader. 8.5

T-hrills: Yellow is not a scary comic, so those kind of thrills do not count. The thrill that I feel is knowing I'm reading a continuing story of an independent comic. A comic that will catapult Bobby Bierley and his artistic team into the mainstream with a great career. Yellow, in my opinion, is better than a few others that are currently coming out of a variety of major comic companies. 8.5

The total G.R.E.A.T. score: 8.3 out of 10.
Comic fans really should go out of their way to acquire this. YELLOW is a comic book GOLD (pun intended).


So, will the hot zombie babe show a spark of humanity and like Quinn for his brains? Or will the authorities of Zombietowne dispose of Quinn's affection for her, while disposing of her corpse? And what's up with the comic name YELLOW? You'll have to read it to find out.

Don't be a yellow belly, pick up this comic from www.zombietowne.com.

Thanks for reading, and until my next post, I'll be shuffling along with the lost.


Jimmy Blue Eyes
jbe.zombieblog@yahoo.com
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
'Like ' me on facebook @
www.facebook.com/jimmyszombieblog
and brought to you by the
Network Of The Living Dead webring and
www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com

CONTEST TIME!

CONTEST TIME!  Go Buy a copy of THE DEAD, directed by the Ford Bros. and take a picture of yourself holding the dvd, and post it on your profile,(alerting me of course), and you can win a signed copy of the book, "SURVIVING THE DEAD", the story of how they almost died of malaria, and were regularly robbed by police, while trying to film THE DEAD in a place where no western person had ever laid eyes before.

Hit me up on Facebook at Jimmys zombie blog , or www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com so I can see the pic, and you will be entered to win. Use a pic of you holding the dvd for your avatar, and private message Jimmy Blue Eyes to enter.

Contest ends on Halloween!

Contingency Plans for the Zombie Apocalypse

Zombie Apocalypse Survival
http://www.survival-goods.com

WANT TO BE IN A HORROR MOVIE?

Greetings my shambling shuffling friends!


I am helping Full Moon Features give you a chance for a once in a lifetime opportunity!


Full Moon Features and Charles Band are giving 10 lucky winners a chance to be in their upcoming movie! Want to enter? Follow the link Below! 


https://rgmglobal.com/clients/cb/sweepstakes/index.html


Thanks for reading, and until my next post, I will be shuffling along with the lost.


Jimmy Blue Eyes
jbe.zombieblog@yahoo.com
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
'Like ' me on facebook @
www.facebook.com/jimmyszombieblog
and brought to you by the
Network Of The Living Dead webring and
www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com

DEAD WEIGHT

Greetings, my shambling shuffling friends!

While attending the Wizards World in Chicago, I shambled up to a booth selling a small independently financed and filmed, zombie genre, infection movie. I was informed that a majority of the people involved in the film had no previous movie experience. Truth be told, I wasn't sure what to expect as a result, but I liked the raw footage that they were airing on a mini tv, so it captured my interest.

Now, having just finished watching this film, I can say I am in a complete state of shock and awe. I am worried my words alone will not properly convey the greatness of this film and the fact, that I have no doubt, that this film is going to launch an amazing movie career for the creative team behind it.

'DEAD WEIGHT'
Written and Directed by: Adam Bartlett and John Pata

Starring: Joe Belknap, Mary Lindberg, Aaron Christensen, Michelle Courvais, Sam Lenz, and Jess Ader

'Dead Weight' is the story of a man, named Charlie, who becomes separated from his girlfriend at the start of the zombie apocalypse and spends weeks traveling through the countryside to meet up with her in Wassau, WI. During that time he, and the rest of his traveling companions, face the worst that mankind has to offer. Both inside and outside of their group.

So let us get to the meat of the G.R.E.A.T. review.

G-ore: 'Dead Weight' is light on the gore, but even though no flesh was ripped from screaming bodies, this movie rises above all that and delivers a fantastic story. 7

R-ealism: 100% This is exactly how I would picture human interactions while traveling in a post apocalyptic world. Along the way, some people will be friendly souls and some will be complete scum who take for their own selfish pursuits. 10

E-ntertainment: The story is so good that nothing's predictable. 'Dead Weight' was a much better movie then a lot of junk that gets churned out of Hollywood. Even those that are backed by big names and big money. 9.5

A-cting: The stars of 'Dead Weight' are basically unknowns and yet their performances were exceptional. One part in particular, was a death scene of a nice man and his wife. As the husband laid there, dying, his expression burned an image into my mind that stayed with me long after the film ended. 9

T-hrills: Watching what a man would go through or do to reach his destination, will truly make you reconsider if you have the fortitude to do whatever it takes to do the same. The final actions of his girlfriend had me on the edge of my seat. 9.5

The total score for this G.R.E.A.T. review is: 9 out of 10

This film deserves a hollowed place on the top shelf of all zombie video libraries.

You can purchase 'Dead Weight' by going to www.carryingdeadweight.com. Be sure to buy the 2-disc set with the cover art, by Tony Moore of 'The Walking Dead' comic fame, as shown above.

Will Charlie have a happy reunion with his girlfriend? Or will the 'Dead Weight' of the past weigh them down?

You'll have to watch 'Dead Weight' to find out.

Thanks for reading, and until my next post, I'll be shuffling along with the lost.


Jimmy Blue Eyes
jbe.zombieblog@yahoo.com
www.jimmyszombieblog.com
'Like ' me on facebook @
www.facebook.com/jimmyszombieblog
and brought to you by the
Network Of The Living Dead webring and
www.thewalkingdeadfanclub.com