Dawn of the Dead

If there was ever a reason for a horror fan to seek induction into the cult of Apple and Steve Jobs, a Dawn of the Dead video game developed exclusively for the iPhone is a damned good one.

According to Know Your Mobile, developer Byte Mark (how appropriate), the game, which features a top-down approach not unlike the Jurassic Park game for the Super Nintendo (how's that for an obscure reference?) has recently been submitted to the Apple store. Other games similar in style to Dawn of the Dead include iDracula and Alive 4-Ever, two other popular iPhone shooter games.

One would expect such a game to be bloody, and judging by the screen shot, it doesn't look like the developers skimped on the red stuff. Sadly, its dark red hue belies the humor found in the bright red blood of the film, but alas, this is something iPhone owners and Dawn of the Dead fans will just have to live with.

Most of the zombie killin' seems to be focused on brute force and melee weapons, giving a more up-and-close and personal approach and I think one more suited to such a platform. Interestingly enough it was noted that the characters and game play are more closely related to the Zack Snyder adaptation than Romero's, but does anyone really care? Mall, weapons, zombies. That's all that's needed.

Shock reports via All About the Games that the game should be available for purchase on January 19th.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! As we all sit down to gorge ourselves on turkey and stuffing, I can't help but glance around the dinner table and think of spectacular death scenes from zombie cinema. What? No, I don't see a problem with the thought process. The way in which my family and friends tear into the succulent flesh of the ceremonial bird always brings to mind images of swarms of the undead descending upon some hapless dupe and making a hearty meal out his insides. So to kickoff the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to make a list of some of my favorite moments of zombies feasting on humanity...with ample carbon-based gravy of course.

Designers for films like The Mist, Grindhouse, and The House of the Devil all understood the return to retro appeal when creating their posters. There's something extremely satisfying about them that harkens back to a day when your first peek at a film was often outside the movie theater--that larger than life poster staring back at you. The ominous (and sometimes amusing) taglines, the creepy typography and high contrast illustrations embroiled in battle are all reminiscent of a time when horror film posters were a lot more fun. Films that use this style are more tangible than their high gloss, airbrushed counterparts. In a world where everything is mass produced and executive directed, any evidence of an artist's hand is quite welcome. Artists who designed the posters for Ti West's The House of the Devil even went so far as to add creases to one of them, to make it appear as though it had been folded--the way a grizzled theater employee might do to stash it somewhere.

In honor of older sometimes being better, one designer has compiled a list of '50 Terrifying Retro Horror Movie Posters' for your viewing pleasure. Check out a few of my favorites after the jump. What are some of yours?

I do not like Dawn of the Dead.

George Romero's epic 1978 classic about a group of survivors holed up in an abandoned mall after the walking dead have taken over the city has taken its seemingly rightful place on a number of top ten lists, but not mine. For me, Dawn of the Dead is many things, but a great horror film is not one of them.

And it's not because the zombies are blue.

Now, before you show up on my front step with torches and pitchforks slandering my credibility as a horror fan and overall swell guy, hear me out. My point of view, though controversial in nature, is the end result of close to twenty years of horror fanaticism and is not without merit. I don't discriminate lightly, and while I feel "just because" is a perfectly acceptable reason for not liking a film, I assure you that excuse does not fly with my assessment of Dawn of the Dead.

By Jenni Miller

"Listen to this!" A friend pressed the ringer on his BlackBerry, and it played the theme to The Omen, "Ave Satani" by Jerry Goldsmith, which he'd assigned to a particularly heinous client of his. Another friend had, for a time, assigned a relative the unforgettable score from Halloween as composed by writer/director John Carpenter himself. And I'm sure somewhere there is someone with the theme from The Exorcist, which was written by Mike Oldfield.

Ringtones aside, there's no denying that a deft soundtrack or score can ratchet up the tension in any movie, especially one that uses droning noises and other disturbing, almost subliminal effects that can slip past the viewer and straight into our brain. Some of my favorite spooky soundtracks sure to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end include the above, naturally, but there are a few that need some love as well.