Since joining NetGalley, I've seen a lot of great titles
and been privileged to read them. This is one that I would like to
share with you.
Sourcebooks Fire has released the cover for The
Greatest Zombie Movie Ever and, along with it, an
excerpt from the book and author
Jeff Strand's Five Favorite Zombie Movies!
From what I've read so far, this book has a lot to offer. It's funny, it's a bit wacky, and it is especially good for any film nerds out there.
THE GREATEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER Cover Reveal
and Sneak Peek
Author: Jeff
Strand
Release: March 1st, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Fire
Below you'll find a sneak peek at Strand's latest
novel, The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever, and what he has
selected as his five favorite zombie movies.
Jeff
Strand's Five Favorite Zombie Movies
My
five favorite zombie movies are very similar to many other people’s
five favorite zombie movies. I could’ve gone the condescending
click-bait route and written about “The Five Best Zombie Movies
You’ve Never Seen!” but, no, I’m going with my five real
favorites….
#5:
DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004 version). I was one of the many people
bellowing, “You can’t remake DAWN OF THE DEAD! This is blasphemy!
Blasphemy!!!” But somehow this remake to a sequel (but not a sequel
to the remake) turned out to be awesome. Not quite as good as the
original (SPOILER ALERT: That’s #3 on this list) but one of my
all-time favorites.
#4:
RE-ANIMATOR. I’ve now seen plenty of movies that are more
over-the-top insane than RE-ANIMATOR, but this was the first movie
where I simply couldn’t believe what I was watching. It was hard to
believe that a movie so dark and gruesome could be so funny.
#3:
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978 version). Shameful confession: When I first
saw this in high school I thought it was stupid and boring.
Fortunately, I matured and accepted that it’s one of the high
points of zombie cinema. It’s the reason I know to duck before
walking toward spinning helicopter blades.
#2:
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Fast zombies long before 28 DAYS LATER!
The first time zombies ate brains! It doesn’t often get the credit
it deserves, but this is one of the most influential zombie movies
ever.
#1:
SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The greatest zombie comedy ever. The greatest
zombie movie ever. The greatest MOVIE ever.
About
THE GREATEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER:
After producing three horror movies that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it's time they create something noteworthy, something epic. They're going to film the Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz - Justin's crush - as the lead.
With only one month to complete their movie, a script that can't possibly get worse, and the hopes and dreams of Alicia on the line, Justin is feeling the pressure. Add to that a cast of uncooperative extras and incompetent production assistants, and Justin must face the sad, sad, truth. He may actually be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever...
After producing three horror movies that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it's time they create something noteworthy, something epic. They're going to film the Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz - Justin's crush - as the lead.
With only one month to complete their movie, a script that can't possibly get worse, and the hopes and dreams of Alicia on the line, Justin is feeling the pressure. Add to that a cast of uncooperative extras and incompetent production assistants, and Justin must face the sad, sad, truth. He may actually be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever...
About Jeff Strand:
Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day for Voodoo and I Have a Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publisher Weekly called his work "wickedly funny."
He lives in Tampa, Florida.
Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day for Voodoo and I Have a Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publisher Weekly called his work "wickedly funny."
He lives in Tampa, Florida.
Excerpt from The
Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:
The vampire, whose fangs were too big for his mouth,
turned to the camera and hissed.
"Don't look at the camera," said Justin
Hollow, the director.
"I keep poking my lip on these things," said
Harold, spitting the plastic fangs out onto the ground. He hadn't
been a very frightening example of the undead before, and he was even
less scary with no fangs and a thick line of drool running down his
chin.
"Cut!" shouted Justin, loud enough to be sure
that the command was heard by his production crew of two. "C'mon,
Harold. Stay in character. We're three hours behind schedule."
"I don't care. I hate this. You promised that I'd
get all the girls I wanted. So where are all of the girls I want?"
Justin let out his thirty-ninth exasperated sigh of the
night. "The movie has to come out first."
"It's not even a real movie."
Justin bristled. It was a full body bristle, head to
toe, which he hadn't even realized was physically possible.
Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case.
Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case.
Had this been one of Justin's movies, he would have very
slowly lowered his camera, stared directly into Harold's eyes with a
steel gaze, and then after an extremely dramatic pause asked
"What...did...you...just...say?"
His actual response, delivered in a squeakier voice than
he would have allowed from his actors, was: "Huh?"
"I said it's not a real movie." Harold started
to wipe the fake blood off his mouth. It didn't come off, and
probably wouldn't for several days. Justin had planned to feel guilty
about this later, but now he wouldn't bother. "Nobody's ever
going to see it. You probably won't even finish it."
"I finished my last three movies!" Justin
insisted. "I got hundreds of hits on YouTube!"
That statement was technically accurate, though it was
the lowest possible number of hits you could get and still use
"hundred" in its plural form. The only comment anybody
posted about his latest film had been "This twelve year-old
filmmaker sort of shows promise," which really frustrated Justin
since he was fifteen.
Harold shrugged. "This is a waste of time. I've got
better things to do on a Friday night."
"Nobody ever said this was going to be easy,"
said Justin, who had indeed said that it was going to be easy when
luring Harold into the role. "You can quit now, but what are you
going to think about your decision ten years from now?"
"I'm going to think, wow, it sure is nice to be
such a well-paid dentist."
Harold walked off the set. It wasn't an actual set, but
rather a small park near Justin's home, where they were filming
without a permit. Justin knew he should shout something after his
ex-actor. Something vicious. Something devastating. He thought about
shouting "You'll never work in this town again!" but, no,
it had to be something that Harold would consider a bad thing.
"Fine!" Justin shouted. "But when we
record the audio commentary track for the Blu-Ray, I'm going to talk
about how you abandoned us, and how much happier everybody was with
the new actor who took your role, and how we all agreed that he
should have been cast in the first place, and how he had so many
girlfriends that he couldn't even keep track of them, and how they
all found out about each other and had a great big awesome catfight
in his front yard! And I'll pronounce your name wrong!"
Harold continued walking, apparently not heartbroken.
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