Title: Mimesis – Night of the Living Dead
Directed by: Douglas Schulze
Starring: Sid Haig, Allen Maldonado, Lauren Mae Shafer, Courtney Gains, Jana Thompson
Running time: 95 minutes, Rated R, Available on DVD
Special Features: Commentary by Director/Co-writer Douglas Schulze and Co-writer Joshua Wagner
A group of horror movie fans wake up near a farm-house after attending a horror convention, to find they are dressed like characters from the George A. Romero classic Night of the Living Dead.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when Courtney Gains from The ‘Burbs and Children of the Corn in the opening shot as a farmer. I liked the premise of these characters meeting at a horror movie convention, then it got more interesting when they awoke in classic 60’s attire and zombies were stalking them just like in the original movie.
Since Night of the Living Dead is public domain, it’s an easy choice to use as material for a new horror movie. While I thought the idea for this film was interesting, I thought these characters were pretty stupid to believe it was real at first until they pieced it all together. With the first weapon I found I would’ve gone outside and started hacking and stabbing away at these sadistic nerds.
Sid Haig did well with the little screen time he had and I was glad it wasn’t an over the top character that we’re so used to seeing from him. I felt the entire cast gave good performances, but Allen Maldonado stood out the strongest. I expect to see him a lot more in the near future.
The make-up effects were decent, however, the biting of flesh effects bothered me because of the rubber looking skin that pulled then snapped away. I would’ve just preferred a cut-away from the body and see the bloody aftermath if they couldn’t make the bites look realistic. I did like how one character was attacked, but didn’t die right away; you could see and feel his suffering as he struggled to live. That was the most seemingly realistic death scenes I’ve seen in a horror movie and for that I give gold stars to the actor and filmmakers.
Mimesis was clever and wasn’t overly gory. I fear for some sick f— who may try to make their own mimesis, because let’s face it, there’s plenty of unoriginal idiots out there, but I think it would be tough to find so many people on board to help them recreate it. I look forward to the sequel and how they’re going to pull off the next horror movie.
Reviewed by JM Willis
Total Rating: A
