Dir. Rickey Bird, Jr. (2014) Three people escape from a zombie plague, but one of them has been bitten.
CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Heavily (and I mean heavily) inspired by the grindhouse cinema of the 60’s and 70’s, Naked Zombie Girl could easily use that famous old tagline from Pieces: It’s exactly what you think it is! It’s a clever short, utilizing all sorts of camera tricks and editing gimmicks to give the film a modern feel while leaning heavily (and I mean heavily) into the gritty and grimy feel of the drive-in classics. With a zombie design that is equal parts Snyder's Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later with a little bit of The Walking Dead thrown in, director Rickey Bird, Jr. managed to get some of the best use of his limited budget that I’ve ever seen. These creatures are scary as hell, looking very much the moniker of the living dead. While some of the effects are digital, which can be a cool idea if used correctly but is usually vilified by genre fans, a lot of the slicing and dicing here is done really well with some great practical effects. There’s not enough “acting” here to really comment on how good star Meghan Chadeayne actually is, but she’s a pretty badass final girl who knows her way around a chainsaw. With a tiny budget and a thirty minute run-time (of which a good ten minutes at least was the opening and closing credits), Bird does about as good as is possible in his homage to grindhouse cinema. There’s very little plot because that’s not what you’re fucking here for in a movie called Naked Zombie Girl. You’re here to see a naked girl kill zombies, and that’s exactly what you get. Bird uses clever lighting and some strategically placed hair to avoid the YouTube censors, and you can check out the entire film for free there. I’m getting ready to watch the sequel as well, which is coming soon and will be paired with this review!
