The Undead Symphony

Darren Smith, Michael Avery and Guests
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An undead podcast discussing all things zombie. Movie reviews and TV shows, franchises and chats with fans and the ghouls and boils who bring us this much loved genre.

  1. 2H AGO

    Episode 326: Savageland (2015)

    Send a text A rarity for me, as this is a found footage documentary with a difference. An acted docu-drama where a town of 57 people are massacred and a man, Francisco Salazar, an illegal immigrant from Mexico is the only survivor and therefore the only suspect for the heinous crime. In true crime documentary style this movie follows the case, taking perspectives from a glory hunting writer, corrupt local law enforcement and the family and loved ones of the victims whilst we see Salazar being interviewed by the police. And then it flips, as this is a zombie podcast, to Salazar saying the first victim died then attacked him which is why he had to kill him. And from there we are shown the order or events by a former border patrolman, combined with 36 photos taken by amateur photographer Salazar on the fateful night. Not what I was expecting, hadn't heard of it until I saw a reel by Chris Short listing it as one of the top 10 TUBI zombie movies at the moment. So thanks, Chris, and this one did well for me, 6.5/10, and I would seriously consider a drama of what really happened, so you can watch the two movies in either order.

    38 min

  2. 3D AGO

    Episode 325: Miruthan (2016)

    Send a text The first Tamil zombie movie sees mustachioed tough guy traffic cop Karthic take on the zombie hordes after a chemical spill. In true Bollywood style you will need to see past the bright red blood, cartoon sound effects, and at one point a full on pop video complete with backing dancers in a garden centre, as well as a sea of mustaches, to enjoy this zombie movie.  In a nutshell it is very obvious, chemical spill, spread, response, then a cure, with a shopping mall, some scenes stolen from other movies, and characters that are purely comical despite it trying to be a serious piece. Or is that their way of making movies, it is a bit of everything. Funny, sad, cheesy, horrific? I am not a fan of Bollywood style movies, or the cheese, or the overly macho mustache hero, flying jump attacks, songs, overly sentimental flashbacks, however, I need to appreciate it for what it is - a bang on average middle of the road zombie movie with a Tamil cultural lean. 5/10

    1h 11m

  3. 6D AGO

    Episode 324: Dead Bloom (2025)

    Send a text This is one of those movies, like Outbreak with Billy Burke, like Herd, that appeared on the Amazon feed from nowhere.  Made in 2025, and doesn't mention the z word at all, instead describing itself as a socially charged horror story about the lingering effects of environmental contamination and corporate denial. So basically it tells the story of a family, lawyer dad, heavily pregnant artist mom, and MS suffering teen daughter who inherit a farm. Although we see the previous family go bat shit and kill each other, very The Crazies but more gross, after a couple of guys dump drums of a chemical into the ground. And it is this chemical, via the water and the fruit that turns everyone white goop drooling, and homicidal. Where in most zombie movies I want everyone to die, the family are ok, other than the trailer trash sister of the lawyer and her pointless son after they turn up. Whilst some of the script and the cinematography is great, we get terrible scenes from time to time, and awful plot devices and design decisions.  The green plant penis was straight out of a Troma comedy, or Night of Something Strange. The hit men for the chemical company were comically bad from their car, their outfits, their choice of weapon and cliched deaths. That being said, it was ok. A bit daytime TV drama, a bit of The Crazies, with the family dynamic of the Griswalds and Cousin Eddie, and some Troma goop. 5/10

    38 min

  4. FEB 17

    Episode 323: We Bury the Dead (2025)

    Send a text In this episode Michael and I chat Daisy Ridley's We Bury the Dead, a movie we have been looking forward to for such a long while. Both huge fans of not only Ridley but also Brenton Thwaites (Teen Titans, Office Uprising, Ghosts of War). Ava and Mitch are having marital issues, that they plan to address when Mitch returns from a work conference on Tasmania. But the US military accidentally drops a weapon of mass destruction off the coast wiping out the entire population of the islands. Ava wants to know what happened to Mitch so volunteers to be part of the human relief programme that in conjunction with the Australian military with the idea she will be able look for him when she can. She is part of the effort to find, identify and dispose of the hundreds of thousands of bodies.  From the off the military explain in a briefing that some of the dead come back. And they do... and we see them... Hear our thought here.

    39 min

  5. FEB 15

    Episode 322: Silent Night, Zombie Night

    Send a text We have had zombie outbreaks whilst on international flights, we have had zombie outbreaks at a wedding, at a school trip to a petting zoo, and here, we have a bad daytime TV soap opera affair story, set in LA, at Christmas during the zombie apocalypse. The menage-a-trois, complete with daytime TV soap piano, and awful dialog is between overly macho and difficult a*****e cop Frank Talbot, his yoyoing wife Sarah who goes between Frank and his younger more handsome, but clearly morally questionable partner Nash. There is too much of this going on. We start with Sarah separating from Frank and going to Nash, but when Nash loses a toe, that Frank cauterizes, she ends up in bed with Frank, then Nash when he wakes up, then Frank again after she shouts and attracts the zombies, then Nash again when they get drunk and Frank heads out to supposedly find supplies but never gets any, before Frank again when he is back after shooting Nash by mistake, and Frank needs a wound cauterized. Too much cauterizing, not enough using the first aid kit in their squad car outside. We do get Lew Temple (The Walking Dead and Zombex) and Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and Vernon Wells (Commando and Mad Max 2), but they are but fleeting moments of IMDBery. None of them bringing much to the movie at all. And the zombies? Lumpy faced contact lens wearers, the colour of the lenses denoting if you are a runner or a shambler. It was poor, none of the characters likable enough for you to care if they live or died. 3.5/10 instead get three TVs and set them up in the same room. Put Days of Our Lives on one TV, a bad cop show on another, and a bad zombie movie on the third and get stoned looking from one TV to the next for similar effect.

    57 min

  6. FEB 11

    Episode 321: The Curse of Hobbes House (2020)

    Send a text "For a horror movie "The Curse of Hobbes House" was just unfathomably devoid of anything remotely scary." Hm. 2020 British, only 3.4/10 on IMDB. Hm. The blurb is that “two estranged sisters visit their ancestral home and are confronted by an ancient curse of the undead following a storm.” The Horror Society, who I rate. wrote about this one that... " this is not a gory flick that most genre fans are looking for. We get some make up effects and a few splashes of blood but nothing that will stand out. Overall the Curse of Hobbes House tries to do what Roger Conner's Rebirth could. Its not a fun or entertaining retelling of a Romero classic. Instead it borrows heavy from the story without contributing. Skip it.” Hm. Another reviewer I listen to, The Irish Film Critic gives it 2.5 stars out of 5 mentions a twist… that I kinda want to find out and says that "overall, despite some inventiveness with its zombie iterations, the story is cliched  and predictable. The character deaths are not shocking or surprising. If you are a zombie fan you may find merit in it but I found it pretty forgettable." Great. So I didn't go into it with high hopes. And I am I didn't. The characters, other then the old woman who puts a gun in her mouth in the opening the scene and her Syrian groundskeeper, were infinitely unlikable. Nigel deserved death from the start and his comeuppance I truly enjoyed. The odd choice for central character was Jane. Jennifer was the much nicer half-sister. I didn't like Jane at all. The zombies are blue eyes screaming zombies, the exterior shots are often reused daytime history or news worthy, the acting wasn't great, the whole thing really didn't do anything for me. It was a few scumbags trying to make some money off a cursed house. And how many times have we seen that? 4.5/10 and they should thank me for that.

    39 min

  7. FEB 11

    Episode 320: A Midweek Catchup with Marmite on Toast

    Send a text And so we are back at it. As I mentally prepare myself to watch the potentially abysmal The Curse of Hobbes House, Michael and I catch up to talk about the zombie entertainment we have seen recently, and what we plan to see in the coming weeks. Michael needs to finish the Netflix Resident Evil series, Daisy Ridley's We Bury the Dead and then move onto the first season of Black Summer. And from there we look forward to season 2 of All of Us Are Dead on Netflix with the first seasons being a top 20 for us, and Colony, from the makers of Train to Busan. That trailer looked amazing. And we give a nod to our buddy Lee Donaldon over at Dead Zero. That was looking forward, looking back at recent watches, we talk Uncontained, which had a lot of clever elements, but ultimately the redneck militia plot ruined it, and I Sell The Dead, with Dominic "Merry" Monaghan and Ron "Hellboy" Perlman, yet another movie compared to Shaun as the best zombie comedy (spoiler it isn't). Enjoy

    52 min

  8. FEB 9

    Episode 319: Last Days on Mars (2013)

    Send a text So just to make sure, this isn’t Red Planet, with Carrie Anne Moss, Val Kilmer, Terrence Stamp, Simon Baker, Tom Sizemore and Benjamin Bratt. That is very different. Robot dog going nuts. As is the Ghosts of Mars the Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier effort. That was demonic possession by, I wanna say, the previous inhabitants. This is Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas and Olivia Williams with space zombies. Yeah. SPACE ZOMBIES! The 8 ma crew is looking for life on Mars. There is a song in that. And one of them chances upon bacterial life. Amazing as it's their last day before they head back to Earth and they were pissed about heading back empty handed. Not amazing as the bacteria turn them into space zombies, and the claustrophobic story takes a dark turn.  Reviewers complained about it being low budget but I have no trouble with the cast, the effects or the sets. It all looked very Martian to me. And I enjoyed it. As Space Zombie movies go this one is alright. 5.5/10

    41 min
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

An undead podcast discussing all things zombie. Movie reviews and TV shows, franchises and chats with fans and the ghouls and boils who bring us this much loved genre.

Information

  • Creator
    Darren Smith, Michael Avery and Guests
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    326
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Undead Symphony
  • Show Website
    The Undead Symphony