Wasting Away (2007) Reviews

• Screamfest Review

  DigitalMinimus2007-10-23

  I had the pleasure of seeing 'Wasting Away' at the Screamfest 07 screening with a full house that obviously loved it. So much so that I found out recently it won the Audience Award. I was definitely a part of that, my ballot was marked Excellent before I left my seat. Simply put, this is a fantastic little film. It's a Zombie Genre movie that manages to do what no other Zombie film has done in a while... namely, put a new spin on the Genre. Face it, Horror fans, it's gone stale. Even Romero's 'Diary of the Dead' didn't break any new ground that the Master himself hasn't already broken. It just took Zombies to the 'Blair Witch Project' level. Cool, but still mostly same-old, same-old. Not this. It tells the Zombie story like I've never seen, with a fresh look. The whole movie is told through the eyes of the Zombies themselves, but as they see each other, not as the world sees them. Actually, it's a combination of the two, one in black and white (apeing off the classic Romero flicks) and the other in color. They see each other as normal, and the "normal humans" as fast-moving, fast-talking, violent-reacting maniacs who they think are 'infected' by some toxic Military accident. The rest of the movie plays out switching from color to B&W, and it works pretty well. If there is a downside to this film, it's that sometimes it takes itself too seriously. But when you look closer, it's pretty clear that they do it on purpose, and just when you wonder if they actually 'mean it', they hit you with another joke, and the show goes on. I loved it.

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• Very Unique film!

  ApocalypseAM2007-10-23

  Saw this little Indy gem at Screamfest where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. I'm a huge Zombie film fan, thought I'd seen them all, every little twist, turn, variation, etc. And when 'Shaun of the Dead' came out, that kind of closed the book on Zombie Comedy for me. Until this... A Zombie movie from the perspective of the Zombies, simply brilliant. They riff off the old Black and White Romero stuff, then switch into Color when the heroes are 'Zombified'. The rest of the flick plays out switching back and forth for great comic effect. I'll say no more, you have to see it yourself. Be on the lookout, hopefully someone smart will pick it up. It's got 'instant classic' written all over it. Thomas

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• A creative, original and hilarious independent gem

  firetop142009-12-16

  I found Wasting Away on the shelves of Fopp recently after its Region 2 release here in the UK. I didn't buy it the first time I saw it because I find myself in a permanent state of skintness and therefore have difficulty justifying buying DVDs. However, packaging can be a powerful thing and the DVD cover for 'Wasting Away' looked great, had an intriguing synopsis and some positive reviews, so finally after watching the trailer (and, admittedly, after checking to see if the film was available online, which it wasn't) I bought it on DVD for a very reasonable £10, which is still the most I've spent on a DVD for about 2 years. To cut to the chase it was worth every penny, and probably more. This is an independent film from California, with a fairly low budget of $1m, but it's nearly impossibly to tell this from the finished product, which is bright, ballsy and polished. Presumably the filmmakers must have had to cut corners to keep within their meagre budget but it's hard to see where they did so and this look of the film easily competes with higher-budget studio fare. 'Wasting Away' fits neatly into the "romzomcom" genre pioneered by 'Shaun of the Dead', but I hasten to add that 'Wasting Away' is not 'Shaun of the Dead', and is not trying to be. Four twenty-somethings spending time in the bowling alley where Tim (Michael Terry) works are unfortunate enough to eat soft-serve ice-cream composed of beer and the toxic waste from a military experiment gone wrong, subsequently die, and wake up as zombies. Except they don't know it. Their confusion is quickly compounded by an encounter with Nick Steele (Colby French), who has also been zombified but insists that they have all been transformed into 'supersoldiers' whilst everyone else in the city has been infected by an inferior brand of the same chemical (in fact, no one else has been affected). Director Matthew Kohnen bravely tackles the zombie perspective and all the problems that come along with it (sample problem: if living human beings see zombies, as slow, lurching and groaning, how do zombies see us?) and clearly has a lot of fun doing so. The plot races along fast enough that the audience is never bored, but well-paced enough that we have time to get to know the characters and meditate on the ridiculous situation they are in. The dialogue is rife with humour and the actors sell it perfectly. Honourable mentions should go to Colby French, whose hard-nosed, sincere performance as "black ops" soldier Nick Steele is played straight rather than camped up and wouldn't be out of place in any Romero zombie film, and Matthew Davis, who delivers every line handled too him perfectly and never fails to bring the humour out of it. Before I get too carried away I should point out that this film isn't perfect. At times it is laugh-out loud funny but at others the humour falls flat, or is just a little bit lame. Also, while the acting is mainly strong, particularly in French and Davis' performances, in other places it is weak or wooden. Some of the plot points feel a little contrived and the humour is occasionally too juvenile to be genuinely funny. But at the end of the day, these flaws are not only eclipsed by the positives, they even add to the film somewhat, making it more likable because of its imperfections. This is a strong directorial debut from Matthew Kohnen, a filmmaker whose other credits seem to mainly consist of clerical or technical jobs, and I will certainly be looking out for more of his work. 'Wasting Away' stands out amidst the boggy mire that is modern horror cinema, a diamond in the mud of tired remakes and boring sequels that is all Hollywood seems capable of producing. It's refreshing, original, gleefully gross and most of all, it's fun. It's fun to watch and it looks like it was fun to make. The only thing that particularly disappoints me is the marketing failure. As far as I'm aware, 'Wasting Away' did not get a theatrical release over here and were it not for Fopp and their avid promotion of smaller independent films I would probably ever have heard of it. So watch it, enjoy it, and pass it on to ensure it gets the recognition it deserves. I leave you with a quote from the film's theme song, which pretty much says it all: "You know your day will suck when the dead start walking the streets, And their only source of nourishment is Human meat."

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• Not what I expected at all. Very funny and surprising!!!

  lemartin-42008-09-17

  I just love new talent and new movie ideas. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the London Film Festival with friends to see this and a couple of other movies. I wasn't particularly interested in the theme of this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it funny, silly and fun unlike any other I have seen. I especially was taken with the lead actress, Julianna Robinson. How can anyone that beautiful, be so funny...? I get the feeling she has a secret hidden behind that angelic face. Lots of talent budding in the cast. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to movie making, but personally I would say this team has talent and creativity just bursting at the seams. More, more!!!

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• Wow!

  CryBelovedCtry2007-10-23

  All I can say is, wow. Caught this after wading through a slew of basic slasher/spooky ghost stuff at Screamfest, films basically like any of 20 others that I have in my personal collection. Didn't have much expectation going in to this, since there hasn't been a 'new' zombie movie in a while. 'Diary of the Dead' was cool, but Romero basically falls back on the same old stuff, nothing new there. It took me a bit in the beginning to warm to this film, since I came in looking for straight horror, and it's not really horror, it's a comedy, that has horror roots. Guess that's why they took it in Screamfest. That, and it's a damn good film. And there were some slow moments where I wanted they to get past the 'feelings' and get onto the action/comedy. But when I let them work on me, they were great, and I laughed even during the 'slow' stuff. Basically, it's just freakin' funny, and a totally different thing. Glad I saw it, it's the kind of thing that might be too unique and cool for the Studios. Their loss...

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