Juan of the Dead Continues Filming in Cuba

David Brown

Haitian zombies have long been associated with the start of the zombie mythos as embraced by North Americans. Now we see another milestone/evolution in zombie filmmaking. Juan of the Dead will bear the distinction of being Cuba’s first zombie movie. Brought to us by Cuban director Alejandro Brugues, the film stars Alexis Diaz de Villegas and is being reportedly made on a budget of only $2.3 million. Shooting on the film began in late September in Havana and the director hopes to have a finished product in theaters by next year and at a few film festivals before that.

The film’s plot revolves around Juan, a 40 year old slacker. He notices a zombie epidemic starting when people become violent.  Juan then decides to make a quick profit by offering to slay people’s infected relatives. When problems escalate, the film turns to one of survival. This all sounds very intense but Brugues has been noted calling it a zombie comedy and a very Cuban movie. There is a nice interview on cnn.com with Brugues. Needless to say, this one looks to be very significant for Cuba and looks to be a good addition to the zombie genre. We will be continuing coverage on this movie as details emerge.

Paramount gets rights to Boy Scouts vs. Zombies

David Brown

According to Deadline New York, Paramount pictures has acquired rights to Boy Scouts vs. Zombies, a Black List script by Carrie Evans and Emi Mochizuki. The two are known graduates of the Disney Writing Program and are known for their scripting of College Road Trip. According to sources, the script is in the vein of Goonies and entails a local Boy Scout troop trying to save a local Girl Scout troop from a zombie outbreak during an overnight camping trip. Details at this point are non-existent, but we will be sure to bring you updates as they become available to us.

Zombie Santa Claus Brings Infectious Yuletide Cheer

 Dan Barkasi



A show of hands – who has ever wondered what would happen if Santa Claus became zombified? If any of you are like yours truly, that conundrum has popped up a couple of times. Well, if an answer is what you require, than a trip to the famed Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania was the location for you. For on Saturday, December 4, Time & Space toys gave us their third annual glimpse of what Santa would be like if he became a member of the living dead – as well as his helpers!


At the entrance of the store, visitors were greeted by a zombie elf of which was either going to construct some gruesome toys, or just bite your arm off. Either way, a most useful of welcomes!

Photos were $10 each, which came with a nice “Monroeville Zombies” frame to hold your fiendish image with the undead head honcho of holiday cheer. Also included was a $5 merchandise voucher for merchandise within the store. A good deal, for certain.


There were also free soda and snacks for hungry visitors, as well as a “Toys for Tots” donation point. Not to mention how much cool stuff that the store had on display, including movie-related clothing – especially the amazing “Send More Paramedics” shirt – and the fantastic zombie museum. This is loaded with zombie-related memorabilia of which can only be seen there. All of this provided for plenty to do at this party.

After browsing around the store for a while, cookies and soda in hand, we decided to jaunt over and check out the major reason we’re here – Santa!


The line was wrapping around a portion of the aforementioned museum, with many eager to catch a glimpse of the jolly undead guy in the red suit. Time passed by quickly, gazing at the many movie posters that adorned the walls.

When the time finally came, Santa was there in his chair, in all his bloody glory. Obviously wary of catching the undead plague myself, approaching the big guy was done ever so carefully. He even had a bag full of goodies for all the good girls and boys – if severed appendages are what you fancy. When the picture was snapped – taken by Hellga of the local “The It’s Alive Show” – the fright was at its height, with Santa and his minion hoping for a nibble. Thankfully, I made my escape unscathed.

Santa’s clan was even gracious enough to pose for a few more photos, including one where Mrs. Claus and a few more elves joined in. Personally, I believe they were all after Santa’s bag-o-rotting flesh. But it made for a great shot nonetheless!

As mentioned before, this was the third year this has been held, and every one has been a blast. The store really goes all out for this, and kudos to them for hosting a fun, one-of-a kind party. Here’s an idea for next year – how about a zombie reindeer of sorts? How cool would that be? Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you munch some flesh tonight? Ok, I’ll stop. Can’t wait for next years’ party!

The Dark Art of April A. Taylor

With Christmas behind us and the New Year quickly approaching, we are finally en route to our normal schedule of updates and fun!  Earlier in the month, I mentioned the new friends I made at the most recent Steel City Con and I now have the pleasure of introducing one...

April A. Taylor is an artist and photographer from Detroit, MI who will be featured in greater depth later in the month.  April's work has been exhibited internationally and it was her photo shoot, "The Post-Apocalyptic Princess", that first grabbed my attention.  I encourage everyone to view her website and FaceBook page and then thank April for sponsoring our first contest of the new year.

Concluding January 28th, we will be giving away a T-Shirt provided by April as well as an autographed copy of her 2011 calender that features some of her dark and captivating visions.

To enter for your chance to win a shirt (size XL) and calender, all you need to do is email your name and address to april@zombiesandtoys.com.  In addition to your name and address, also include the title of your favorite photo or photo shoot from April's web site.

Dead Rising 2 DLC Gets Release Date

David Brown

If you are a fan of the game Dead Rising 2 and own an XBOX 360, then tomorrow will be a very exciting day for you. As reported by g4tv as well as ign.com, Dead Rising 2: Case West will be releasing tomorrow, December 27th, exclusively on XBOX 360. It will be available for the price of 800 Microsoft Points, and will bring back the main character of the original Dead Rising, Frank West. The downloadable content will focus on Frank and the protagonist of Dead Rising 2, Chuck Greene, as they infiltrate the Phenotrans Facility in order to find the origins of the zombie plague and clear Chuck’s name. The best thing about this downloadable content is that it will allow for two player co-op. There will also be the fun ability to combine weapons as seen in Dead Rising 2. All of these details make this a game to watch for. I will be providing a review when the DLC launches.

A Very Zombie Holiday

Here's a great video to help get you in the mood for Christmas!  This short was found at Devour.com.  Of course, this and every other clip featured on Zombies & Toys can be found on our YouTube page.

How to Engineer a Zombie Virus

David Brown

Have you ever wondered what real world things could be the catalyst for a zombie virus apocalypse? Do you think to yourself how one would go about engineering a zombie virus? Well George Dvorsky, a Director of Operations for Commune Media, an advertising firm that specializes in marketing science and producer of the Sentient Development blog did. He has compiled at great article that can be seen in its entirety by clicking here. In the article he looks at a number of things associated with a potential zombie virus.

Among things he talks about are the Solanum virus behind the zombie plague as discussed in the Zombie Survival Guide, and how the virus itself works. Think of this as a refresher or introduction depending on your exposure to the aforementioned book. He then goes on to look at things in nature that are zombie like in nature, including things like malaria, dicrocelium dendriticum, hairworms, and even rabies. From this section he then goes on to talking about creating the zombie virus and ends with a discussion on whether we have to worry or not. As I said, this is an interesting read and well worth your time.

Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead - review

David Brown


How many movies have you looked at where you have thought “I don’t think this is realistic” or “I would do things differently if that were me”? Do you look for realism in everything zombie related rather than suspend your belief? Do you wonder how things would really work out during the zombie apocalypse including how it would start and the potential consequences? If you said yes to any of these questions than look no further that Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead written by Jonathan Maberry, author of many horror novels and a winner of the Bram Stoker Award for best nonfiction title with his book The Cryptopedia: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre.

In Zombie CSU, Maberry sits down with many experts in various fields including priests, religious historians, forensics experts, law enforcement officials, doctors, filmmakers, and members of the media. During this time he crafts a zombie attack scenario in a realistic setting and examines all sides of the case. He starts out with discussions on police investigation techniques and the time-frames for evidence collection, crime scene set-up, and initial search for “patient-zero”. During each chapter Maberry looks first at the facts, recounting the scenario he sets up as well as looking at public domain information on the subject being discussed. He then goes on to a section detailing conversations with expert witnesses, talking with each about the techniques they currently employ in real world scenarios. He finishes up each chapter with a look at how the experts would react in a world where the dead rose.


As stated earlier in our review, this book deals with everything related to a “realistic” zombie attack. Sections covered include (in order): the previously mentioned crime scene unit and evidence collection, medical examinations of the living dead, zombie forensic psychology, police tactics, spiritual and philosophical implications of the walking dead, legal ramifications, armed and unarmed combat, news reports, and zombies in pop culture. Each section is masterfully written, including conversations with many experts from different fields. Maberry does not just sit idly and talk to one expert in each section, he looks at each piece of information from a number of different viewpoints and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions based on what experts in each area have to say.

Maberry may have his name as author but the book in not filled with just his thoughts. Scattered throughout the book are a number of conversations on many topics whether it be legality in dealing with the living dead, sections of zombie trivia questions, or continual conversations on whether experts prefer fast of slow zombies. For a typical author this would be enough, but Mabery goes a step further still by showcasing not only conversations with a number of artists on their reasons for becoming interested in zombies, but their artistic creations such as drawings, paintings, or photographs. Each artists and expert is given the same amount of consideration which truly adds to his credibility as an author.


Through reading the book you come to realize a number of things about yourself. This book makes you play through the scenarios in your head and rethink everything you have thought. It also does a great job of squashing any fears you may have regarding zombies. I don’t want to spoil anything, but just know that this is a must read book if you are a zombie fan. It takes everything you think you know about a zombie apocalypse and puts it into a real world perspective. The superb writing and excellent illustrations do a great job of making this a must own. If you are able to get this do so as soon as possible, you will not regret it.

Contest Updates

As I have mentioned in several posts already, Christmas has set me further behind than usual.  As a result, several contests I wanted to run through December never launched and others never concluded on time.  So, here are some winners, entry date extensions, and advance notice of next month's contests.

Zombie Ammo was gracious enough to give a set of zombie targets away including their new Santa design!  Congratulations to Phillip A. from Phoenixville, PA.

Custom dog tags are being given to 3 lucky winners thanks to Dog Tag Art.  While my pooch wears the "I Fight Zombies" one, the winners are welcome to choose from any of the designs they offer!  Or, if you're patient, you can wait until the upcoming Zombies & Toys tag becomes available!  I hope the winners enjoy their pet ID tags:

Frankie M. from Warren, NJ
Jenny B. from Fresno, CA
Kimberly R. from Phoenix, AZ

One of my favorite artist (and yours, too, judging by the contest entries), Billy Tackett, gave us some signed prints to give away!  The image?  The Zombies & Toys logo!  There were two winners of this awesome image and to make the winnings even better we are throwing in a set of our Billy Tackett artist series buttons!  These buttons are limited to 100 sets and there are only a few left. Watch for series 3 this spring!  Congratulations to:

Shelly L. from Lancaster, CA
Mat B. from Lapeer, MI
 

 
Congratulations to all of the winners!  Now for a sneak peak at what we'll be giving away in January...  Official announcements will be posted in the days ahead.  Remember, you can always enter more than one contest but if you enter the same contest more than once you will be disqualified.
 
Next month, we will be giving away a set of zombie miniatures thanks to Studio Miniatures.  This is one of the best prizes we have had the pleasure of giving away.  "Pleasure" may be a stretch as it pains me to let these guys go!  The winner will receive a total of 51 zombie miniatures valued around $200!

We made friends with Zombie Flesh Jerky!  Not only do they provide you with the obvious, they also have zombie tongues!  Be ready for a chance to win some of these grotesque, yet tasty, treats!  In the meantime, check them out at Zombie Flesh Jerky.

This is just the beginning, friends.  There will be plenty of contests, changes, and announcements throughout 2011 so make sure to stay tuned!

December Update

I just wanted to get a quick post up to thank everyone for their patience with our lack of timely updates.  Once the holidays pass, we'll be back on track to bring you the frequent updates you're used to.

We will be announcing the current contest winners soon.  As a reminder, you can enter every contest and win multiple times.  However, you can only enter each contest once.  There is a bunch of stuff sitting in The Zombie Toy Store that was sent for us to give away, so expect several great contests to start off the new year.  We have some toys, books, shirts and other accessories, games, movies, and more!

There is a bunch of zombie news to report on so expect a few updates before Christmas.

"Followed" - A Tale of Zombies Who Recycle?

"Based on the critically acclaimed short story from Hugo Award winning author Will McIntosh, a socially-responsible professor's perfect world is threatened by the appearance of a tag-along zombie child."

This, unfortunately, is the only piece of information that can be found on JamesWorks' Entertainment website about their upcoming zombie film, "Followed".  Scouring the interwebs does turn up bits and pieces and the more I discovered, the more intrigued I became.

McIntosh had the idea for the story "Followed" while teaching a graduate social psychology class.  He posed the question: "If you knew you could save lives for $100 each, how many would you save?"

"I pointed out that we probably can save lives for $100 or less, and we don’t," McIntosh said, "and each of us has to live with that knowledge, or rationalize it away, or sell our cars."

Filming is expected to wrap up by late January and principle photography is taking place in Macon, GA.  The film will star Australian actor, Erryn Arkin, and actress, Edith Ivey.  Ivey is best known for her role in the 2008 hit, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and says shes thrilled to take on this new role.  She plays a mature but opinionated professor.  "She never changes her mind, and she talks constantly," says the actress.
"When I first read the script, the first thing I said was, 'This is really unique,'" says actor Erryn Arkin.  He goes on to explain how he saw the part of a new college professor as a challenge.

"When this story was brought to me nearly a year ago, I knew that this had to be my next film," said director James Kicklighter. "I am thankful for the opportunity to redefine the zombie genre with Will McIntosh's unique creative voice, along with our talented performers and crew."  Kicklighter says the movie focuses on zombies following wasteful consumers, pushing them to better treat the environment including recycling.

Dead Nation - PS3 Game Review

David Brown

When you think of the zombie apocalypse, do you think of your survival plan? Will you be the one to run from society to some deserted place where you will plan your survival? Will you barricade yourself and hope for the best? What if your supplies run out? What if your barricades fail? What if the dead make it through and you somehow survive? Well this is the scenario of Dead Nation. You pick from either a male or female main character, both of whom have realized that they are immune to the zombie virus. Your barricades have failed and your supplies are used up. You must get to safety and plot twists along the way present many issues for you during your journey.

Story aside, the next question to come up is this: How does the gameplay hold up? Well if you are a fan of the twin stick shooter genre you’ll have a good time. Generally, one stick controls movement while the other controls aiming and shooting. The only difference here is that instead of controlling aiming and shooting, you just control the aiming. You’ll have to press the trigger button to shoot. People who are accustomed to twin stick shooters and first person shooters should have no problems getting started.

Action starts out fast-paced and continues in this style for 10 levels. The game takes you from the rooftops trying to get to safety and eventually ends up at a harbor. Along the way you will encounter a number of different zombies. You will see everything from the mundane horror movie zombie and clown zombies to the familiar tank-like zombies and acid spitting zombies. A world filled with weaponized zombies truly makes for fast and frantic gameplay. Action takes place from a top-down perspective where zombies come at you from all directions

Don’t get too trigger happy as this is a shooter that also requires a great amount of strategy. You can try to run through areas to strategically placed checkpoints but failure to explore and kill zombies will really hinder you in later parts of the game. You start out with basic armor and a basic gun. If you hold down the trigger button with this weapon you will be able to charge your shots and cause more damage. As the game progresses, you are able to unlock machine guns, shotguns, flame throwers, blade guns, and rocket launchers. Each weapon can also be upgraded as well.

As you kill zombies you gain cash and multipliers, and as multipliers build up you gain even more cash to spend on upgrades. This causes one complaint in that it feels like a lot of the weapons become underutilized and, at worst, pointless. As the game continued, I found myself relying very much on the basic gun that had been updated to its full potential as well as the blade gun and launcher. The other guns at this point become pretty much worthless. Aside from guns, you also have the potential to distract zombies away from you with flares and car alarms. You can shoot the cars further to make them explode taking out the zombies around them. If these aren’t enough explosions for you, there are also mines, dynamite, and grenades which all do massive amounts of damage and do well with controlling crowds.

Gun balance issues aside, the game will sometimes ramp up the difficulty on you. My fiancé and I were playing on the easy difficulty and found one or two sections near the end where we became quickly overwhelmed by five or six massive zombies that require planning to take down. During this time there was a great amount of complaints and plans to stop although these plans were squashed and we continued playing. That being said, there is nothing better than the feeling of taking down hundreds of zombies with a buddy; you truly feel like you have survived the zombie apocalypse. Between levels, small voiced-over cut scenes help pan out the story. The acting here fits in perfectly with the grim nature of the game.

Small issues aside, this is definitely a must-own game. The great sense of urgency really makes you feel like you are fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse. You are constantly looking over your shoulders during the six plus hour gameplay. There is a great amount of fun in trying to get the highest score and show off on the online leaderboards while at the same time trying to help your country become the number one zombie killing country in the meta game. If you get the chance and have the extra few bucks lying around then head on over to the Playstation store and pick up this great title from developer Housemarque.

If you have played this game let everyone know what you think of it in the comments below.

Zombie Revenge - game review

David Brown

Ahhh... the good old days of console gaming when Sega was still competing in the console wars. These were the days of the Sega Dreamcast, a system considered by many to be ahead of it’s time in terms of technical innovations and quality games. With this important statement out of the way, let me start by saying that Zombie Revenge is the epitome of what makes a great two player beat 'em up game. Zombie Revenge puts you in the role of one of three characters trying to stop a madman from releasing a deadly bio-toxin to further damage society after a government experiment gone awry has created biologically modified super zombies.


If all of this sounds cheesy, rest assured that it is.  But this is what makes Zombie Revenge such a fun experience. You get to take on zombies with everything at your disposal including guns, gasoline, and even your fist. This game isn’t perfect, due to sometimes unrelentingly difficult enemies and bosses and a strict timer, but it still manages to charm. The biggest downfall comes from the fact that this was an arcade game and thus is very short, however there is a fair amount of replay value to balance this out.


If you are looking for a great game with a story and acting so bad that it is good, then look no further than Zombie Revenge on the Dreamcast.  You will enjoy every minute of it as you satisfyingly slice, punch, and shoot through the undead hoards to the games thrilling conclusion. If you can find this for a cheap price pick it up.

Zombie Dobby

Todd Jepperson

There’s a new type of game out there taking over the internet. It’s a worldwide game of zombie tag where you download the toolbar (game) and you collect points based on your browsing. You begin the game as a “brain” and your goal is to stay a brain as long as possible. The longer you go without being eaten, and thus, turned into a zombie, the higher your health, score, and rank. You’re bound to run into another player eventually, and when you do, it’s every brain for themselves.


The toolbar also has a social media function where you can “sit” at a table and chat with other players, anonymously, at different topic pages around the web. The nice thing is, you’ll run into other people who are visiting the same sites you are. This feature is actually pretty cool, I think. I’ve found myself locked on a webpage for hours wishing I had someone to rebound my thoughts off from, or just to ponder with. When you encounter another Brain, or Zombie, chances are, you’ll have at least something in common.



Now for the icing on the cake; there are prizes for getting out alive, such as this round's prize: A Sony PS3 160G! Unfortunately, the game only works with Firefox right now, so if you don’t have it, you’ll wanna switch over for the next few weeks. This round started Dec 1st, and goes until the end of the month, so lurch on over to the game page at Zombie Dobby and sink your teeth in.

Transformers Prime: Darkness Rising - Zombie Transformers?

David Brown

For many years, zombie fans have only thought that it was possible for the living to be reanimated. In this, I mean that we all assume that for a zombie to exist they must come from what was once living tissue and flesh. On top of that you have the generalized infectious properties of the zombie plague/virus that are apparent in most popular series. Then we have Hasbro come along and put together two juggernauts of fandom in a way many did not think possible.

Released this past year, we have a five part mini-series created by Hasbro entitled Transformers Prime: Darkness Rising. Originally shown to the public on the Hub programming block, it is now able to be seen in syndication on that network as well as on their personal site. With this seriesl we see the return of Megatron after the battles that took place on Cybertron in the same universe as that of the Transformers: War for Cybertron videogame.

In this story arc, he is still planning on conquering the planet Earth by utilizing what is referred to as the Blood of Unicron. By utilizing Dark Energon he is able to fuse it with himself and resurrect an army of undead warriors of Autobot and Decepticon origin. With this groundwork in place, we are then able to enjoy a great bit of storytelling including zombies in the universe of the Transformers.

This is a very good show; however, it is not without a few issues. First and foremost, as far as I am concerned, the best iterations of the Tranformers were in the 1980’s cartoons. In this mini-series they are rendered by Hasbro in three dimensions. This adds depth to them without causing a lot of the problems that watching the Transformers live action movies. Here you are given the ability to watch the battle scenes without feeling sick. The voice acting here is top notch as is apparent in any iteration of Transformers that Hasbro puts their name on.

The other biggest complaint I have is that you really don’t get a whole lot of zombies. If you look at this series in terms of the five episodes that comprise it, you will see only about two full episodes worth of zombie goodness. Keep in mind also that these are not your typical zombies that search for flesh of the living. They are mindless drones driven to destroy and nothing more. The only real reason you can call them zombies is because they have been resurrected from the dead and that slicing them up doesn’t necessarily stop them.

This is a great mini-series story arc, but you should not look at this in terms of a zombie story. This is definitely a Transformers story, with the zombies thrown in to show a sense of urgency. If you are a Transformers fan then do not pass this up as it truly is a good story with great action and great voice work combined with enough drama and action to leave you wanting more. If you are looking to watch this for the zombies, then unfortunately you will probably be disappointed as they don’t earn enough screen time for the amount of hype they are given. Zombie issues aside, this is still a fun time for anyone watching it. If you would like to watch the episodes for yourself you may do so for free at The Hub where you are able to stream all five episodes for free.

Zombie Ammo contest

Zombie Ammo is back for another Zombies & Toys contest!  The winner will take home some extremely cool targets to help you prepare for the zombie apocalypse including their new Santa Zombie!

In addition to Zombie Santa, the winner will also receive a set of the original zombie targets: 2 originals, 2 jersey, 2 nazi, 3 terrorist, and 3 clowns.  Let me tell you, these targets are awesome looking and even make great decorations.

To enter, email your name and address to zombieammo@zombiesandtoys.com.  We will select one winner in one week on December 17th.  Hopefully, you will receive your prize in time to celebrate the holiday.  So enter now and don't forget to include your address to expedite your prize!

Zombies for Zombies contest winners

First, I would like to thank Source Books and author, David Murphy, for sponsoring the contest!  Join me in congratulating our winners:

*  Denis M. of New York, NY
*  Nan of Purdy's, NY
*  Todd J. of Orem, UT

The Walking Dead on Blu-ray and DVD

Todd Jepperson

I’ve got bad news, and good news. To make it short and sweet, here’s the bad news: The 6th and last episode of The Walking Dead: Season One will air this Sunday at 9/8c on AMC. (editor's note: I was asleep at the wheel getting this posted) Yeah, the entire first season of the series was only 6 episodes long. Not only that; but, the next season likely won’t start until Oct. 2011. You’re probably thinking, “What the hell am I going to do for the next year? Do they really expect me to wait around?” Which is where the good news comes in.


AMC and Anchor Bay Distribution are fast-tracking the DVD and Blu-ray release of the first season. We have a confirmed release date of March 8th 2011. That’s right, we really only have to wait a couple of months to snag the DVD set… or single disk, as it may be. Now the other good news, Amazon.com is taking pre-orders now. At $27.99 for DVD and $34.99 Blu-ray, we’re getting the season for an average of five twenty-five per episode. There will be no buyer’s remorse there. And the other, other good news? It looks like the next season will be a whole lot longer than this one and will have over a dozen episodes. See you in October.

On the Chopping Block

Todd Jepperson

According to several sources, the entire writing staff for The Walking Dead got the axe last week. I originally started out to report the news, and then came across an article on TVsquad.com.  In the article, the author quotes Robert Kirkman saying, “It's kind of unfortunate that it's being reported that our writing staff has been fired because that's not the case. ... It makes Frank look bad. I don't think Frank wants it out there that he's just firing people off of a successful show."


According to Kirkman, the show’s number two man, Charles “Chic” Eglee, hit the road after Frank Darabont decided he’d stick around for season two. Darabont originally planned to cover season one, and then move on to films leaving an open slot of Eglee to step in. When Darabont thought better of leaving such a big project, Eglee was upset and left.


The news that the entire season two will be written freelance is still rumor to this point, according to Kirkman. "It's a little premature to be nailing down. I don't know if it's going to be a freelance situation or if we're going to have writers in a writers' room," he said. "That's something that's being worked on now." That news shouldn’t be traumatic, however; because if what I’m finding is correct, Kirkman either wrote or co-wrote one episode, and Darabont wrote two, and co-wrote the rest.


It looks like all there is to do now is wait. We’ll find out in October what all of this really means.