Jezizup [Film Festival 07.14.10] zombies movie review drama



Year: 2009
Directors: Sean Cain
Writers: Sean Cain
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Jezizup
Rating: 5 out of 10

There are so many low budget zombie movies out there. A lot of them are terrible, but some of them succeed despite their low production value because they compensate with a clever script or great characters. When you’re a fan of zombie film, you have to accept that you are going to have to weed through a lot of crap in order to find a true gem. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Silent Night, Zombie Night a gem, but it’s not half bad either.


Silent Night, Zombie Night is a decent movie for two reasons. First of all, the main character is a total asshole. Before the zombie apocalypse, police officer Frank Talbot’s wife was going to leave him and his best friend/partner was going to drop him. After the zombie apocalypse, his hardcore, sociopathic tendencies come in handy. When everyone around him is either undead or crying, Frank Talbot is blowing zombies away and enjoying every minute of it. He says classic lines like, “No shit, sweetheart – now get on it, there ain’t no time for jibber jabber” and (after popping a zombie dressed in a Santa suit) “Virginia, there ain’t no Santa Claus!” This is the type of character you need for a good zombie movie.

The second good thing about this film is the intriguing zombie mythology it presents. Most zombie aficionados know that there are generally two types of zombies to choose from: fast zombies (like the ones in 28 Days Later) and the classic slow zombies (like the ones in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead). SPOILER ALERT! This movie uses both types of zombies! The zombies are classified as “speeders” and “roamers”. The speeders are smart enough to communicate with one another and look like Sith Lords from Star Wars. The roamers are slow and dumb, and they look a little more like regular people splashed in blood (special effects is not this film’s strongest asset). Scientists have examined zombie brains, and found that speeders have something wrapped around their brainstem – an alien parasite, perhaps? The slow roaming zombies don’t have the parasite. This led to another classic line from the movie: “It’s like Almond Joys got nuts, Mounds don’t.” Another interesting zombie tidbit from this film was that the zombies sensed humans because of their smell. The characters used an extra strength deodorizer to conceal their scent and are then able to walk relatively freely around the zombies. This seemed a little ridiculous…you mean they’re not attracted by distinctly human movements? The sound of voices? Gunshots? Also, for some reason the zombies didn’t really seem to want to climb stairs. The characters were pretty safe as long as they were in their second story apartment.

Ok, so this movie has an entertaining lead and a crazy mix of zombies – two ingredients for a great zombie movie. The third ingredient nearly ruined the film: a dramatic love story. The three main characters are Frank, his best friend, and his wife. His wife is leaving him, his best friend is in love with the wife, blah blah blah. The entire second act drags terribly and could’ve been excised from the film entirely. There is one scene where Frank’s wife and partner are sitting around getting drunk together…it was grating and painful to watch. The acting was bad, but to be fair the script didn’t give the actors a lot to work with. That scene probably would’ve been a lot better if the actors had actually gotten drunk and just made stuff up for ten minutes. Bottom line: too much love triangle, not enough zombie killing…but still probably my new favorite Christmas movie.

You might also like

Michael Allen (10 years ago) Reply

I liked this one for what it was - low budget terror. My review is in my contact section. I gave it a 7 out of 10, but yeah, I remember that drinking scene, lol. -Mike

highlandfool (10 years ago) Reply

I caught this at the Nevermore Festival in Durham and agree with the 5 out of 10. Some interesting ideas and creative choices for a low budget (I believe the director said 150k) flick, but the love story, the drunk scene and some other duh moments (why did they never break into the downstairs apartment for supplies?) sapped the entertainment value for me.

Leave a comment

Your Comment