more zombies

[fletch137]

Looks like zombies are the new thing. I'd better hurry while I can still catch the crest. One of the goals for my zombie western was to take a lot of what has become cliche for each genre and give it a new spin by working it into the other one. For example, I've got the jailhouse escape, the race to catch a moving train, and the saloon brawl, for instance, but the involvement of horror elements will hopefully make them fresh again. For instance, when the hero cries out "the cavalry's coming", it's not a good thing.

I'd recognized the FX products and boards were English without really thinking through what that could mean. Ian, I'd be interested in hearing how a European views the American Wild West. Maybe some of the genre conventions we take for granted should have better explanations in the context of the story.

One of the main points I would like feedback on, though, is the 'origin' of my zombies. In essence, there isn't one. The hero's goal isn't to figure out where the zombies come from as it is to survive them. There's a scene where the suvivors discuss what could've caused the dead to rise from the graves, but any attempt I made to actually define the source skewed the story away from my two protaganists (the US Marshal and his prisoner) and I kept cutting it. As fellow zombie fans, how unsatisfied would you be in a zombie movie that didn't define why the corpses are rising?

Give me a few more days to get to know you guys and I'll post my outline.

[greyo]

hey fletch,

sorry for the late reply but i've been away.

Yeah i've noticed alot of people talking about zombie owbiy films recently but I think there is room in the genre for multiple productions.

I don't think its important to explain where the zombies come from. Im not in my script, like you said I feel the it is more important that the characters survive them than sit down and explore the origins. Initially I was trying to think of a way to explain and origin and could only come up with something lame like an indian curse etc.

Im still working on my story outline but its heading in the direction of a self-contained story similar is suppose to rio bravo/dawn of the dead. Im making my main character someones who is dead inside and through the film and his interaction with the characters hes leanrs to appreciate life again.

Im looking to write a b-movie esque film and so I will have a lot of the conventiosn especially character wise - a reverend, ***** , outlaws, railroad tycoon etc. And the purpose of that character was so I can have a train escape finale.

I would be interested in reading your outline, Ill post mine up her soon when I get it alltogether. Perhaps when can help each other e.g I've come up with set pieces I have axed from my script which could be cool in another story.

All the best

Ian

[fletch137]

Glad to see someone else here. I had high hopes for this group but it seemed to dry up pretty quickly. I guess trying to form an on-line community over the holidays is a little ambitious.

It's interesting to hear how similar our films are, but your "dead on the inside" theme is far different from mine. Mine's more of a study of opposites and I've tried to give everyone an opposite number to play off of. For example, the two main characters are the New Orleans gambler and the US Marshal chasing him. The Christian frontierwoman has the town prostitute as her opposite and the young town mayor has the wily old prospector. Even the zombies date back to an old Civil War battle and are Union and Confederate. I've considered renaming the film "Dead or Alive" because of both the 'wanted' aspect of the gambler character and to play off of this opposition theme.

I guess the next hurdle is to overcome my stage fright and post up my outline for review...