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Written & Directed by Nathan Wold
Starring Kari Elizabeth Godfrey, Jeremy Frandrup , John McConville, Lincoln Danford
Short Film Review by Rachel Pullen
Ah 1950’s America, where the nuclear family was abounding, capitalism was the new trend and people lived seemingly perfect yet suppressed lives.
The most people seemed to worry about was their sons or daughters smoking pot or their neighbours getting a better oven than them. Things were simple, but what if this naive simplicity was interrupted by oh I don’t know...zombies?
Director Nathan Wold takes us into this world full force with his black comedy short Zomburbia, where we follow the lives of married couple Henry and Martha Mandrake played by Kari Elizabeth Godfrey and Jeremy Frandrup, as they unknowingly become the victim of zombie attacks...how inconvenient.
And it seems just that, like most 1950’s sitcoms of the time, Wold cleverly follows suit by making his characters see the world through rose-tinted glasses, where the things in life that would shock and cause concern now, just seemed to take away time from the weekly Tupperware meeting or reading the newspaper with a pipe.
Zomburbia allows the audience to be completely immersed in to the idea that they are actually watching a sitcom from this era, not just through the storytelling as already mentioned, but through acting styles, costume, sets and shooting styles, all of which are executed stylishly and with ease, allowing for an enjoyable viewing experience.
This short is more than just a black comedy with zombies, this is something that we have seen before from such films as Dead Snow and Pride and Prejudice with Zombies, Wold changes the playing field by adding that social commentary into the mix.
We see the lead characters more lacking in brains than the zombies themselves, they are awash with the proper gander of the times, so much so that they cannot see the real threat that is right in front of them, something that was not uncommon for the times, the fear of not keeping up with the Joneses seemed to have more importance than getting your brain feasted on by the living dead.
This is a enjoyable and comedic short, and with a fresh approach to an already over played scenario, Zomburbia doesn’t loose face amongst the overcrowding of competitors, in fact it stands tall, boasting its strong script and excellent casting as just some of its strongest qualities.
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