PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’ve been a huge fan of The Soska Sisters since I first saw American Mary. Seeing Dead Hooker In A Trunk solidified that. When I saw found out a new film of theirs, Festival of the Living Dead, was available to stream, I jumped at the chance to review it.
Curious what I thought of the film? Read on to find out!
Festival of the Living Dead Synopsis
While attending a festival to commemorate the original zombie attack, Ash and her friends encounter the living dead and must fight back or be devoured.
Festival of the Living Dead was directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) from a script by Miriam Lyapin (Killer Fashion) and Helen Marsh (Deadly Midwife). The film stars Ashley Moore (I Know What You Did Last Summer TV Series), Camren Bicondova (Gotham TV Series), Maia Jae Bastidas (Gen V TV Series), Keana Lyn Bastidas (The Hardy Boys TV Series), Andre Anthony (Scream VI), Gage Marsh (It Lives Inside), Christian Rose (Debris TV Series), and Shiloh O’Reily (Thanksgiving).
The Dead Walk
Festival of the Living Dead surpassed my expectations and gave me everything I want in a zombie movie: Characters to root for, characters you want to die, and some gory ass zombie kills. I really enjoyed Ashley Moore and Carmen Bicondova’s performances as Ash and Iris. Their friendship really grounds the movie and makes you care about them. It also helps that they are the two most badass zombie killers in the film. Ash kills tons of zombie with a gun that should look familiar for fans of a certain George Romero classic, and Iris dispatches zombies with fire extinguishers and guitars.
I really enjoyed Shiloh O’Reilly’s performance as Ash’s brother Luke, as he is a complete innocent in the situation. He’s not only in danger from zombies and evil humans, but he’s diabetic and has lost his insulin in the chaos. This leaves our heroes trying to find insulin to save his life while also fighting the undead. Luke also has a lot of growth in the movie and has a pretty badass moment near the end of the film where he’s pretty heroic. It made me cheer!
The film’s festival setting adds a certain sense of chaos to the proceedings which makes the film a lot of fun and ups the tension as there are literally zombies everywhere and danger at every turn. It’s fun looking for the little connections to the original Night of the Living Dead and comparing it to how different things are in zombie films today, including this one.
Final Thoughts
Festival of the Living Dead is a gory and thrilling zombie film that mixes Romero mythology with the world of today. I honestly haven’t had this much fun with a zombie film in a long time. Definitely recommended.
The film is currently streaming free on Tubi.
