The Walk Part Two

Debbie and Naomi were playing a board game when I entered the living room. John was sat at the dining table scribbling on a note pad. I had enjoyed a shower and shave and felt refreshed for the first time in three days. I saw Naomi's hand shaking as she prepared to roll the die, her grip grew tighter around it and she stopped the rhythmic motion with her arm and sat still in a daze. Debbie looked round at me with sad eyes and I walked to Naomi, placed one hand on her shoulder and placed my other on her clenched fist. She stared blankly ahead for a few seconds then opened her hand and let the die fall to the floor. She turned to face me and tears welled in her eyes, her lips trembled as she opened her mouth and told me she was scared, then the floodgates opened and she dug her head into my chest and gripped me the hardest she ever had. It took all of my will to not lose it and to start blabbing with her, I had to stay strong, I needed to push emotions to one side and run entirely on survival instincts. I held her and whispered the only thing I could think to comfort her.  'We will be alright, I love you'.  'Six!' Debbie said as enthusiastically as she could muster and Naomi pulled her red puffy face away from me and looked down at the die. 'Yaay' she snorted trying hard to keep up the pretence. She picked up her piece and moved it round the board. 'Do I get another go?'. 'Right I've done it!' John said proudly as he stood from the table. He walked over and sat on the floor cross legged with a piece of paper gripped in both hands,  a great beaming smile on his face. I hadn't seen a smile in a while. He held up the paper and announced that if it was going to be the end of the world that he no longer wanted to be known as John Caneham and he had written a list of names that he wanted the group to chose one from. I was worried about John. His parents had called and insisted they were coming to pick all of us up and they would be an hour. That was forty two hours previous. John was obviously worried sick after a few hours, but tried to hide it. We tried to talk to him but what could we have said? What words would have been right? I don't think any of us had the right words. He didn't want to talk about it anyway. He just bottled it up, he let the guilt and the hurtful visions loop around inside his mind over and over. After a whole twenty four hours I think something just snapped in his brain and he went from being focused, strong and having a good understanding of what was happening to not being bothered anymore, like he gave up and didn't take the situation seriously. He had dressed himself in a suit and a bowler hat that afternoon and sat and read a book silently, then after an hour or so went and got changed. None of us said anything. I'm sure Debbie had talked to him about it in private, but at the time we just left him to it. Now he wanted to be called 'Zeus', 'Thor' or his favourite 'Sledgehammer'.   Debbie looked him straight in the eyes and calm as a button told John to snap out of it, that he was being a fucking idiot and that If we were going to survive, that we needed him, that she needed him and that she understood how he was feeling and that she was sorry about his parents, but no one had heard from their parents and we all feared the worst. When she started to explain I saw the anger in his eyes, that 'how dare you lecture me' look I've seen before from many sets of eyes, but then as the words sunk in a light came on in those blue eyes and John came back. We could all see him thinking about his actions and realising he had been acting strange as he listened. then as Debbie finished and a tear ran down her cheek he looked her dead in the eye, gave a wry smile and apologised.  It's understandable that we were all freaked out. We were about to attempt to flee the building and the sun was rising. The girls packed up the board game and we stood around looking at the place we were leaving behind.  It took four hours of crying, screaming, slamming doors and general falling outs before the final decision to leave was agreed by all. The girls didn't want to leave the flat. They said it was suicide and that I was a fool for suggesting it, that after all I had been through to get to them I should know better. When John said I had a point the girls stormed off and went and sat together in the bedroom. John and I sat and made our points to each other and then decided to play football on his console as we did not know if we would ever get chance to again. After an hour or so the girls emerged and said that they had calmed down and we should all discuss it without all getting riled. So we sat and discussed it calmly and still came to the same verdicts, two for leaving two against. That night in bed Naomi asked me to think of a full plan and why we were safer out there than in the barricaded building we were in. She promised that If I thought it through start to finish and if it made sense, she would back me. I didn't sleep much that night, I thought out my plan, every possible situation that I could think of, analysed and double processed, neatly organised in my mind. When I had done all that and translated it into what I would use verbally I had a strange feeling of satisfaction, a rare feeling, I couldn't remember any point in the past I had planned anything to this standard. The next morning I  gave my speech, I advised that there were a lot of cars abandoned in the street outside and around the outskirts of the city, that even though none of the group could legally drive, we were all intelligent enough to know the basics. I pointed out that the roads were dry at that point so we should be ok. John had to explain the clutch and biting point theory to Debbie but apart from that driving a car didn't worry anyone. I went on to say if we could get out of the city that we should head north, to the Highlands ideally, although petrol could be a challenge, but still somewhere remote and mountainous. I also added that the highlands had a low population and the dead would struggle with the mountain passes. I reminded Naomi of the cabin we had stayed at four years previously, which faced a Loch and backed onto a forested mountainside. I said that would be an ideal place to go and she agreed reluctantly, John and Debbie were unsure but they trusted me. John pointed out that the cold weather might freeze the dead too, which I hadn't thought of. The idea was sinking in with the girls but the horse wasn't over the line just yet.  'So,' Debbie started 'you want us all to leave this warm fortress that hasn't had any trouble..'  'Yet.' John pointed out.  '....which has running water and a shop full of food in it (we had discussed knocking a hole in the wall of the flat next to the shop as there was no entrance in the building itself, but it seemed too risky) and try and drive four hundred miles and up a mountain to freeze and eat, well eat what? Thorns?' she was getting angry but she held herself back, breathed in, blew out her anger and then finished.  'Give me one good reason why we should not stay. Just one.'  It only took one, I had been saving it as I knew it would clinch it, it was the original reason why I wanted out. I hadn't mentioned what the army were doing to them all by this point, I knew it would cause more panic but now I needed to explain. I told them of the lines outside the hospital, the hundreds of people slaughtered because of the possibility of one being infected and getting through. It was a hard thing to explain, I have trouble putting my emotions into words at the best of times. They all sat and listened as a told my story. As I talked, memories overwhelmed my mind, I felt a deep burning in my chest and a choking in my throat and then the emotions shot up into my head and I burst into a uncontrollable fit of tears. I haven't cried in a long time, I'm not saying I think men who cry are wimps or anything,there's nothing wrong with, it's just that i don't get that upset at much. Naomi always says I'm distant emotionally, I  think that she is right. Naomi held me as I cried and let me get it out of my system. I forgot how crying makes your eyes sting and gives you headache, a dull pain for expelling your pent up feelings, seems unfair to me. After I had pulled myself together I continued on, ignoring Naomi's questions of how we would get past the army and explained that in the three days since the outbreak not one solider had stepped foot within five hundred yards of the city centre and that if they were killing anyone who tried to leave their perimeter, that it would only be a matter of time before they cleansed the city. They were shocked at this, but understood that I was right, even if they didn't want to admit it to themselves.  'What do you mean by cleansing?' Debbie asked.  'I don't know, probably send in troops to kill everything that moves, work the streets, take out the buildings one at a time. Most likely they will just carpet bomb the city with napalm or something, either way I don't want to be around for that.'  Everyone agreed with what I was saying and what had been the girls fortress became a fearful place to them. We decided to leave at first light so packed basic clothes, food and toiletries in the rucksacks and laptop bag we had available, ate and then tried to get some sleep. I managed to nod off after a while, I could hear distant moans from the dead through the blanketed closed window and it made me think about my journey to the flat. How I had thought myself to be some sort of hero for walking and hiding and taking out a few sluggish dead. Now I was realising that what I had achieved was nothing compared to what I would need to do. I was scared, but I couldn't show it, I needed to be strong.  I dreamt of being in prison, locked away in a cell, nothing but a bed,  a shit bucket and a heavy locked grey door with a slot on the door which was open. I was mesmerised by the darkness in the space, transfixed on the gaping hole, then slowly, at first, came the moans of the dead. I could hear them shuffling towards the door, hundreds of them all moaning in unison, all boasting of the meal they had found. They closed in on the door, a hand came from the darkness through the slot, then another, then another all reaching out towards me. The moans were deafening now and seemed to be coming from all around, then there was a low rumble and the whole cell shook, plaster fell away from the walls and gaps appeared all around, then hands started to come through each, hundreds of fans all reaching out for the star attraction. Then they started to rip holes bigger in the walls and all in unison broke through at the same time and closed in on me. I crouched screaming, as they grabbed me and bit into me.   I woke sweating, I exhaled the nightmare from myself and noticed Naomi wasn't in bed. I could hear her and Debbie in the living room. I got up and had a shower then realised it was almost dawn.   We were stood together now, all thinking our separate thoughts, I couldn't imagine any of them were positive, I know mine were not. I shook the negativity from my mind and remembered something. I told the group we should if possible at some point try and withdraw as much money as we could get between us. We had no idea if money was any good but it was best to have it rather than not. There was no point doing that in the city, we would have plenty of shops and cash points on small villages on the way to do that. We decided that we would drive the back roads rather than the motorways as the motorways were blocked everywhere on the news when it was still being aired. We were concerned that the back roads would be blocked too, but we agreed that there were probably less dead on those roads than the herds they had showed shuffling up and down the motorways. We were all nervous now and it showed. John had an old printer he had in a cupboard that he had got out and printed directions to the lodge we had decided to head for, he had also printed out a map too. We all enjoyed a round of tea's and coffees wishing we had a flask and milk and then went over the first part of the plan one more time and then Debbie fed her fish and we left the flat. The corridors were quiet and empty, there was no sign that any of the dead had got in. When I arrived John had told me that most people had either left in the exodus or simply never came home at all, there were a couple of people still in the building, who had cleverly decided to guard the doors as soon as the outbreak began, therefore monitoring who came and went. John had visited each of the remaining residents with our plan but none wanted in, I suppose we could of tried harder to save them, but it's not like we could of forced them to leave. We made our way to the ground floor and to the blocked entrance. John had a baseball bat that a resident had given him and Debbie, Naomi and I had sixteen inch pipes we had unscrewed from the railings on the stairwell. I doubted they would last more than a few blows but we weren't going out there to kill all the zombies, we just needed to keep them off us. I reminded all of that point and then asked I'd they we're ready, they all said no. I turned and listened, I couldn't hear any close range moaning so flicked the switch which unlocked the big heavy door, opened it a few inches and peeked out. I could see a car opposite but after checking the roads noticed that the road on one side was blocked by cars that had piled up and we didn't want to go the other way as it ran straight into the centre of town. I closed the door and explained that we would need to walk down the road and past the pile up and if the road was clear, find a car there. I looked at the girls and said that they were going to see some awful things, but no matter what they saw to never stop, to say focused and that John and I would protect them. I don't think that helped with their fears, as Debbie stated that she was going to be sick.   Reluctantly we made our way out of the building and onto the street and found our path to the pileup clear. We stuck close to the buildings and slowly made our way, I tried not to look at the bodies, the blood that was covering the street. All around were the remains of the poor souls who had succumbed to the dead and had at least been lucky enough to have been too devoured to reanimate. I told the girls not to look and I took there hands, one by one stepped them over a pile of unrecognisable guts and body parts festering in a torn open rib cage which had maggots crawling all around finishing off what the ghouls had left. Obviously I couldn't keep their eyes off everything, I tried to make sure Naomi kept looking at me rather than the surroundings, but she saw the toddler, we all did. He was around eighteen months old. He must of been travelling through town with his parents because he was in a car baby seat, which had been pulled or pushed out of the open back door of a red Mercedes. The baby chair was face down and the toddler was trapped underneath it still in the straps. He had one leg missing, only tendons and ripped bones protruding, his foot was still in its tiny sock and shoe twenty feet away. He had lost all his fingers and half his palm was missing up to the thumb on his left arm. He was wriggling around, trapped under the seat hissing at us as we passed. Not moaning, hissing, I suppose his vocal chords hadn't developed enough to moan like an adult ghoul. It was the hissing that drew Naomi's eyes to it, she stopped frozen and I grabbed her hand and tried to pull her along, but she held firm and stared. I still have nightmares about that toddler. I can't imagine what it did to Naomi. I told her there was nothing we could do and had to keep moving, John was holding Debbie who was crying and I remember thinking that even though I had a decent enough plan which was well thought out, that out here there was going to be things we could never imagine seeing. Naomi stared at the toddler and without taking her eyes off him asked me if we would help him. I told her there was nothing we could do and dragged her away. I knew what she had meant from her question but I wasn't going to waste time and bring attention to ourselves,  mainly there was no way I could of lived with myself if I had gone over to that small child. We got to the pile up and things didn't get any better. It seems that pretty much straight after the poor people had experienced their crash, the ones who survived had been set upon by the dead. There was blood covering the vehicles and there insides, doors were open and one fords windscreen wipers were wiping someone's lower intestines back and forth across the windscreen as the lifeless remains of their owner laid motionless on top. John motioned to the other side. It was clear, no ghouls. I wondered where they were, we could hear them in the distance but couldn't see any. Past the wreckage we could see the road was also clear and seeing a few cars spread out abandoned gave me hope that I hadn't made a mistake with my plans. John smiled at me, turned and started to walk between the smashed cars through the only gap available, I shouted for him to stop, which he did and I walked over and pointed to a car to his left. The car was facing away from us and John hadn't noticed the dead inside, trapped by his seatbelt after turning. John thanked me and walked up to the window which was open and the ghoul snarled and tried to reach out for him. John poked the end of the baseball bat into the side of its head and gently pushed his head back away forming a space, then motioned us to go through one at a time. Once through he gave the ghoul a good whack, not doing any damage to it, turned to me and said.  'These zombies ain't shit'.  We slowly made our way through the gaps and as we neared the end Debbie stopped dead, lifted one finger up like she was testing the wind and looked at the floor. 'Listen.' she said. We didn't notice at first so she spelled it out for us.  'Those moans are getting louder!'  I looked back and couldn't see the street due to the mountain of crushed metal but I knew she was right. Not only was it getting louder but they were close, real close. I turned and shouted for everyone to run, which everyone did. I shouted to head to the cars and find one with keys.  There were four close now so I shouted to check a car each. I got to a Landrover and found the door open but no keys, I turned to see Naomi turning from a Seat and shouting that it was locked and had no keys, John had no keys at the Ford he had checked. I turned towards the moans. The herd, I say herd but really it was an exodus. There must of been at least a thousand of them, all staring right at us. Luckily the pileup was stopping them all getting through, but they was a slow stream who had been pushed through the gap and were making their way towards us. It was buying us time but not long. I turned back round to tell everyone to run on but was interrupted by Debbie shouting that she had a car with keys. We ran over to the green golf and I told the girls to get in the back, keeping my eye on the dead who were now only two hundred yards away. John had moved a few feet towards them and was slapping the head of his bat in his palm, Thor wanted to play. I still think he thought he could take them all, the crazy fool. Once the girls were in I flipped the passenger seat forward and told John to get in. I went to the drivers side, closed the door and looked at the gear leaver. I expressed vocally my desires for the golf to start and to be good, put on my seatbelt and turned the key.  'come on, come on, come on.' I muttered as I pumped the pedal and the car sparked into life. I creaked the gear into first, lifted the clutch and the car stalled. 'Shit' I shouted and started again. Everyone was freaking out because the dead were fifty feet away and if enough surrounded us we wouldn't have been going anywhere. I checked into first again and heard the first ghouls bumping into the rear of the car and start pressing their face against the glass. The girls were screaming now for me to drive and I tried the clutch again. This time the car started to roll forward and I stepped on the gas a little more. In all the movies you see the heroes getting into a car and speeding away as fast as possible, all tyres screeching and smoking as they blast away. This wasn't like that. I think the fastest I went as we headed out of the city was about twenty five. There was no way I was going to go fast when I wasn't experienced at driving but no one minded, zombies can't walk as fast as we can, so a car going twenty five was pretty safe in our book. I had to think of fuel economy as well, the tank was three quarters full, but I didn't know how far that would get us, none of us did and we had no idea If we would find any more. I suppose I wouldn't of admitted it at the time but I was also driving slow because I knew sometime soon we would come face to face with the army. It turned out that a more appropriate phrase would be 'face to body parts strewn across a street'. As we approached it was clear there had been a massacre, but not one like I'd encountered on my way in, this massacre was performed by the dead. The girls were uncomfortable as we passed the remains of her majesties best.  The blood of the innocents who had been trying to flee was glazed by a new layer of fresh army remains. There was obviously a fight, but one that ended badly. We were clearing the carnage when I saw something and stopped the car. Everyone asked what I was doing and then got hysterical when I opened the door and got out. 'hang on a minute.' I told them and walked over to a dead soldier who's cranium had been smashed open and the little remains of his brain matter spilled out onto the floor. I leant down and took a pistol from his side, then found two clips on his belt. John had seen this and jumped out of the car.  'I can do better than that' he said and disappeared inside a tent that had been erected in the street and then reappeared holding a shotgun and motioned me over. There were a few rifles, shotguns and machine guns laying on a desk with lots of shells and full clips. We didn't need to discuss it, we just emptied an army bag that we found under the desk and put two shotguns, three pistols and a machine gun in it. John carried as much ammo as he could and we went back to the car. I stalled it again but got it going the second time, everyone laughed and I told them I would be laughing when it was their turn. The atmosphere of death faded with every mile we left the city behind us, we all relaxed and after twenty miles started talking and joking like a family would on a normal trip to the seaside. We talked about the past, the future. What happened? How long will it last? Will it ever be as it was? serious questions that we managed to turn into silly conversations just to avoid talking about the things we had seen and to feel normal, even if it was only for a while . After a few hours, and a lot of wrong turns we came across a petrol station in a small village. I got out and looked around, the place seemed abandoned so I tried the pump, which happened to have unleaded in it. Debbie had gone to the cash machine to get some money and John was looking for his wallet in his rucksack to do the same. I stuck the nozzle in and squeezed praying that I was putting the right fuel in the car. I wasn't paying attention, I was watching the dials rotating on the pump wondering why I'd never bothered learning to drive as it was easy. We all heard Debbie scream and I turned to see her fighting to run from a ghoul who had gripped her hair he was around six two and at first glance seemed human like, just with a fresh grey tinge to his complection. Every step she took to get away just pulled her back towards it. I didn't flinch, I dropped the pump and ran towards them and could sense John doing the same. I didn't think about pulling the pistol from my jeans and just dived in head first into the ghouls stomach, knocking it back and pulling Debbie with it. John got there and started to pull the deads hand off the thick hair it had in its grip. It sat up to go for John and I put my hand over its chest and pulled it back towards myself and away from John. It's grip loosened on Debbie as its head turned and saw me, those wide pearl white eyes all loud and excited. As I put my hand up to stop his face colliding with mine it opened its mouth and plunged its teeth into my bare flesh. I'm sure if you compare the pain to someone who had been hurt in a fire, or tortured, the pain I felt then would be no where near that level, but when you consider that the second those teeth dug through my skin I knew I was dead. My life was over. There was no escape, no survival, no more protecting Naomi, no more me. No amount of physical injury could ever overshadow this.  I pushed the zombie off my arm and jumped when it's head exploded from the shotgun shells hitting its skull. It fell motionless next to me. John was pointing the shotgun at me but looking at my bleeding wrist.  'Aaw man!' he said and lowered the gun and squatted resting his elbows on the butt, he knew the score. I wish I had reacted different but I wasn't thinking straight, Debbie had gone back to the car and Naomi was looking at me through the back window tears streaming down her face. I got to my feet and walked up to John and told him to look after Naomi, to stick to the plan and then I told him to drive away. He wouldn't do it, he blankly refused, so I lost it. I screamed at him,  said awful things I didn't mean just to get them away, I knew the shot from John killing the zombie would attract more. I pulled the pistol from my jeans and pointed it at John. 'Get the fuck away' I cocked the gun 'NOW!'  John wasn't stupid, he knew what was going on and he both apologised and thanked me I told him to get Naomi safe and he ran to the car. He closed the door and started the engine, Naomi was screaming at him asking him what he was doing then after he had replied she turned around and placed her hands on the window, screaming my name, tears streaming down her face. I thought I'd never encounter anything more terrible than seeing the toddler, but watching the woman you love driving away, not knowing if she would be safe is much much worse. At the time I was lost in anger, I should of gone, I should of held her, I should of told her all the things I meant to but never did. I should of said goodbye. Instead I lost it and freaked. I found that a door at the back of the shop was unlocked and went inside, grabbed a drink and chocolate and sat in a corner eating as much sugar as I could enjoy before the inevitable happened. I had a cigarette and enjoyed nicotine for the last time. I could feel the burning in my arm. It made its way up to my shoulder in what seemed like minutes then across my chest. It felt like every rib had been broken and got worse the more I breathed. I became dizzy and lost all focus. I was both hot and cold, sweaty but dry. I closed my eyes and thought of Naomi, of my parents, my childhood and all the great people I had met in my short life. I refused to spend my last moments thinking negative thoughts. That's all I had ever done. My ending was going to be sweet and I wasn't going to come back as a one of those things. I had placed the pistol, cocked, on my lap, I thought my happy thoughts and felt a warmth pass over me. I could feel something, like I was being dragged towards a darkness. I knew it was time. I opened my eyes and could barely make out the pistol. I tried to move my arms to pick it up but had left it too late. I was too weak, too far gone to even grip the gun, let alone lift it to my temple and fire. I cursed my stupidity and hoped that someone would find me and finish me off before I hurt anyone. then I thought of Naomi,  just her smile.The one she saved for me, a smile your lover gives when they watch you sleep, when they are proud or just happy to be there with you, a smile that made me happy, relaxed me and then I let go and then there was nothing. My eyes opened and I couldn't believe it. Not only had I had my life taken, but it appeared that my soul was still stuck in this dead cannibal to see everything 'it' does, everywhere 'it' goes, for ever. I waited for it to take control and get my body to its feet, but it didn't move, then I felt the pain in my wrist, I moved my arm, me, I moved it, not some evil force that was in control. I had somehow survived. I got up and shook off the fading dizziness and couldn't believe what was happening. How was I still here? I put my hand up to my mouth and breathed out. I was breathing, but was I alive? I felt alive, but I also felt different. I couldn't define what it was, but something, something I sensed that was for the better. I knew what I needed to do, I needed to find Naomi. I needed to find them and then find out what had happened to me. In the moment I became overwhelmed and actually laughed just before I passed out. 

The Grey Review

The Grey (2011)


Director- Joe Carnahan 


 Liam Neeson (Taken, The A-Team) plays Ottway, a hunter employed by an Oil Company to protect its workers in the harsh Alaskan wilderness where they are drilling for oil. As the workers make their way home at the end of their term, the plane they are travelling on crashes and Ottway leads seven of his colleagues from the wreck to safety, only to be hunted by a pack of hungry Wolves. 


 The Grey is a film about Survival and The Will to Survive. Unlike the Familiar Alive (1993), which is even mentioned in this feature, The only thing that is eating the dead are the wolves. The Storyline is a simple one. A plane crashes leaving seven survivors, who quickly realise that they are being targeted by a pack of Wolves and no matter what they do, they cannot shake these beautiful, but deadly beasts, and from this you would be forgiven to believe that The Grey is just another straight forward action adventure flick, which in some respects it is, but mostly The Grey is angled at portraying the human emotions of the predicament. It is a feature which pushes the men's Will to live to the extreme and shows how different people react to it. 

 The film is beautifully shot and the script is strong, each caricature is believable and I found myself caring for each of their well being. The acting is excellent from all the cast involved and Neeson returns to a caricature close to that he played in Taken, Cool, Calm, Intelligent. The Direction is spot on and the plot line is far from predictable, even though, from the simplistic storyline, you wouldn't believe so. The best thing about The Grey though has to be the direction of the Wolves. I'm sure that we all are frightened of Wolves to some extent but generally I wouldn't believe them to be in the top ten of peoples most horrid fears. Joe Carnahan's Wolves in the Grey, are scary, they aren't big over sized monsters or have super strength. They are in fact clever, devious and only pick off their prey one at a time and have been portrayed excellently in this film, they are scary and I'm sure once you have seen The Grey, you will be allot more frightened of these beautiful creatures than you were before. 


 All in all I have to praise this film, The Grey is a great piece of cinema and even though you could pick holes in certain spots, has all the right ingredients to satisfy as a top notch Survival-Thriller.


8/10
 

Splice Review

Splice (2009)




Director - Vincenzo Natali 


 Genetic Engineers Clive (Adrien Brody, Predators) and Elsa (Sarah Polley, Dawn of the Dead- 2004) have successfully created a set of new life forms using the DNA from different animals which the company want to produce proteins to use as food sources around the world. Once completed they tell the company they can use the technology to create a life form using animal and human DNA, to which they are refused permission, which they ignore and go forth and create Dren (Delphine Chaneac, The Big Black) and secretly raise her first at the lab and then at Elsa's family home. 

 I heard good things about Splice, but when I put it on spent the first ten minutes thinking that I was watching another Species and thought I was in for an hour and forty minutes of predictable storyline and half baked action. I was wrong. 


 Splice is a clever and beautiful story of bonding, relationships and the human condition. It is about two scientists raising their 'child/creation' and learning the meaning of parenthood. The script is well written and the acting is brilliant, especially from Sarah Polley who is, in my opinion, one of the most under-rated actresses in Hollywood today. The CGI is well thought out and as executed to perfection, which it needed to be for the concept to work. The cinematography is spot on and the direction is superb. 

 Splice is not a Horror and is more a science fiction drama, so all you out there looking for gore and shocks look elsewhere (even though it does contain a few disturbing scenes). If you are looking for a heartfelt, honest and true portrayal of how these events would unfold, then Splice is for you. There are not allot of films these days, especially in the sci-fi genre, where you feel so emotionally attached to the caricatures, but Splice has this in abundance. 


 I really enjoyed this film and it took me by surprise and I found myself wondering why I had never heard of this film. Out of the many films I have seen in the last month, Splice is the best by far. 


9/10

Transformers- Dark of the Moon Review

Transformers- Dark of the Moon.(2011)


Director - Michael Bay



 So Michael Bay is back again with his third instalment of the Transformers Franchise. After even admitting himself that Transformers 2 was a bad film, Bay has come back with a bigger, more action filled feature. All the usual ingredients are there, Shia LeBeouf (Eagle Eye) returns as Sam Witwicky, the college student turned hero who is once again thrown into the pap again as the Decepticons once again try to take over the world. Megan Fox has been replaced by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who is pretty much a carbon copy of Fox, but with blonde hair (and little acting talent).

 This time the US army pick up a signal coming from a crashed craft on the moon, so Optimus and crew go up and find their old leader Sentinal Prime (Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek) and bring him back to Earth, which starts a chain of events that could destroy humanity.

                                           Halfords introduce their new range of body kits




 First off I need to explain that as a child I loved Transformers, I watched the series religiously and had both animated movies. When the first of the latest series was released I found myself disappointed, but I suppose that was down to being a thirty year old man and not a child anymore. Transformers The Dark of the Moon, is no different. It has big CGI and action packed scenes galore, but lacks any real emotional connection to any of the caricatures, but this is Transformers, its not meant to be emotional, its meant to be for kids. If I look at this film through a child's eyes, then I think I would really enjoy this Movie. It has some great sequences that most people will enjoy and is simple enough for the youngest of fans to understand. I could go on all day about how tacky and poor the acting, plot and script is in Transformers Dark of the Moon, but it is besides the point. This isn't made for the ageing fans from the 80's who are now in their thirties, this is for the kids. I suppose I am bitter in this respect that the older fans seem to not be important to Bay, but am glad to see the new generation given a chance to fall in love with an old classic.

 This film is a Sunday afternoon family feature, something to keep the kids quiet for two hours. Its not one for the adults to watch while sharing a bottle of Red.

6/10

The Walk (a short story)

 I was at home, as usual, plodding round the house with no agenda. the TV was on but I was paying no attention to it. I had finished my second pot of coffee and was putting out my up-teenth cigarette of the day when my phone rang. It was Naomi, my girlfriend. I thought it strange that she was calling as she had phoned a couple of hours earlier, going on about some riot that was going on outside the Town Hall. I wasn't really paying attention at the time as I had been waiting for her to mention my lack of employment. Not that she brought it up all the time, in fact she hadn't mentioned it for at least a week, so I suppose I was expecting her to then. It never came, I remember feeling bad that I thought she would of brought it up. I picked my phone up and answered the call with my usual opening gambit.

"Hello" I groaned down the line, my voice gruff from not being used for a while.
"Hi Babe, look things are pretty fucked up here at the moment, there are police everywhere".
I knew straight away she was talking about the riots she had mentioned previously, but this time there was real fear in her voice.
"Really? are you alright?" I asked.
"Not really, there's something really wrong, there's people fighting everywhere".
I knew she was near an open window in her office as I could hear faint screaming and shouting and the sound of sirens ringing.
"look, everyone here is going home" she continued "but I'm not sure if there are any buses running." There was a pause for a second and then I heard a gasp and then a scream.
"OH MY GOD!" she started over and over. I could hear her work colleagues in the background shouting all sorts of different variations of what Naomi was repeating. "There is a policeman...babe?"
"I'm here" I said pacing round my living room starting to worry for her.
"theres a policeman.." I could here the stutter in her voice, she could barely talk. "He just grabbed someone and, he, oh god no! NO! NO!"
At this point I became intensely worried for my partners well being and also very interested in what was going on.
"Babe" pause "BABE?" I shouted the second time as the line had gone quiet.
"I'm here, he just started biting this man, and then someone came over and hit him, and now theres a few of them, they dragged this woman to the floor...".

 She was crying now, not just sobbing or having a weepy moment, but a full blown fit of tears which made her seem to have hiccoughs when she spoke.
"...they are EA-EATING ea- each other Mike!"
This came as a shock, I really wasn't expecting that, fighting, yes. Kicking, yes. Eating? not at all. I cut in as she was clearly having trouble with what was going on.
"Look, listen, check if Debbie and John are home. If they are, I want you to go to their flat. Can you do that?"
Debbie and John are old friends of ours, we like to visit on a Friday night and play bowling on their console whilst getting drunk. They live in the centre of the city and is a five minute walk from where Naomi worked. Naomi didn't speak at first, even I could here the cogs turning in her brain as she thought about my question.
"Yes, I think so." she replied after a while. "But Mike, somethings not right, Is there anything on the news? I think I can see a news van."
I hear one of her colleagues confirm that there was a new van, but the news wasn't important to me at the time, Naomi was the only thing I was worried about.
"OK, you set off now and phone me when you get there." I made her promise she would and then we told each other we love each other about four times before the line went dead.

 I picked up the television remote and flicked to the news channel and straight away I wished I had done it while Naomi was on the phone. As the channel flashed up onto the screen I could see a female reporter being dragged to the floor by what looked like three men and a women, the camera then started to tip as if the cameraman was falling and then the shot cut back to the studio with a very upset looking woman staring back at my equally upset face. She didn't speak, she was just shell shocked. a few seconds past and then the shot flicked to another man, sat next to her. "Breaking News, Riots have unexpected broken out In London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and we are now getting reports of riots breaking out in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh.." Now the man had paused, "My God!" he said to himself, then realised he was still live on TV, shook his head and continued "We are getting scattered reports that the rioters are biting and in some cases Eating their victims" he turned to someone off camera "Is this right?" his eyes widened as I suspected he had been given the answer he didn't expect "These acts of violence are resulting in the deaths of citizens and police officers and...and...that the.." he stopped again looked around the studio, presumably at his colleagues to see if they were playing a prank and then looked back into the camera "That the dead are getting up and joining in"

 I was stood staring at the screen now, frozen, awestruck and frightened. They were talking about zombies, but zombies aren't real, they are make believe. No, someones got it wrong, someones made a big mistake and is going to be joining me in the dole queue. Then they showed footage, from Manchester or Liverpool, I don't remember, of a mountain of people, all piled up on each other like a schoolyard game, then slowly one by one getting up and shuffling away, leaving a bloody shape on the floor, then the shape moved and slowly picked itself up from the floor and started shuffling itself towards a group of nearby police. Then the shot flicked to somewhere else, There was a man with a cricket bat, just repeatedly hitting this old man who must of been eighty, over and over again around the legs, arms, body and even on the head a few times. Then after a good dozen hits, stepped back and started to get his breath when his victim started to get to his feet and lunged for its attacker. It was impossible for the fittest young man to get up straight after that beating, but that old man did it as soon as the man stopped attacking him. Even though I had sat down and was staring at the screen, I wasn't watching what was happening in front of me, I was taking in the fact that the dead were eating the living and that I had just sent my true love out into the middle of it.
 I picked up the house phone and dialled Naomi's number, it rang through to the answer machine. I hung up and felt a sickly feeling in my stomach. Thoughts were racing through my mind. Was she OK? had she managed to get out OK? had I sent my girlfriend to her death? It seemed like an hour passed, when in fact it had only been fifteen minutes when my phone went again. I had been transfixed to the TV, waiting for footage of my city, none had come by this point. I picked up the phone.
"Babe?" I shouted so loud I must of startled her.
"I'm here, Ive just got to Debbie's"
I have never been so relieved in my life. I started to well up and must of told her I loved her ten times, she told me she was safe but had seen some horrible things and that an old woman laying on the pavement had grabbed her ankles and tried to bite her. I asked if she had been bitten to which she she no, and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She hadn't seen the news, not at that point, she had literally just got into the flat and called me. I could hear Debbie shouting something in the background about the dead. I told Naomi to lock the door, not draw attention to themselves and to sit tight and that I was coming for her, that I was coming for them all.

 I knew the challenge that was in front of me, I was a thirty two year old man, but I was the sort of person who always looked for the easy way, the way that took no effort, no hard work. Because of this, I had no drivers licence. I had been taught how to drive by a friend in his 1986 Mitsubishi in a car park, but that was once and fifteen years previous. I knew the buses were not running as it was streaming across the bottom of the news channel 'All UK public transport and airflight suspended'. I knew there was no point in ordering a taxi for two reasons, one being that I doubted there was any taxi driver mad enough to drive me into that nightmare and two, I didn't have enough money for the fare. I only had one option and that was to walk. Naomi and I lived in the suburbs of the City, as far away as it was possible to be from the bright lights and madness that was the concrete jungle without being in the countryside. I knew I had a ten mile walk ahead of me. I got my rucksack and started packing a few things, clothes, tinned food, tampons for Naomi and I filled a bottle with water. I even stopped and considered taking Naomi's hair straighteners, crazy right? That was down to habit, Naomi always needed her hair straightners. I decided logically that she could go without the straighteners and they would weigh me down. Its mad thinking back, that I even considered taking them, but the things you do in panic. I say panic, but that's not entirely true. My head was clear, for the first time in a long while. I only had one thing on my mind and that was getting to Naomi.

 I'm not a stupid man, I know sometimes I can come across that I am, but I knew what I was dealing with, Zombies, and I know allot about Zombies. I had over 20 Zombie movies, Zombie books and Comic books galore and I knew that the only way to stop a zombie was by destroying the brain. I needed a weapon. I went into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife we owned, but knew it was really a back-up weapon at best as it was part of a cheap set and would maybe only lasted one strike. I needed something heavy and durable. We had nothing in the house that filled the criteria. We weren't the sporting type, so there was no baseball bats, cricket bats or golf clubs, not that golf clubs would be any use. I looked in the cupboard at the boiler at the pipes and thought about ripping one of those from the wall, but held back as I imagined water flooding the house. I cursed myself for not being prepared for an invasion of the dead. We lived next to some woodland, and I considered trying to find a large branch or stick, but as it was early March, I knew that they would be damp and rotten and the chances of finding one thick enough to last seemed too much of a waste of time. I needed to go, I needed to get to my Love. I decided the knife would have to do for the time being. I picked up my rucksack, grabbed my hat and coat, put the cat out and left.
As I locked my door I noticed neighbours throwing suitcases and bags into their cars as though they were trying to escape the nightmare, even though the authorities were urging people to remain indoors and barricade themselves in, but who ever listens to the authorities? It seemed that everyone was running, but where to? Where was there that this wasn't happening? I knew that this exodus was probably happening all over the city and probably every city in the country. This had an effect on my route. There were two main ways to the city from my house, down the main roads or through the back streets, I had already decided to take the back streets but with everyone trying to escape, It would only be a matter of time before the main roads were jammed and the infected arrived for lunch. I looked around at the families, the kids and remember thinking I would never see them again, not alive anyway. I'm sure they were thinking the same. I walked.

 Apart from the mayhem of the cars and the general panic, I managed to get the first mile without any problems. I got to a Supermarket and thought about going in for supplies, or seeing if I could find a more appropriate weapon, but decided against it in case the dead had gotten inside. The last thing you want is to walk into a supermarket full of trolley pushing ghouls. I put my hand in my pocket and found a half pack of chewing gum and slipped one into my mouth. I decided to walk round the supermarket, as I could hear the panic of hundreds of shoppers trying to get out of the car park, the honking of horns, shouting and even a loud bang that could only of been two cars coming together. There were no TV screens in the supermarket, so something must of happened to get everyone so spooked, I didn't want to know what it was, so I veered off to the right and headed down the hill through a council estate, Still there were people, families packing up their cars. Children were crying, Men were loosing their tempers, women were having fits. The streets were mayhem. Not everyone was packing up. There were the few exceptions who were barricading their homes with whatever they could find to do so. One man was in his garden pulling apart his dog kennel, presumably to use the wood to block windows and doors. He looked up as I approached and noticed that I was heading in the opposite direction to everyone else and shouted to me that I didn't want to go that way and that I wouldn't make it alive. I didn't even respond, I was afraid that if I did, that we would have a conversation and he would make me realise that what I was doing was extremely stupid and that I might of stopped. I couldn't have that, All I had in my mind was getting to Naomi.  I followed the streets down through the estate, trying not to watch the madness unfold around me. there were two neighbours fighting over a lawnmower, a lawnmower! in a time like this. Its weird how different people react in panic. A few streets later I found the street empty, except for a body laying in a garden, a young man, around twenty five. At first I thought I had come across my first ghoul, but when I got closer I noticed he had been stabbed in the chest and body, but not the head, he was just a normal human who had been attacked for one reason or another. This made me realise that there wasn't just zombies to watch out for, but I had to be careful around my fellow human beings. Already in this early stage, humanity had ceased. It was Dog eat Dog and the leads had been removed. I stopped and looked at the body for a while, I don't know to this day why, maybe it was the shock of seeing a dead person, maybe I was glad it wasn't me. I came to and started on with my journey.

 As i turned the street I noticed a garden full of rubbish, you know those families who just store everything in their gardens like its a junkyard. I decided it would be a good idea to check it out for a weapon and it didn't take me long to find a heavy lead pipe, about fifteen inches long. I picked it up and swung it around the air to get used to swinging it, then moved on. I tried to put it through one of the loops in my jeans, but it was too thick and I didn't want to put it in my rucksack in case I couldn't get it out when I needed it, so I slid it up my coat sleeve to hide it and continued on. I had walked maybe two miles now and was getting to an open stretch of Fields, which were parallel to the road I was following. The road was blocked with traffic. There was a small bridge which ran over a small beck which had collapsed due to a van hitting it, which was preventing any of the cars over. I was watching people taking things from there vehicles and walking with them, one woman was even carrying a microwave. There were also scuffles breaking out so I decided to walk over the field and avoid them. that's when my phone rang. It was my Mum. I hadn't phoned them because they were in Austria, they had emigrated there about eight months previously. My mum said that although there were no reports of the violence (she called it) happening in Austria, but there had been reports of it happening in Spain, France, The USA and Australia. I told her to barricade themselves in with as much supplies as possible and that I would contact them as soon as I got to Naomi. She told me she loved me and a returned the gesture. Really all I wanted to do was hold her and have her tell me everything would be OK. We told each other to be careful and then ended the call. About thirty seconds later, as if on Que, my phone went again and It was Naomi. She told me that things were getting worse in the city, that some fires had broken out and the streets were full of those things. I asked if the fires were near Debbie and Johns building, she said no, but could See the smoke in the distance. I told her to sit tight and that I was on my way, which she got upset at, she was scared that I was out in this, I tried to explain that where I was at that moment was safe, a lie, I know, and that I wasn't just going to leave her. We exchanged love for each other a number of times and I told her to phone me again in an hour, unless of course something happened before and to call me straight away.

 I crossed the field and made my way to a new estate, passing a couple of tower blocks on my left. I noticed that a fire had broken out in one of the blocks and there were people at their windows screaming for help that would never come. I never saw them jump, as I had passed by that point, but I was close enough to hear them hitting the floor. They are sounds that I will never get out of my head. I didn't turn to look when I heard them, I knew what was happening, I could hear the screams before the thuds. I got as far away from the sounds as I could get and sat down, took the water from my sack and took a swig. I had travelled around four miles now and still not seen any dead. I knew they were around because of the tower blocks being on fire, but as of yet they hadn't made a beeline for me. I had spoken too soon. I put the water back in my sack and stood up and headed for a steep hill that I needed to follow. There were two lanes with grass in between and houses on either side, near the top of the street I needed to turn right and up another steeper hill which ran alongside a park. I looked up the hill, and I could see them, There were about twenty of them, Slowly shuffling their way in different directions with no apparent agenda. As I was at the bottom of the hill at least five hundred yards away, they hadn't seen me, so I decided to jump into the back garden of the last house on the right hand side of the street. The garden had a high fence which was good in the way that I was shielded, but I'm not the greatest climber, so It was hard work getting over them. There were Twelve in all, don't ask me why I remember that fact, but there was. I slowly made my way over one at a time, each time checking the gardens and then the houses when Id jump over. I got to the last house without incident, but as soon as I jumped into the last yard I heard a door slide open and some shouted 'What the Hell are you doing in my garden?' I turned to See a man in his forties, wearing a stained white vest and jeans, he was a real hairy guy and had clumps sticking out all over from under his vest. He was holding a shotgun and It was pointing right at me. Ive never had a gun pointed at me, not a real one anyway and I must admit, I froze solid. I tried to open my mouth to say something but the man looked at me, my bag, my terrified face and lowered his shotgun. "Go on" he said motioning to the gate "Get out". I didn't speak, I just just turned and opened the gate. I had walked about ten paces down a back passage when I heard them break through his fence then A single shot from the gun, then a scream, then silence. I knew he had attracted them by shouting at me for being in his garden. I contemplated going back for the shotgun, but decided it was too risky. I headed out of the passage way and found myself at the bottom of the steeper hill. I check all directions and saw about six ghouls blocking me way, they were all staggering slowly in separate directions, but none were either heading my way, or up the hill where I wanted to go. so I waited, until there was enough space between the zombies and I ran. I got passed them all, and dove into a garden and pressed my back against the high bush that gave me cover. I could see in the living room of the house and I could see the couple swinging from their nooses. I felt for them, but also cursed them for giving up so easily. I was too busy watching the window to notice the ghoul step into the garden to my right, I saw a shadow move on the wall and sprung to my feet just in time to avoid the outstretched arms, pull out my pipe from my sleeve and swing it down onto its head. I don't really know how many times I hit it, maybe three or four, maybe twenty, I don't know, Its like I blanked out. I do know that it dropped on the first blow and by the time I came round there was not much of a skull left, just brain matter and red sticky shards surrounding a headless corpse. I waited. I know that everyone knows that zombies can only be killed by destroying the brain, but that's from horror stories, not reality. I was half expecting the headless corpse to still get up and rip me to pieces, but It didn't. The adrenaline was pumping now, I felt euphoric and sick at the same time. It wasn't until much later that I even thought about being a murderer, because from that moment on, no matter if the thing was a ghoul, I had destroyed a human being. At the time I was proud of myself but also scared, the thing had moved quicker than I had anticipated. It had still been slow, it wasn't running or anything, but wasn't as slouchy as expected from the folklore. I gathered myself, checked the area was clear and moved on, again using the gardens as cover. I was getting tired now, even though I had only walked about five miles, my rucksack was weighing me down and the adrenaline was eating up my energy fast, but there was no time to rest, It was half past five and I needed to get to my destination before It got dark.

  I made my way slowly through the Gardens, this time more conscious of the houses from my experience with the shotgun man, but this time I moved freely and with ease, The was a few people who saw me in their gardens, but let me pass without causing a fuss. One woman did gesture me towards her house, but I ignored her and carried on. As I neared the top of the hill, I could see three ghouls blocking my path. There was no other way round so I knew I would have to take them on. I took the knife from the rucksack and finished what water I had left, took a number of deep breaths, then with my knife in one had and my bloodstained lead pipe in the other closed in on the ghouls. I had no idea of a strategy plan, I just walked up to the closet one to me, who luckily was facing away from me and clouted him round the noggin then walked towards the next. It was quite simple in a way, there wasn't a struggle or anything, I just swung and took them down. I hit the third and turned to see the first and second getting to their feet, so I gave the third a hit for good luck and walked back to the first two and finished them off. I could of kept walking, its not like they could of caught me, but I didn't want them to be on my tail in case I got caught out further on. While I was finishing off the other two I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, but obviously could'nt just stop to take the call. I finished off the last one and reached into my pocket, It had been Naomi, I felt bad as could imagine her freaking that I hadn't answered and that she was thinking I was dead, or worse still, a cannibal corpse. I didn't have to wait long for it to ring again and the relief in her voice was clear. I apologised but didn't explain why I hadn't answered, I didn't want her worrying. She updated me on the news and that the army had been called in, but they couldn't see any on the city Streets. She told me there must of been at least three hundred zombies now lining the street that they could see and said she didn't know how I was going to even make it to the building let alone get in. I asked if the entrance was locked and if there were any ghouls trying to get in. She said they couldn't see the entrance from where they were but said they hadn't heard anything in the building. I told her to put John on the phone. John didn't want to leave the flat, I could hear the fear in his voice, but I told him that he needed to block the entrance so no ghouls could get in. He said he would go check but if there was any sign of trouble he would go back to the flat. Five minutes later I got a text saying that the door was blocked and as far as they were aware there was no ghouls in the building. I checked my watch, It was quarter to Seven. The sun was starting to make its descent and even though I knew I had a good three hours before it was dark, I knew I needed to get a move on.
 I knew the next part of my journey was going to be difficult as I had to pass a hospital and knew all the bite victims would of been taken there, so I had to presume that some of those had turned and had converted the rest to zombi-ism. I decided to take the adjoining road to the hospital to avoid it and when I got to the corner saw the army blockade. They had blocked the street with trucks and soldiers baring machine guns were lined up facing towards the city. I could hear the radios crackling as I made my way towards them. As I got closer I could see the swarm of civilians running towards the blockade from the opposite direction, those who had managed to escape the city on foot. There must of been at least a hundred of them, as they approached a line was formed across the street by the soldiers who all took aim with their weapons. Then as the civilians closed one soldier, maybe a general, started to speak through a megaphone. "PLEASE FORM AN ORDERLY QUEUE FOR CHECKS" he repeated this as the crowd grew nearer. I got what was going on, they needed to check each person before they let them through. The crowd paid no attention to the loudspeaker and just headed straight for the line. a few seconds passed and after one more instruction was ignored, the general ordered the line to open fire. It was like a thousand fireworks had been lit, people were falling to their deaths in drones, but still they came towards the line. It was clear that no-one was going to get past without being checked, they couldn't take the risk. I stopped and just watched as children, Women and men of all ages and creeds were put down in a mass execution. There are no words that can describe this atrocity. It was something that will haunt my dreams for the rest of my days. It lasted for an hour, the people just kept coming. Some tried to change their course but were caught in the crossfire. One woman even got to her knees and lifted a bible above her head just before it was taken clean off. I knew if I got past the blockade, there would be no way out, but I had to try, I had got this far and I wasn't going to give up.  Eventually the firing ceased and the soldiers regrouped. I had sat down against a wall for the last twenty minutes, but now I got to my feet and walked towards the city. I could see the high rise buildings and knew I was only around two miles away now. I was almost there. As I approached the line a soldier turned and saw me and walked up to me. He didn't tell me I couldn't pass, but instead told me that I didn't want to go that way as it was suicide, I informed him that I had been told that five miles back and he just looked into my eyes. He must of seen the passion in them, he must of realised that I wasn't just walking into a war zone for no reason, but that love had something to do with it, because he stepped aside and informed his colleagues to let me pass.

 Up to this point I had been following my route and improvising when i needed to, but now the city loomed and I knew I needed a plan. Debbie and John's flat was luckily not in the centre of the City, but near the outskirts, but that was still a busy area and was at the opposite side of the city to where I was. I knew if I walked into the city I wouldn not make it, So decided to walk round the outskirts until I was on the right side. It had been well over an hour since I had heard from Naomi and was getting worried. I kept on thinking 'what If they got in the building and got in the flat? What if Ive got this far and its all been in vain?' I shook those thoughts out of my head and looked at my watch. It was nearly nine O'clock and I knew I was still an hour or so from getting to them. I thought about finding an abandoned house to rest up in for the night and to continue in the morning, but I knew if i did that I wouldn't sleep, that I would just worry about Noami. I decided to continue. I was getting scared now, really scared. I had entered a zone that I probably wouldn't get out of alive and if I did, I would probably be shot down trying to escape it. I started to think about my life and all the things I had not done, all the things I had the opportunity to do but turned down, But then I started to think of Naomi and how much she had changed my life for the better and that thought quenched the bad thoughts and gave me the drive again to continue.

 As I looped the City I came across a number of ghouls, I either hid away in the darkness until they passed or if there was only a few, took them down. It was getting dark now, and my bones ached and the only thing that was keeping me going was my need to see Naomi. I could see the smoke clouds, maybe thirty of them rising from the city, I could smell the burning, the air was thick with that charcoal smog that was a mix of burning buildings and burning flesh. At one point I came across around a hundred zombies stumbling and crawling their way out of a side street that lead to the city centre. I quietly smashed a window to a nearby clothes warehouse and climbed inside to wait for the ghouls to pass. It was too big inside to check all of it, so I just stuck to the area I was in, It was clear, so I just kept an eye on the passing zombies and the other eye on inside. I could hear gunfire about a mile behind me and assumed that it was another army group taking down the zombies who had passed me. From the sheer number that had passed I wished the army luck. I checked the stream and it was thinning out, but not enough for me to pass. I didn't want to go up that street, just past it, so I had to wait. My phone went again and I noticed my battery was running low, I spoke to Naomi who apologised for not calling but they were all OK. I told her I was close and explained my situation, She informed me that the dead did seem to be dispersing but there was still too many for me to reach them. I told them that I would be heading to them by the back entrance and that they would need to look out for me to let me in. Naomi said she would make sure they looked out and would be there to let me in. Then my battery died on my phone.

 It was another two hours before I decided it was safe to continue, My legs had stiffened up by this point and I was hungry, I didn't want to eat any of the tinned food because I didn't know how long we would be in the flat for, If I made it to the flat. I had realised I hadn't smoked in almost six hours and felt an intense nicotine rush when I had one, which made me feel nauseous, but for most of the time I was waiting I was replaying the day over and over in my head. It was Eleven when I climbed out of the window and back onto the street and darkness had overcome the sky. I was grateful for every street light but was aware that they could go at any moment if there was a power cut. I crossed the street and made my way round the city. Taking out the odd zombie and hiding from the rest. I eventually got to where I wanted to be, A great building that was used as the counties Newspaper headquarters and most importantly was at the end of the street that Debbie and John's building was situated. I found a dark corner and investigated the area. I could see my location now, but I could also see around five hundred dead all stumbling around looking for their next victim. I had no idea what I was going to do. I wasn't concentrating on what was happening behind me and felt something grab my shoulder and start to drag me backwards. I let go of the pipe but turned just in time to avoid a set of teeth digging into my neck and pushed the ghoul away. He, or should I say, It, had his intestines lulling out of its stomach and had one arm missing at the elbow. There were bite marks all over his neck and face and his jawbone was clearly visible, even in the darkness. His eyes were grey and cloudy and were big and excited. It Still had hold of me and the grip was intense. Its head snapped towards my open skin and I felt around with my hand for the pipe, watching all the time his eyes. After a few seconds of trying to find the pipe by touch I gave up and reached for the knife in my trousers and brought it down into the zombies eyeball, It didn't make a noise, not even when I was twisting the blade around inside its skull. After a few seconds the ghouls head dropped and it stopped moving. It was still gripping my jacket and I had to prise the fingers off. I tried to pull the knife out but it was stuck fast, so I left it and found my pipe. I stood up and noticed that another ghoul had noticed me fighting and was making its way over to me. I stepped back round a corner, out of sight from the mass group of ghouls and waiting for my attacker to come to me, then with one swift blow caved its head in. It was this that I got the Idea. When the ghouls noticed me, they came to me. I thought quickly and then executed my plan. I knew if I was seen that the herd would all come towards me, leaving the building clear to enter, but also knew even if I drew them to me then ran round, that they would probably follow me and end up at the building with me, which wasn't what I wanted. I needed something else. I looked around and saw that there a number of cars left with the doors open, abandoned by their owners to risk it on foot. I went over to one of the cars and pushed it onto the curb, quietly, slowly and out of sight so it was pressed up against the side of the last building but facing the ghouls on the street. Then I caught my breath, prayed to a god I didn't believe in, moved the drivers seat as far forward as it would go and then turned on the headlights. as it was dark and the lights were shining towards the ghouls, I hoped the light stopped them from making me out, I had the door open too so all that was showing was my legs. I then took my lead pipe and stuck it in between the seat and the steering wheel so the the horn sounded off . I looked up through the windscreen and saw that the hurd had turned and was stumbling their way slowly towards me. I waited until they were about two hundred feet away and then walked round the side of the car and ran round the building to the back, then ran to down the back street that lead to the building. There were ghouls on the street and I now didn't have anything but my fists to fight with, but I had the advantage of speed, so weaved my way through them. As I reached the building I prayed that someone was waiting for me to let me in. The door was locked and no one was there. I turned to see four ghouls walking towards me. I banged against the door as hard as I could, I could hear the horn on the car stop and knew that the herd had got there and it would only be a matter of time before they turned back round and headed towards me. The first of the ghouls was on me now, I had used the last of my energy running round and knew I couldn't fight anymore. I made peace with myself and readied myself to become one of the undead. I didn't hear the door open behind me, I just remember feeling a hand grab my rucksack and drag me backwards inside the building. I fell backwards onto the marble floor, hit my head and passed out just as I saw a shadow reach for the door to close it.

 I woke in a familiar room, Debbie and John's spare room. I had been stripped of my blood soaked clothes and wiped down. Naomi was sat watching me as my eyes opened. Her eyes filled with tears and she leant forward and held me. I was so relieved, I had done it, I was in her arms and I never wanted her to let go. We told each other over and over that we loved each other and she called me crazy, but her hero. I got up and headed into the living room where Debbie was sat on the couch flicking through channels on the TV which were now all emergency broadcasts and John was peeping out of the thick dark blankets they had used as blackout curtains to stop the light inside causing attention. Debbie got up and handed me some Carrot soup and some bread she had made and I don't believe Ive ever tasted anything so good. They explained that It was John who had dragged me inside and that he had brought me upstairs to the flat. I asked if the zombies had got in. He said they had been trying to get in but him and some other residents who were holed up blocked the entrance with furniture. As he explained Naomi held me. I was tired and drained, but also in awe of myself for what I had achieved. We didn't speak for a while, we just sat in silence, both couples holding each other. We needed to come up with a plan, but for now we just needed each other.

Vanishing on 7th Street Review.

Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)




Director - Brad Anderson


 Its just another day in Detroit, Paul (John Leguizamo- Repo Men, Gamer) is working the reels at the local cinema, Rosemary (Thandie Newton- Crash, 2012)is doing her shift at the hospital and Luke (Hayden Christensen- Jumper, Takers) is sleeping off his night shift when a power cut happens to the city and when the lights come back on everyone has simply vanished.

 Vanishing on 7th Street is branded as a Horror/Mystery/Thriller, and even at the sight of the trailer, my girlfriend vowed never to watch it. My girlfriend is scared of the dark, not in a 'sleep with the lights on' kind of way, it doesn't terrify her, just more in the typical imagination running wild sense. I personally don't have a problem with the dark, so I had problems with finding the 'Horror' in Vanishing on 7th Street. I'm sure it's there, but It didn't manage to seep its way into my noggin.

 Vanishing on....you know what, for the sake of my RSI, I will refer to this feature from now on as just Vanishing, well, First off, I like the idea. Although nothing really new, it fits nicely in with the apocalyptic 'end is nigh' season we seem to be pumped with every six months. The small cast has been chosen well and the cinematography is not a let down and as most of the film is shot in darkness, it's all visible and clear. The Script is nothing great but as most of the plot is visibly clear, there is no real need to criticise it.

 The plot line kicks in within the first two minutes and then starts to go downhill pretty much from then on to the end. My biggest problem with Vanishing though, are the creatures, monsters, ghosts, whatever they are, as they are supposed to be the 'scary' thing about the film, the thing that gets your blood pumping, the hairs standing up, but all they did was remind me of the shadows dragging the bad guy to hell in Ghost. That's probably why I wasn't scared at the film. I suppose if you do have a fear of the dark, or that you can be hurt by it, then you will probably get a good thrill from it.


6/10

In Time Review

In Time (2011)




Director - Andrew Niccol

 In Time is set in a future world where not only are people engineered to cease ageing physically at twenty five years old, but also when they reach that landmark, they are given one years worth of time to live, and in a world where time is currency, its not very long indeed. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives in the ghetto and each day is a struggle to stay alive. Usual Will wakes with around one day to live and spends the day working and finding ways to increase his time. Then one night he meets a man in his local bar who has over one hundred years time. 


 This SCI-FI/Thriller is really about the difference in class within our society's, how the few have all the wealth and and how the masses suffer because of it, only In Time uses time instead of money. Using time as currency seems an absurd concept, but In Time does a great job of bringing it to reality and making it logical and that is probably the best thing of this feature. 

 It does take a bit of getting used to that everyone is young, or appears young but the director makes sure you understand this on more than one occasion, such as his Salas' mother celebrates her 50th birthday but looks, well, 25 (or around that age). Also there are no fat people, or ugly people, in fact it seems everyone is  genetically perfect, except maybe Salas' best friend Borel (Johnny Galecki- Roseanne) who is short and slightly plump. 

 The acting In Time is not bad, except for Timberlake who just seems to be trying too hard to be a hero, he seems wooden and out of focus with the caricature at times and although doesn't do an awful job, doesn't really do the role justice. The thing about In Time is that it should be a bad film, it has the right ingredients to be, but I just cant bring myself to think it. I believe that it is the setting and story to In Time that makes it work, keeps it interesting throughout, even though its predictable. I do recommend that you give this film a chance, just don't expect Blade Runner style grandeur and just a half decent SCI-FI and you should be alright. 

6/10   

    

Hanna Review

Hanna  (2011)



Director- Joe Wright



Hanna is a sixteen year old girl who was brought up by her father, but Hanna is no ordinary teenage girl, Hanna has spent her life training to be an assassin. After a life time of waiting, Hanna sets out to eliminate the one who caused her to be this way, the woman who killed her mother. 


 Joe Wright's Hanna is another film that is currently travelling the 'Bourne' Highway, with the action hero a female lead (Salt, Haywire etc) which is not a bad thing. Instead of John McClane or John Matrix there is Mallory, Selene and Evelyn. Now you can add little Hanna (Saoirse Ronan - Atonement) to that list. Hanna is slick and well worked out and although is a revenge action film, it is also a story of being a teenage girl with no experience of the outside world. The film triumphs in that it doesn't make you wait to find out who the bad guy, or girl in this case (Cate Blanchett- Lord of the Rings, Hot Fuzz) is, instead it lets you concentrate on the main characters rather than trying to figure out 'who it is!' .

                                        a bad time to visit Harry Potters uncle.
             
 Hanna flows nicely through at a good pace and entertains throughout. The Cinematography is crisp and the soundtrack works well with its surroundings. The acting is good all round, Eric Bana (Star Trek, Chopper) plays Hanna's father well and Blanchett excels as Agent Marissa. There is a sweet feeling to Hanna and think most will enjoy it. The ending is the one you would expect, but works well enough to satisfy. I suppose the only bad thing about Hanna is that maybe it does seem to slide from around halfway and continues to the end. Overall a good watch. 


7/10.

 




 

Paranormal Activity 3 Review

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)




Director - Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman


 So, the saga continues, or should I say, jumps back to the beginning. 

 The year is 1988 and we find sisters Katie and Kristi as young girls,  living a normal life, when they become friends with an invisible friend called Toby. 


  Its the third instalment of the Paranormal Activity series and we get to look back at how it all started. The film continues with its Cam-flick genre and again we find strange happenings going on, the usual doors closing on their own, noises, lights turning on and off, but also with a little more. This time the 'Spirit' or whatever you want to call it is thrust into the mix early on so there is no waiting about for the scares to start. There's the usual getting to know the characters and whatnot, but mostly this third instalment doesn't hang about. 

 I was impressed with the first two films, not because of the acting, or really even the confusing plot lines, but because they genuinely got me scared watching them for the first time and PA3 is no different. 


 The thing that scares me, and I imagine most, in the PA series is the tension of knowing something is going to happen, but not knowing what or when. The whole series is built on anticipation, waiting, waiting, then BAM!. PA3 is no different in this respect. 


 OK, so the plot is silly and once again doesn't explain the full story, just gives the public a little bit more to put towards the conundrum, probably so they can ween out the story for a few more films. 

 I thought when I put on PA3 that because I have seen the previous two a few times, that I wouldn't be scared as I was with the others, but I couldn't be more wrong. I found myself turning away at certain points and having to tell myself its just a film, but that's down to my over active imagination spewing out visions of what might happen rather than what does. for example, during PA3 the girls step dad (lets say) sets up a camera in the kitchen, but converts a fan so the camera pans left and right showing the whole downstairs. As the camera glides from the kitchen to the living room and back you know something is going to be different or stood there, and its that anticipation of waiting for it that gets you. I think at one point I found myself saying out loud 'just happen will you!' as I couldn't take it anymore. 

 Of course some people aren't scared by PA, and if that's the case, you wont be scared by PA3, but I'm sure by now, those people wont be interested in this instalment.

 Overall I enjoyed PA3 and if you like to be scared, then check this film out. 

7/10

 

13 Assassins Review

13 Assassins (Jûsan-nin no shikaku) - 2010.




Director- Takashi Miike 






Back in the old days of Samurai, there was an Evil lord named Naritsugu who was tearing his way through the Japanese empire killing all those who did not kneel at his feet and making slaves of those who did. Knowing one day that Naritsugu would become a Shogun, a small band of 13 warriors came together to put an end to the evil lords regime, before it became too late. 





Miike's 13 Assassins is a slow burning feature and not an all out martial arts festival that most expect, you really have to be patient with it if you are going to enjoy it. The first hour or so is about the group coming together and planning their attack and then explodes for the remaining forty minutes into an epic (but not overblown) battle. 


The acting is good and the film is beautifully shot and crisp. The storyline, although simple, works well and is executed perfectly. The battle scenes are without doubt the best parts of 13 Assassins and this has to be put down to the realism, there is no dualing in trees or leaping over rivers with the 'wire-martial arts' stunts of the past, (crouching tiger, hidden dragon etc) just good old fashioned, well choreographed fighting. 


I suppose my only criticism of the feature is that some people may get bored with the slow build up of the film and switch off, which is understandable in an age where concentration levels seem to be at an all time low. 


So, to conclude 13 Assassins is a very well thought out action-drama that will never be as exciting as say Drunken Master or Ong Bak, but has more depth than the typical Martial Arts film. 


7/10