Swag & Review: Las Vegas's Zombie Apocalypse Store

Back in January I took a trip to Las Vegas with a few friends. While walking around the seedy back streets, we came across a fairly odd little store: The Zombie Apocalypse Store.

Stuck about a mile off the strip, this storefront seems too good to be true (who loves zombies and apocalypses more than me?). In retrospect, it's certainly not what it boasts. It's small and it offers a very limited stock of items. Many of these items are offered at a pretty high markup, and those that are reasonably priced don't seem to be worth too much more than you're paying for them. Still, it was a fun place to stop in for a few moments, and it might be worth a little walk on a lazy Vegas afternoon.

The shop is a clear product of the new uptick in zombie fascination; it looks to reap profit out of a new market rather than actually running on genuine fandom. But whatever. I'm not picky. I was a huge pirate fanatic before Pirates of the Carribean came out, and when the whole world went pirate crazy, I looked at the plus side--more pirate merchandise for me. You have to look at the zombie craze the same way. But I digress.

The store is small and clearly put together quickly and haphazardly. They've tried their best to make it creative, and it certainly doesn't need a whole lot of flash to be filled with people. Painting "zombie apocalypse store" on the side was pretty much a dinner bell, as the place was teeming with customers when we went. The best part about the store, however, was the sheer comedy created by the fact that the store shares a building (and actually a sales floor) with an artificial grass company. I was particularly entertained by the fake patio setup on the back that looked up at a projection screen playing the zombie flick Fido. Hilarious.

As far as merch, the place is a start up. They have what they advertise on their sign out front, but that's really it. They had a few cool t-shirts, but they were a little pricey. They had some food rations that looked relatively cool, but again they were a little pricey. They had some cool zombie targets, but we never got a chance to try our hand at the gun range. Where I spent my money was on a freaking sweet knife. Now, to be clear, when I say "freaking sweet", what I really mean is that it was super cheap (like $15) and it looks cool. Is it of good quality? Heck no. I'm sure some sweat shop overlord is counting those fifteen singles and saying "Stupid American" as we speak. Still, it looks cool hanging on a hook next to my sword, so that's all I ask.

Overall, I had a good time, but it wasn't anything worth going out of your way for. If you're in the area and looking to kill time, check it out. If not, skip it. You can get better deals online, and the decor isn't really worth seeing at all...unless you like a sarcastic chuckle...which I do. I will say that it looked like they had just opened when we went, so maybe they'll be better stocked by now. You can check them out online here. Enjoy!

Review: The Walking Dead, Episode 2.12

Sorry it took me so long to post, but what an episode, right?!?! I knew, given all the internet buzz and the comics, that Shane was likely to kick the bucket in the next two episode, but I was getting pretty certain that they were going to hold all their cards until the finale. I, for one, am really, really glad that they didn't. A finale filled with too many "wow" moments would have really made me mad, especially considering that it's only the regular 44 minutes long.

I will say though, as an angry comic book reader, I really wish it had been Carl to pull the initial trigger on Shane. They did throw us comic readers the proverbial bone by having Carl put down zombie Shane, but in the comic it's the other way around. It doesn't really matter that much; I'm just happy he's gone. Not that I don't like you, Jon Bernthal, but it was time. I will say that the show did a good job of throwing in a plethora of red herrings to suggest that it would be Carl to pull the trigger. You can trace moments of foreshadowing on that front all the way back to the first season, but the moment of Shane giving Carl the gun at the beginning of last Sunday's episode were pretty creepy. Very "why do I have a feeling that you're going to be the death of me?"

Some great zombie kills in this episode, too. My personal favorite was Andrea's pitchfork-to-the-face move at the beginning of the episode. Think Dale's death got her a little riled up? Maybe just a bit. But I bet that one will be nothing compared to what's coming in the finale. I'm not one who watches the show entirely for the guts and gore, but hey...it's not a bad side dish. With the zombie horde fast approaching the farm house, I'm assuming we'll see plenty of skull-bashing, brain-splattering delight. In addition, I'm assuming we're about to say goodbye to a few more characters (I'd place bets on at least one or two from Herschel's crew), and as I've stated before, rumors say we're about to see the first appearance of the samurai lawyer, Michonne. I can't wait. I'm hoping we get a first glimpse at the prison as well, but that might be a stretch.

What were your thoughts and reactions to this episode? Hopes for next Sunday? Let me know! While you wait for the episode, check out the very brief preview of next week below...

News: World War Z Tattoo Contest

World War Z is having a tattoo competition on Facebook and I'm entered! The winner of the contest will have their tattoo made into a temporary tattoo and handed out at the San Diego Comic Con. Would that be awesome or what? All the runners up get signed copies of World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. That would be pretty awesome as well.

Wanna vote for your favorite zombie girl? Click on the link here and vote. You can vote once per day!

Review: The Walking Dead, Episode 2.11

If they wanted us to receive the message "this is not the comics", then message received pretty loud and pretty freaking clear.

In the comics, our buddy Dale lives long after many others are gone. He lives to see plenty of death and destruction, including the amputation of his leg after a zombie bite and the amputation of his other leg at the hands of cannibals. But now, while still on the darned Greene farm, Dale has become a walker buffet. I can only assume that the show's producers wanted to keep things fresh and keep people guessing. Goal achieved. Of course, I did read this spoiler before watching tonight's episode. I really wanted it to be a lie. Damn you, internet.

Overall, this episode was pretty good, plenty of drama and tension. I even shed a few tears when Herschel handed over his watch to Glenn...I know, I'm a girl. My only complaint right now is that even I, the loyalest of loyal Walking Dead fans, have become a little frustrated with the pace. It's not that I mind things moving slowly; I don't. It's more that I am assuming there are at least three things (finding the prison, Shane dying, and Michonne showing up) that are likely to happen before the end of the season. That just seems like a heck of a lot to shove into two episodes, so I wish they'd get on with it if that's the end point for the season. If they save it all for the finale, then the finale better be three hours long.

Your thoughts on tonight's episode? What do you hope to see before the show goes on break? If Shane does in fact bite the dust, who do you think will pull the trigger? If you're itching for next week's episode already, check out the preview below.

News: Guest Announcements for Flashback Weekend

For Chicago horror lovers, Flashback Weekend is often a summer must. This convention has been around for a decade, and it delights in bringing some big names in horror to the Chicagoland area. This year's highlights for zombie lovers will be Ken Foree of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. He also made a brief appearance in the 2004 version (you can check out my post on that here). I've met Mr. Foree during past conventions and can attest that he's a very chill dude. Additionally, and this is their headliner, the great John Carpenter will be present and signing autographs. If I have to list some of his movies for you, you're likely on the wrong blog, but my personal favorite (and I know it's not his best...but still) is Ghosts of Mars. I guess you could sort of say that's an "infected" movie.

There are plenty of other horror and zombie themed guest making an appearance at Flashback this year, so check out the convention's webpage here. Hopefully I'll see you there this summer! The convention will be held at the Crown Plaza in Rosemont on August 10th-12th. I'll post more information as it comes through.

News: Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl Registration is Now Open!

The Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl hits the streets of the windy city on April 28th, 2012. This is the fifth anniversary of the annual event, and with the rise in "zombie awareness" recently, it's likely to be even more jam packed than usual. The crawl will be from 2pm-8pm on that Saturday, and the idea is that you come in your finest zombie attire for a few drinks and a few bites. Andersonville is the place, and the poor, unsuspecting lesbians and hipsters will never know what hit them. So bring your ID and a thirst for the blood of the living!

If you register before March 15th, you will get to take advantage of a better price and some better offers. Before the fifteenth, tickets to the crawl are $20 and include a t-shirt, a glass, access to drink specials, and a few extra surprises! This rate will go up to $25 after March 15th, so get on it. Wondering where the money goes? Aside from the obvious operating fees of the event, The Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl is actually a fundraiser for a local theater company, so if you are a fan of eating the flesh of the living and encouraging the enrichment of arts and culture...come on out!

Click here for more information and to register!

Check out this video on last year's event if you're wondering what it's all about!

Review: Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave

I'm a big fan of mindless and crappy movies on SyFy Saturdays. The disaster movies are personally my favorite. When there was a zombie-themed Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I decided to DVR Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave for a future mindless day of R&R. That's how 1pm today found me on my couch with a bowl of frosted mini wheats and the TV remote.

This movie is bad, but I knew that would be the case going in. What I didn't know, however, is that it wasn't going to be like funny bad; it was just going to be sort of bad-bad. It had all the usual low budget identifiers: horrible acting, bad writing, random topless scenes. In addition to these symptoms, however, it just wasn't engaging. It was too silly and not in a good way. My personal favorite moment was when two frat zombies started talking: "Come on, Jimmy. We're frat brothers. We share everything." "Including internal organs!". I almost turned it off right there. Zombies should never, ever speak...not even to say "brainssss".

I'm not saying this flick doesn't have some of the fun of a bad, campy movie (it certainly does), but at times it crosses the line into just plain stupid and honestly kind of boring. My last negative comment would be that some of the "conceptual" stuff was super dumb or irritating. For example, one of the zombies is basically just a corpse who spends the last 20 minutes trying to hitchhike to the rave. Ridiculous and not funny. But worse than that was the choice to shoot an entire scene with a strobe light. Now that was just flat out irritating.

On a positive note, the zombie makeup was very nice, and the blood effects were usually pretty realistic looking and gross. My personal favorite was when a zombie bit a guy's cornrow off of his head. Delicious. While the dialogue and acting were horrible, the plot was at least somewhat original (the idea of idiot teenagers accidentally selling a rave drug that turns people into zombies), and it followed the plot as logically as it possibly could have. The two INTERPOL agents were kind of funny, but also just kind of randomly casted.

Overall, it was pretty much the usual SyFy Saturday offering. Maybe a smidgen worse. There are much better campy zombie movies...but I would suppose there are also probably worse ones out there. Not many, but some. I'd say skip it, really...unless you're as bored and lazy as I am.