23 reviews
Been done before and better. Soska Sisters take steps backwards with each film.
Plot holes galore. Unlikeable characters and dumb script.
Soska Sisters haven't made a decent film since the entertaining AMERICAN MARY. Rabid was an insult to the original and Dead Hooker in a Trunk was just ok.
This has so many annoying parts it just spoils the whole thing.
Unlikeable characters who don't seem to like each other at all so why are they friends or together!?
The script is lazy and full of holes and the charactersaking more than. Your normal dumb decisions.
The acting is bearable (except that awful actor the Soska Sisters keep using) who this time was blessedly only in it briefly as a Zombie Paramedic. (He is the worst wooden actor out there, ruins any scene or film he is in.
This could have been fun.
A festival to celebrate the memory of all those killed in the '68 Zombie outbreak. (Seemingly suppressed and dormant ever since) Yet meteors bring it all out again which just happens to coincide with the Festival (Right!!) Some cheap but ok looking practical FX makes for a couple of ok death scenes but it's all so background and edited so quickly don't see much. Maybe because not best quality FX.
Couple of ok gore gags.
You usual trend of diversity inclusions are here but don't feel forced like most others and aren't distracting so that's good.
It's a shame.
I wanted to like it but was left disappointed and struggled to keep my attention. I simply didn't care for the characters at all. The main lead was cute but that it. Rest were cliché after cliché.
I remember Return of the Living Dead 2 Rave to the Grave having a similar feeling. And YouTube series Zombie Rave/ Beyond the Rave having similar theme but with vampires.
Soska sisters had potential to become a popular name after the fun American Mary but seem to be taking a step backwards every film they do. And now seem destined to survive in low budget Tubi level hell. Maybe they are happy with that. But I think it's a shame as they had potential. Need to work with better scripts and better actors if wish to continue imo.
Soska Sisters haven't made a decent film since the entertaining AMERICAN MARY. Rabid was an insult to the original and Dead Hooker in a Trunk was just ok.
This has so many annoying parts it just spoils the whole thing.
Unlikeable characters who don't seem to like each other at all so why are they friends or together!?
The script is lazy and full of holes and the charactersaking more than. Your normal dumb decisions.
The acting is bearable (except that awful actor the Soska Sisters keep using) who this time was blessedly only in it briefly as a Zombie Paramedic. (He is the worst wooden actor out there, ruins any scene or film he is in.
This could have been fun.
A festival to celebrate the memory of all those killed in the '68 Zombie outbreak. (Seemingly suppressed and dormant ever since) Yet meteors bring it all out again which just happens to coincide with the Festival (Right!!) Some cheap but ok looking practical FX makes for a couple of ok death scenes but it's all so background and edited so quickly don't see much. Maybe because not best quality FX.
Couple of ok gore gags.
You usual trend of diversity inclusions are here but don't feel forced like most others and aren't distracting so that's good.
It's a shame.
I wanted to like it but was left disappointed and struggled to keep my attention. I simply didn't care for the characters at all. The main lead was cute but that it. Rest were cliché after cliché.
I remember Return of the Living Dead 2 Rave to the Grave having a similar feeling. And YouTube series Zombie Rave/ Beyond the Rave having similar theme but with vampires.
Soska sisters had potential to become a popular name after the fun American Mary but seem to be taking a step backwards every film they do. And now seem destined to survive in low budget Tubi level hell. Maybe they are happy with that. But I think it's a shame as they had potential. Need to work with better scripts and better actors if wish to continue imo.
Did AI write this script?
I absolutely hated this film, the premise and the setting was great and it could've been something amazing to kick off the resurgence of the night of the living dead universe but it fell short.
The characters are so unlikeable that it's hard to root for anyone in the film, they all seem to hate eachother too which kept me asking "why are they even together?" And whether or not the script was written by the AI prompt "stupid gen z kids try to survive a zombie attack and add fu**ing into every other sentence"
Honestly it was really bad and I'm kinda annoyed I wasted my time watching it when I should've known better.
The characters are so unlikeable that it's hard to root for anyone in the film, they all seem to hate eachother too which kept me asking "why are they even together?" And whether or not the script was written by the AI prompt "stupid gen z kids try to survive a zombie attack and add fu**ing into every other sentence"
Honestly it was really bad and I'm kinda annoyed I wasted my time watching it when I should've known better.
- cmdown-50506
- Apr 10, 2024
- Permalink
A Soska or Tubi film ?
A Jen & Sylvia Soska directed film which suffers from the fact Jen & Sylvia Soska are not the writers.
After Rabid, the Iconic American Mary and Dead Hooker in the Trunk my hope are always high when Soska Sisters release a new film. I love the Living Dead films so when this was announced almost a year ago I thought we were in for a treat.
There is some good casting in places, some decent practical effects but it's all let down by the script.
This doesn't feel like a modern horror where the protagonists make smart choices. This Jars especially as some are supposed to be the descendants of Ben from Night Of The Living Dead.
This feels more like a Tubi Original rather than a Soska Sisters film.
After Rabid, the Iconic American Mary and Dead Hooker in the Trunk my hope are always high when Soska Sisters release a new film. I love the Living Dead films so when this was announced almost a year ago I thought we were in for a treat.
There is some good casting in places, some decent practical effects but it's all let down by the script.
This doesn't feel like a modern horror where the protagonists make smart choices. This Jars especially as some are supposed to be the descendants of Ben from Night Of The Living Dead.
This feels more like a Tubi Original rather than a Soska Sisters film.
A cesspool of unlikeable gen z characters
Im twenty minutes in and I'm ready for all these characters to get eaten alive by zombies. I don't see a lick of talent between the lot of them.
I think this movie is going for a blood fest/hellfest vibe but failed miserably with the lack of campiness and likeable characters. There is an overarching lack of plot and the characters consistently make irrational decisions.
Somehow 10 seconds after a violent car accident the blood on the characters is already dry on their face, not sure they thought that one through.
To be honest the commercials on Tubi are a nice break from this movie. I can say with 100% certainty I will never watch this movie again, and I recommend you avoid it.
I think this movie is going for a blood fest/hellfest vibe but failed miserably with the lack of campiness and likeable characters. There is an overarching lack of plot and the characters consistently make irrational decisions.
Somehow 10 seconds after a violent car accident the blood on the characters is already dry on their face, not sure they thought that one through.
To be honest the commercials on Tubi are a nice break from this movie. I can say with 100% certainty I will never watch this movie again, and I recommend you avoid it.
Sigh
Quit trying to jump on everyone else's work. They play crap music way too loud throughout most of it. The zombies in this are nothing like the zombies out of the original they're their own entity. Again teenagers don't make the smartest choices but do they have to be as stupid as they actually are... Speaking of stupid is it really that difficult to pay a couple people with knowledge of the original movie of anything medical and spice things up with a little bit of knowledge? The little kids diabetic with low sugar they're dumping sugar in him and want to give him insulin from an ambulance?? Even an elementary school level of medical knowledge knows insulin takes high sugar makes it low sugar ingested elevates. Maybe it's Romero's fault for setting the bar so high on his original. It is tough for other movies to compare. But then why are you using his name and trying to update a story with such hot garbage. It's obviously not worthy. Romero could slap his name on it and it would not be worthy cuz he would obviously done it for a paycheck.
- spencermfey
- Apr 10, 2024
- Permalink
Wow. Bad.
This movie is simply a waste of time to watch.
It has non of the humor that the Living Dead movies had.
None of the edge.
None of the flavor.
It's just a bunch of kids fighting zombies.
There isn't even an explanation where they came from. And where are the adults?
The originals were able to combine humor, edginess and rock and roll into some pretty cool stuff.
This movie succeeds in none of that.
Also, the movie is filmed so dark, you can barely make out the action in maybe 40% of the movie.
Could be good, in that the acting is horrible. Just the dregs of bad acting put on screen for you to be bored with.
It has non of the humor that the Living Dead movies had.
None of the edge.
None of the flavor.
It's just a bunch of kids fighting zombies.
There isn't even an explanation where they came from. And where are the adults?
The originals were able to combine humor, edginess and rock and roll into some pretty cool stuff.
This movie succeeds in none of that.
Also, the movie is filmed so dark, you can barely make out the action in maybe 40% of the movie.
Could be good, in that the acting is horrible. Just the dregs of bad acting put on screen for you to be bored with.
Giving two stars for production value, that's about it:-/
This movie is so corny and silly it is embarrassing to watch. It has terrible pop music throughout, and a matching hot topic wardrobe for all characters in it . The script and plot were so silly and childish. The actors did a decent enough job, with what they had, but it was nothing more than a silly teen friend/ romantic comedy with bad zombie makeup in the background. With the same ol, same ol' rehashed story. Don't waste your time with this one. American Mary from the Soska sisters had an interesting storyline. Even that has it corny, overdone moments, but overall it had something different to offer . This film was nothing BUT corny moments , and a badly regurgitated storyline, that's been done a hundred times before, and done better.
Twi thumbs down.
Twi thumbs down.
- miabellapg
- Jun 8, 2024
- Permalink
Zzzzzzzzzz
Pointless. Stupid. A disaster. The list is endless in describing this dumpster fire of a film. The sad part is the lame attempt to connect it to Night of the Living Dead which left me in stitches, because overall, Festival of the Living Dead winds up as yet another lazy, inconsistent crappy "zombie" film, with horrible characters, horrible writing and cringe-worthy dialogue. It's an absolute MESS.
The film just speaks loudly to how the Soska sisters don't even try. How they continue directing is baffling. They've spoken so highly of George A. Romero (and of course Cronenberg, with their awful remake of Rabid), yet fail in making anything good or memorable. Every film they produce just shows us how they're pretty much a one-hit wonder with American Mary. Please stop.
The film just speaks loudly to how the Soska sisters don't even try. How they continue directing is baffling. They've spoken so highly of George A. Romero (and of course Cronenberg, with their awful remake of Rabid), yet fail in making anything good or memorable. Every film they produce just shows us how they're pretty much a one-hit wonder with American Mary. Please stop.
- single-123
- Apr 9, 2024
- Permalink
"Why Are They Running?"
Late Afternoon of the Living Dead
- BandSAboutMovies
- Apr 11, 2024
- Permalink
Great Zombie movie
A must see Zombie movie!! Full of Action! And Horror! This movie is the continuous from the movie Night of the Living Dead 1968 Directed by George A . Romero that is also a great movie ! The movie Festival of the Living dead with Camren Bicondova and Ashley Moore . Camren Bicondova was in the series Gotham as Catwoman . Ashley Moore in the movie Festival of the Living dead is the a character somewhat connected to a person in the movie Night of the Living dead. Watching Night of the Living dead Directed by George A. Romero would be good then Festival of the Living dead from the connection like I said The film Festival of the living dead is a must see film.
- lpurpleflames
- Apr 4, 2024
- Permalink
It's okay to be scared
- nogodnomasters
- Apr 10, 2024
- Permalink
Worth the price of FREE on Tubi!
Definitely a Targeted Audience.
A Group of Whiny Self-Absorbed Posers Go To The "Festival of The Dead"
- cadenpolen
- Jun 14, 2024
- Permalink
More Gen Z "Horror"
Look, I get horror movies have always been for young adults, and I have nothing against Gen Z. But Gen Z horror is absolutely garbage, and it's always older people trying to write for a generation they are completely separate from or by some other Gen Z people who grew up on terrible PG-13 horror.
The pros of this movie is the dialogue audio sounds good, it has decent sound effects, and they used a decent camera to film the movie and the color grading works just fine. The night scenes are filmed really well.
The issues are in the writing and characters. It's more bland what's-their-names you'll never care to remember. But hey, that's just most kill-em-all horror movies.
This is a fine movie to let your young teenage kid to watch, as it's just a gorier version of Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes.
Even if it's just Gen Z schlock, it still has some value in it. You just gotta get past the 30 min mark.
The pros of this movie is the dialogue audio sounds good, it has decent sound effects, and they used a decent camera to film the movie and the color grading works just fine. The night scenes are filmed really well.
The issues are in the writing and characters. It's more bland what's-their-names you'll never care to remember. But hey, that's just most kill-em-all horror movies.
This is a fine movie to let your young teenage kid to watch, as it's just a gorier version of Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes.
Even if it's just Gen Z schlock, it still has some value in it. You just gotta get past the 30 min mark.
A decent dose of zombie thrills, but don't expect a genre revolution
A decent dose of zombie thrills, but don't expect a genre revolution. Fans of the Soska Sisters' directing style will find some familiar territory here - over-the-top gore and practical effects. The cast puts in a decent effort, and there are moments of genuine scares and amusement.
However, the movie stumbles with its script. The characters don't always make the best decisions, which can be frustrating for viewers. Additionally, the story doesn't offer much new to the well-trodden zombie genre. In fact while it may not be a zombie film, I couldn't help saying to myself, "Man I want to watch Hell Fest now."
The film centers around Ash, a character who emerges as a highlight. Ash is no damsel in distress. She's tough, resourceful, and quick on her feet when the undead hordes come knocking. Actresses like Camren Bicondova bring a likable ferocity to the role, making her someone you want to root for in the face of the apocalypse.
However, the script doesn't always give Ash the depth she deserves. Her motivations and backstory could have been fleshed out more, making her journey even more compelling.
"Festival of the Dead" is an okay horror flick and If you're looking for a fun, gory distraction, it might be worth checking out.
However, the movie stumbles with its script. The characters don't always make the best decisions, which can be frustrating for viewers. Additionally, the story doesn't offer much new to the well-trodden zombie genre. In fact while it may not be a zombie film, I couldn't help saying to myself, "Man I want to watch Hell Fest now."
The film centers around Ash, a character who emerges as a highlight. Ash is no damsel in distress. She's tough, resourceful, and quick on her feet when the undead hordes come knocking. Actresses like Camren Bicondova bring a likable ferocity to the role, making her someone you want to root for in the face of the apocalypse.
However, the script doesn't always give Ash the depth she deserves. Her motivations and backstory could have been fleshed out more, making her journey even more compelling.
"Festival of the Dead" is an okay horror flick and If you're looking for a fun, gory distraction, it might be worth checking out.
- nERDbOX_Dave
- Apr 11, 2024
- Permalink
An underwhelming if still watchable zombie effort
Heading to a special festival, a group of friends get into an accident along the way which requires them to stop at the festival earlier than expected, but when a zombie outbreak stalls their plans by putting them into the scenario it forces them to fight back against the creatures to get away alive.
There wasn't a whole lot to this one that worked. One of the few likable factors here is the general setup and output of the zombie action within this one that develops at a solid enough pace. The zombie action is pretty constant throughout here as the initial outbreak occurs from the very start and happens to go through a series of solid and frantic encounters that take place on the grounds of the festival and surrounding areas which provides this with some fun scenarios. The swarming action here is quite solid as there are some fun moments when they take out the festival, follow the group through the surrounding woods, and the series of encounters when trying to get to safety that showcases the fun of the practical effects-driven features where the constant flesh-ripping, devouring, and full-on wounds offer some rather fun moments involving fantastic effects-work. These all manage to bring about some great aspects here even though this one has a lot of drawbacks that hold it back. This mainly stems from the fact that none of the characters here come across as anything resembling normal human beings. With a time-honored trope of a group of teenagers that are barely able to go five seconds without acting like irresponsible douchebags more concerned with themselves than anyone else around, display an alarming sense of self-centered interactions that make for a truly moronic series of decision-making skills, or demonstrating such a profound lack of situational awareness that it's nearly impossible to believe they're friends, it takes very little time at all before they're considered disposable. That shouldn't be surprising considering the source material for the film and the friends throughout here but it doesn't make the film any easier to get through, especially when everyone starts arguing with each other in the middle of everything. That ties into the other issue with this one in how there's so little that ties into the original that it feels incredibly flimsy to tie this with the franchise. The lack of explanation for the zombies is a solid touch but beyond that, there's almost nothing here with the zombies themselves behaving quite unlike the original creatures who can run and think, plan out attacks, or just flat out appear out of nowhere to launch a surprise attack in the middle of a scene which doesn't do anything like how the original interacted. The attempts at connecting it back through storyline means are immensely flimsy with some bizarre and awkward choices, and it all comes to a head with the backward political commentary on high-school cliques as a means of trying to make a statement like the original did. However, this is such a moronic hill to stand on any attempt to say something about it is lame and feels quite artificial. These are all enough to bring this one down overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
There wasn't a whole lot to this one that worked. One of the few likable factors here is the general setup and output of the zombie action within this one that develops at a solid enough pace. The zombie action is pretty constant throughout here as the initial outbreak occurs from the very start and happens to go through a series of solid and frantic encounters that take place on the grounds of the festival and surrounding areas which provides this with some fun scenarios. The swarming action here is quite solid as there are some fun moments when they take out the festival, follow the group through the surrounding woods, and the series of encounters when trying to get to safety that showcases the fun of the practical effects-driven features where the constant flesh-ripping, devouring, and full-on wounds offer some rather fun moments involving fantastic effects-work. These all manage to bring about some great aspects here even though this one has a lot of drawbacks that hold it back. This mainly stems from the fact that none of the characters here come across as anything resembling normal human beings. With a time-honored trope of a group of teenagers that are barely able to go five seconds without acting like irresponsible douchebags more concerned with themselves than anyone else around, display an alarming sense of self-centered interactions that make for a truly moronic series of decision-making skills, or demonstrating such a profound lack of situational awareness that it's nearly impossible to believe they're friends, it takes very little time at all before they're considered disposable. That shouldn't be surprising considering the source material for the film and the friends throughout here but it doesn't make the film any easier to get through, especially when everyone starts arguing with each other in the middle of everything. That ties into the other issue with this one in how there's so little that ties into the original that it feels incredibly flimsy to tie this with the franchise. The lack of explanation for the zombies is a solid touch but beyond that, there's almost nothing here with the zombies themselves behaving quite unlike the original creatures who can run and think, plan out attacks, or just flat out appear out of nowhere to launch a surprise attack in the middle of a scene which doesn't do anything like how the original interacted. The attempts at connecting it back through storyline means are immensely flimsy with some bizarre and awkward choices, and it all comes to a head with the backward political commentary on high-school cliques as a means of trying to make a statement like the original did. However, this is such a moronic hill to stand on any attempt to say something about it is lame and feels quite artificial. These are all enough to bring this one down overall.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
- kannibalcorpsegrinder
- Oct 9, 2024
- Permalink
Fun, unexpectedly emotional zombie flick
Really fun and fast paced, kudos for the characters and the relationships. The Soskas did it again. The actors were cast perfectly, and I enjoyed the dynamic between the 3 sets of siblings.
Lots of parallels to the original. Some things are new, like running zombies, but it's not a huge problem for me considering it's been so long. What I will say is some zombies are more convincing than others.
The characters were all flawed, and it made them realistic and relatable. Even the main villain had moments where I felt sorry for him (to a degree lol). I appreciated that the characters emotionally react and have a moment to grieve for each death, which also brought a real world weight to it and reminded us that they really were friends/siblings, and not just throwaway characters there just to die. There were a few dramatic scenes near the end that even made me tear up, which I did not expect sitting down to watch a zombie flick.
All in all, very fun. The guitar fight scene was 💯
Lots of parallels to the original. Some things are new, like running zombies, but it's not a huge problem for me considering it's been so long. What I will say is some zombies are more convincing than others.
The characters were all flawed, and it made them realistic and relatable. Even the main villain had moments where I felt sorry for him (to a degree lol). I appreciated that the characters emotionally react and have a moment to grieve for each death, which also brought a real world weight to it and reminded us that they really were friends/siblings, and not just throwaway characters there just to die. There were a few dramatic scenes near the end that even made me tear up, which I did not expect sitting down to watch a zombie flick.
All in all, very fun. The guitar fight scene was 💯
- a-71201-67500
- Apr 6, 2024
- Permalink
How do you go from American Mary to this?
I loved American Mary, how can you go from that classic movie to trash like this Festival of The Living Dead or the poor Vendetta?
Please give these two talented directors some better funding and better talent to work with. Look at what they cooked up with American Mary, a modern Horror classic that is very underrated and a masterpiece!
Back to this trainwreck of a movie.... Festival Of The Living Dead feels so dead and boring. From the overall cheap look of the movie, to the horrible acting, to the trashy story and beyond bad dialogue, this movie is one of the worst horror movies I have seen in years.
Please get back to making good horror movies again Soska Sisters, I LOVED your American Mary flick to death! I know you have the talent and I hope you get the money and talented cast to work with in the future to make another movie on the same quality level as American Mary!
Stay far away from this Festival Of the Living Dead though, it is really bad. The general idea is decent, with zombies at a festival, but the execution is beyond bad and feels very amateurish.
Even if you can watch it for free on Tubi, don't bother. Go watch American Mary instead, its the Soska Sisters masterpiece and I pray that one day they get to make another modern horror classic like that movie!
But this Living Dead should be tossed in the trash, its just not very good, despite me going in with a very open mind and being hopeful once again that the Soska Sisters can get back on track with a movie like American Mary, I have been hoping for them to get back to that quality for years now.
Please give these two talented directors some better funding and better talent to work with. Look at what they cooked up with American Mary, a modern Horror classic that is very underrated and a masterpiece!
Back to this trainwreck of a movie.... Festival Of The Living Dead feels so dead and boring. From the overall cheap look of the movie, to the horrible acting, to the trashy story and beyond bad dialogue, this movie is one of the worst horror movies I have seen in years.
Please get back to making good horror movies again Soska Sisters, I LOVED your American Mary flick to death! I know you have the talent and I hope you get the money and talented cast to work with in the future to make another movie on the same quality level as American Mary!
Stay far away from this Festival Of the Living Dead though, it is really bad. The general idea is decent, with zombies at a festival, but the execution is beyond bad and feels very amateurish.
Even if you can watch it for free on Tubi, don't bother. Go watch American Mary instead, its the Soska Sisters masterpiece and I pray that one day they get to make another modern horror classic like that movie!
But this Living Dead should be tossed in the trash, its just not very good, despite me going in with a very open mind and being hopeful once again that the Soska Sisters can get back on track with a movie like American Mary, I have been hoping for them to get back to that quality for years now.
- katalist420
- Aug 3, 2024
- Permalink
Leave this movie to the zombies
Pretty good!
Okay, so "Festival of the Living Dead" is like your typical zombie flick, but with a twist. It's got some pretty creative kills and funny moments that'll keep you entertained. Sure, the story follows familiar tropes but it's still was really enjoyable to watch. The characters are flawed but interesting. For a tubi movie I was surprised with the quality and the cast. Specifically, Camren Bicondova was fantastic, I need to see like 20 different tiktok edits of her killing zombies (please). This is definitely an intro to horror film that I think the zoomers will enjoy. I'll add this to my list to rewatch during spooky month.
Suprise gem
Was super fun! Good pacing and sufficiently gore filled. There is something really satisfying about old school zombie horror and this really hits the nail on the head in that regard. Unpredictable in a positive way as well not just retrodding the same zombie tropes over and over. I can confidently say it's a rollercoaster of tension and survival. The world feels hauntingly real and the relentless pursuit of the zombies keeps you interested. Cinematography really manages to capture the after effects of a zombie disaster. Overall a thrilling cinematic experience that will have you checking over your shoulder and keep you awake after the credits roll.
- khristienpennanen
- Apr 7, 2024
- Permalink