Zombies are Coming. Stay Inside or Go for the Car?

September 22, 2008

interactive zombie movieIf you’ve watched a few horror movies, and screamed “don’t go outside to check things out, you idiot!” then you might find this short interactive zombie film worth some time. It’s got some gore, though. So I warned you.

It’s called Survive the Outbreak, and you’ll make choices almost every minute — each leaving you dead or alive. So it’s hard to watch passively, and you find yourself feeling far more stressed than watching Dawn of the Dead after 8 Miller Lights.

I find several things interesting about it:

  • It’s well produced. If you live long enough, you’ll see some cinematic beauties– like overturned cars lit with eerie lighting effects.
  • It truly branches constantly. Typically these things branch briefly, and then the paths return so the creators don’t have hundreds of options to shoot. This is why I tried to stay in the house, assuming that budget would require us indoors (not to mention that I liked my odds inside).
  • While some of the acting was B grade at best, the effects, music and cinematography was unexpectedly professional.
  • I’d like to see more of these, and especially appreciate that the plot was brief (at least the way I survived, which took only about 5 deaths and do-overs.

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Peter Coffin September 22, 2008 at 6:04 am

In big Hollywood horror flicks, is the acting ever much better than B grade?

2 Slater September 22, 2008 at 7:29 am

This is amazing.

Are there sponsors? I know I’m gonna get someone to sponsor mine when I make one.

Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? Those were wicked sweet.

There could be a YouTube-wide collab where you make a choice in a nalts video, and depending on what you choose, you’re taken to the next chapter, which is either produced by, say for instance, Zipster on one branch, or, like, MediocreFilms on the other…

Just a thought. But remember where you heard it first.

3 Matt September 22, 2008 at 8:54 am

So that’s what it’s like if you visit MDJ?

4 marquisdejolie September 22, 2008 at 9:29 am

^ Hahaha! Pretty much, Matt. I think I recognized my oldest sister in the garage.

5 Nalts September 22, 2008 at 11:13 am

@3 For the record, MDJ was indeed the first video guy with whom I interacted, and had a dream. But there were no zombies. He was disc jockying a party and we hung out and chatted.

6 the Critic September 22, 2008 at 12:48 pm

excellent tip Nalts, thanks – I’ll be doing a write-up of it. Any idea who is behind it?

7 marquisdejolie September 22, 2008 at 2:21 pm

If y’all wanna see / touch real life bloodsucking dripping, drooling pus-caked venereal-soaked zombies, I can take you on the tour in Gardena, California, from the Motel Marquis to the methadone clinic next door to the liquor store across the street. When do you want to go?

8 sukatra September 22, 2008 at 3:27 pm

I’ll come back and watch it later when I’m bored shitless and have nothing better to do with my time than to die over and over and over again.

Who am I kidding? I do that every day anyway. and no zombies are required.

9 brindle16 September 22, 2008 at 3:50 pm

it doesn’t like me. damn you linux.

I’ll view it on a mac later.

10 Laura October 3, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Spectacular! *__*

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