d./w. various; p. Tony Newton; cast: Mhairi Calvey, Nathan
Head and many, many more
Virus of the Dead could very well be the ultimate found
footage zombie film. The 102 minutes is split into 30-odd fragments telling 22 nihilistic
stories, all of which start out unhappy and conclude not much later bleakly
and/or suddenly. There’s no first act of scene-setting normality, no strained “let’s
film everything” justification. Everyone is either vainly filming their life
when the undead attack or making a video message for posterity as ghoulish
hordes scratch at the door. As a representation of a global society suddenly
splintering into chaos and the immediate, arbitrary destruction of people’s
lives, this is bang on the money. Though most of the segments are American, the
project was conceived, curated, edited and produced by prolific anthologiser
Newton, creator of Troma’s Grindsploitation series and co-creator of much of
Trash Arts’ output. British contributors are Christopher Jolley (Whisper), Keiron
Hollett (director of the unreleased Blood Curse), Dan Brownlie (Serial Kaller)
and Newton himself. Return of the Living Dead 3 scripter John Penney and German
trash legend Timo Rose also contribute segments.
- Available now on Vimeo on Demand via Wild Eye Releasing.
