• Straight to Video
• Director: Dave Wascavage
• Written by: Dave Wascavage, Mary Wascavage
• Running Time: 89 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: UNRATED
• Cast: Bill Ushler, David M. Sitbon, Juan Fernandez, Nick Faraldi, Dave Wascavage, Mary Wascavage, Diane Leoni, Jill Hildebrandt, Dave Bonavita, Michelle Bonavita, Steve Egan, Jim Hanna, Antonio Piluso, Jonathan Baranek, Dave Weldon, Wes Miller, Rob Faraldi, Ed Wascavage, Victor E., Jennifer Oprysko, Julie Thomson, Anthony Soda, Edward Flanagan, Loretta Wascavage, Nina Oprysko, Drew Werst, Bill McCue, Paula Negro

America’s obsession with home renovation reality shows like “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” and “Homes By Design” is given a shot in the arm with this latest Dave Wascavage production. Filmed on digital video and on a relatively meager budget, “Zombies By Design” satirizes everything we’ve come love and hate about reality-tv, from its all too perky hosts, to its flamboyant designers to its cheaply produced, often over-the-top, presentation of what it suggests is authentic. Dave also manages to take a swipe at our consumerist, television-addicted culture -- a culture that has more people voting for reality show contestants than for Presidential candidates.

First time actress, Jill Hildebrandt, in a very good performance, plays Jay Blackheart, a woman who senses that her husband, Lex (David M. Sitbon), an embittered military weapons engineer, is becoming increasingly obsessed with his inventions. It’s starting to take a toll on their marriage. In a bold move, she invites the crew of a national home renovation reality show, ironically titled Reanimated Houses, to stop by and make-over her house during a live broadcast, in hopes that it will spruce up her marriage. Under the guise of winning a contest, the show’s other host, Brett Sanders, played by Bill Ushler (2001’s “Evil”), and his cameraman, played by Jim Hanna, whisk an unsuspecting Lex away in a limo to a commercial resort known as Heaven’s Gate. As the Reanimated Houses’ production team, made up of host, Tara Lee (Diane Leoni), designer, Charmaine Tomae (Michelle Bonavita) and carpenters, Erin Pascale (Mary Wascavage) and Mark Mason (Juan Fernandez), move into the Blackheart residence, which is stationed beside an old spooky-looking cemetery, they quickly discern that this isn’t your usual suburban home. After stumbling upon an extra hidden room in the basement, complete with a dead body on a table, their suspicions are confirmed -- Jay’s hubby Lex is up to no good. Back at the resort, Lex has dispatched the overbearing host with a nicely placed shot to the neck. He later reanimates him using a strange device which he attaches to his head. The camera man, Hanna, is horrified, but forced to go along with the broadcast, or risk being killed. Lex’s plan, to use the reality show as his own personal commercial to sell his latest weapon (an interesting irony, for sure), quickly materializes, as he, with a remote control, sends his WMD, the zombie in the basement, on a bloodthirsty rampage, which engulfs the neighborhood… and most of the town. The fluffy live broadcast quickly becomes a video document of the group’s fight for survival, as the Reanimated Houses’ team, with Jay Blackheart, must fight off hordes of zombies, all while trying to stop Lex.

Much of the film harkens back to the original 1968 classic “Night of the Living Dead”, with the protagonist’s holed up inside a house trying to devise a means of escape. Where Wascavage moves away from the original is in its overall tone. This is where Dave really tinkers with the formula, offering up something slightly more original… and fun. This film has a real comicality to it that most zombies films don’t, including one sequence where a group of zombies use a skeleton as a battering ram. Another moment, where a woman has her eyeball quite literally ripped from her head and dangling by a vein, asks the group, “Is it that bad?” Hilarious. There’s even an odd love-story that emerges between Fernandez and Leoni’s characters – which seems all the more absurd when you consider the circumstances.

Buried in the subtext of the story, Wascavage’s obvious aversion to the culture, and how Americans are becoming increasingly dumbed-down, or ‘zombified’, by television and consumerism. It’s not by happenstance that Lex’s overall plan is to control the world through the television and, later, when Erin and Mark attempt to drag a generator out of a shed, they are able to fend off their flesh-eating attackers by simply turning on a television. Wascavage also seems to be drawing a direct analogy to the current political climate in the US regarding the imposition of surveillance and the intimate relationship of the government and the military industrial complex. An opening shot of a homeless man tethered to a tree, later to be used as fodder for a government scientist’s first phase weapon of mass destruction, is an interesting composite of the military as a whole and the distinct overabundance of poor to middle class currently serving as fodder in the nation’s various wars.

On another note; the acting ranges from good to great. Jill Hildebrandt, as Jay, is absolutely perfect. She nails her role, coming to life in two very different scenes that really give her character some genuine depth. During one rather heartbreaking scene, she bares her soul to a stationary camera, explaining how her marriage is unraveling and how she feels incapable of stopping it. Contrast that with an explosive scene late in the film, where she, butcher knife in hand, crashes into the yard and directly into a huddle of zombies, in the ultimate act of defiance. I absolutely loved both of those scenes. David M. Sitbon (2002’s “Hack”), as Lex, is also great. Sitbon quietly underplays his villainous character, which makes him seem even more menacing. Most b-movie villains are tempted to go as over the top as possible, but not Sitbon. David uses his eyes instead of his voice, well, minus his grating laugh, presenting a scheming, sexually ambiguous character, who seems capable of anything. I also thought Diane Leoni and Michelle Bonavita (2004’s “Suburban Sasquatch”), and their running hatred for each other, was great for a few laughs. Mary Wascavage (2002’s “The Revenge of the Earth Chomping Intergalactic Space Marauder”) and Juan Fernandez (2004’s “Tartarus”) have an entirely different dynamic. These two puerile jokesters really pull it together when the chips begin to fall – taking advantage of their on-screen chemistry to save the group. I also enjoyed seeing Wes Miller (2005’s “Fungicide”) as a sleazy bad-ass congressman, and Dave Bonavita, as the burly Reanimated Houses camera man. These two were great in their supporting roles.

Technically speaking, Wascavage’s use of CG special effects continues to improve with each new film. One specific shot of an army of cops converging on the Heaven’s Gate resort, is absolutely fantastic. There’s also more than enough gore and severed limbs to keep an ardent horror fan tuned in and happy. Not to say the film isn’t flawed, because it is. There’s a huge lingering continuity problem. Many of the scenes are occurring between day and night, but, sadly, they are supposed to be happening at the same time. Also, a shot of Mary scaling down the side of the house is met with a laugh when you realize that her hair just isn’t hanging correctly. Personally, I found it quite hilarious but I’m guessing that the nay-sayers and nit-pickers will look past the comedy in favor of a chance to attack Mr. Wascavage.

To conclude, “Zombies By Design” doesn't necessarily transcend its well-worn genre, but it is far from the worst of its type and it has an honest comedic charm – something to contrast its hermetical observations, and off-the-wall gore. How can I not recommend this title? Another ambitious and entertaining film from a director who never fails to impress me.

Side-note: "Zombies By Design" was the first time I ever landed a film credit. When I recieved a screener copy in the mail in the summer of 2007, I was so excited that I actually drove three hours up to my mother's camp in Northbrook, Ontario just to show the film to her. Yes, I've officially confirmed that I'm a huge dork.