{"id":112,"date":"2011-09-28T02:31:47","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T02:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2011\/09\/28\/fantastic-fest-day-five-zombies-over-havana\/"},"modified":"2012-08-17T05:18:26","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T05:18:26","slug":"fantastic-fest-day-five-zombies-over-havana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2011\/09\/28\/fantastic-fest-day-five-zombies-over-havana\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic Fest Day Five: Zombies over Havana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Promoted as the first Cuban-made horror film, Juan of the Dead<\/span><\/a><\/span> delivered a creative, zombie\/comedy on the level of Shaun of The Dead<\/span> (which despite the title bears little resemblance) and Zombietown<\/span>. After Havana descends into chaos following the zombie outbreak, Juan, the procrastinating title hero, must overcome his lackadaisical nature to defend his friends and estranged daughter. First time writer\/director Alejandro Brugu\u00e9s, who currently lives in his native Cuba, bravely crafted this pro-Cuba, anti-Castro film. News reports punctuate the movie relating the official government position that these incidents are the results of \u201cAmerican-backed dissidents\u201d so the characters throughout refer to the undead as dissidents. According to Brugu\u00e9s, who participated in a q&amp;a following the feature, many of the weird occurrences actually happened. And there was plenty of strange. Juan of the Dead<\/span>, easily the best and most original zombie film of the year, offered loving nods to classic Romero zombiefests, Dead Alive<\/span>, and even Ghostbusters<\/span> (\u201cJuan of the Dead, we kills your loved ones.\u201d). <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Brief side note:<\/span> During the Juan of the Dead<\/span> introduction, Brugu\u00e9s challenged Timecrimes<\/span>\/Extraterrestrial<\/span> creator Nacho Vigalondo, who was in attendance, to a Fantastic Fest Debate<\/a> for an explanation about what the hell is going on it Timecrimes<\/span> and to prove the superiority of Cuban filmmakers over Spaniards. Something to look forward to in ’12.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nPrepared especially for the festival, Drawn and Quartered<\/span><\/a><\/span> collects 12 animated shorts from around the world. Bedtime for Timmy<\/span><\/a>, The Last Norwegian Troll<\/span><\/a>, and The Holy Chicken Of Life And Music<\/span><\/a> offered the most memorable contributions. Most of the other selections ranged from just forgettable to outright terrible.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nFantastic Fest Day Four: The Absurdity of Headhunters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Fantastic Fest Day Six: Murder and Mayhem<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Promoted as the first Cuban-made horror film, Juan of the Dead delivered a creative, zombie\/comedy on the level of Shaun of The Dead (which despite the title bears little resemblance) and Zombietown. After Havana descends into chaos following the zombie … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n