Recently arriving on Blu-ray and DVD in the Us and coming soon to UK TV is The Dead 2, Howard and Jonathan Ford’s follow up to the 2010 African zombie movie. Now shifting focus to a new set of characters in India, the new location provided its own set of rewards and challenges, which The Ford Brothers spoke about during a recent interview:
How do you two write? For example, does one pace the floor whilst the other types?
Jon: Ha, that’s funny! You hit the nail on the head! Normally you will find Howard frantically writing away while I pace the room acting out the scenarios and shouting the lines like some demented theatre actor on steroids. The writing stage is one phase of the project where we work together very well. We are almost never in conflict with each other, each jumping in where the other got to...
How do you two write? For example, does one pace the floor whilst the other types?
Jon: Ha, that’s funny! You hit the nail on the head! Normally you will find Howard frantically writing away while I pace the room acting out the scenarios and shouting the lines like some demented theatre actor on steroids. The writing stage is one phase of the project where we work together very well. We are almost never in conflict with each other, each jumping in where the other got to...
- 9/23/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Ahead of the Horror Channel’s UK TV premiere of the acclaimed The Dead, on Saturday 27th September at 22:50, the Ford Brothers relive the drama of the malaria-stricken shoot in Africa, revealing the budget for the first time, and talk of revenge in their next movies!
How do you two write? For example, does one pace the floor whilst the other types?
Jon: Ha that’s funny! You hit the nail on the head! Normally you will find Howard frantically writing away while I pace the room acting out the scenarios and shouting the lines like some demented theatre actor on steroids. The writing stage is one phase of the project where we work together very well. We are almost never in conflict with each other, each jumping in where the other got to in a particular scene but also bringing together our differing perspectives and weaving them together.
How do you two write? For example, does one pace the floor whilst the other types?
Jon: Ha that’s funny! You hit the nail on the head! Normally you will find Howard frantically writing away while I pace the room acting out the scenarios and shouting the lines like some demented theatre actor on steroids. The writing stage is one phase of the project where we work together very well. We are almost never in conflict with each other, each jumping in where the other got to in a particular scene but also bringing together our differing perspectives and weaving them together.
- 9/23/2014
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
In the age of sprinting zombies and sparkling sun-proof vampires, it’s a risky move to go back to the basics when human fatigue and the element of surprise were the only advantages the undead had over their prey. That’s the only grace The Dead affords its stumbling predators, but apparently that was enough to set up a story where Africa has been overrun and two men must band together to survive their trek across the lonely wilderness with nothing but a truck, a machete, and guns to get them home. The acting of Rob Freeman and Prince David Oseia and writing of the Ford brothers aren’t top-notch, but The Dead makes excellent use of silence and isolation, contending that the zombies aren’t the biggest risk: mental fatigue is. Co-directors and writers Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford play their zombie flick straight and without much flash or melodrama,...
- 2/17/2012
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
In the Ford Brothers' zombie opus The Dead, actor Rob Freeman portrays Lieutenant Brian Murphy, an American caught in Africa during a zombie uprising, and we recently caught up with the actor for a brief chat about the film.
In The Dead Freeman's character survives a harrowing plane crash in western Africa only to come to realize he's got bigger issues than his plane going down: He's surrounding by hordes of flesh-hungry zombies who threaten the American engineer along every step of his dangerous journey out of the desolate and ravaged world he's been left behind in.
With the film's DVD and Blu-ray release occurring this Valentine's Day courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment, we asked Freeman about the real-life dangers he and the entire cast and crew faced while shooting the zombie film in Burkina Faso and Ghana and how even a brush with death couldn't keep him from working...
In The Dead Freeman's character survives a harrowing plane crash in western Africa only to come to realize he's got bigger issues than his plane going down: He's surrounding by hordes of flesh-hungry zombies who threaten the American engineer along every step of his dangerous journey out of the desolate and ravaged world he's been left behind in.
With the film's DVD and Blu-ray release occurring this Valentine's Day courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment, we asked Freeman about the real-life dangers he and the entire cast and crew faced while shooting the zombie film in Burkina Faso and Ghana and how even a brush with death couldn't keep him from working...
- 2/13/2012
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
The 2010 zombie horror feature, "The Dead", directed, written and lensed by UK brothers Howard J. and Jon Ford, will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, through Anchor Bay Entertainment, February 14, 2012 :
"...shot in the life-threatening regions of Burkina Faso and Ghana, 'The Dead' takes audiences on a horrifying road-trip through a zombie-dominated terrain. An American mercenary, the sole survivor of a violent plane crash, maneuvers through the hostile, arid landscape while battling against the newly risen living dead.
"Almost losing all hope, he encounters an African soldier desperately searching for his son amongst the chaos. The mercenary and the soldier rise up together to forge their way through the unstoppable assault of the ever-hungry undead and forward into an uncertain future..."
Cast includes Rob Freeman, Prince David Oseia, David Dontoh, Elizabeth Akingbade, Benjamin C. Akpa, Stephen Asare Amaning, Anthony Arinze, Kwesi Asmah, Edward Bruce, Genardo Campbell, Mark Chapman,...
"...shot in the life-threatening regions of Burkina Faso and Ghana, 'The Dead' takes audiences on a horrifying road-trip through a zombie-dominated terrain. An American mercenary, the sole survivor of a violent plane crash, maneuvers through the hostile, arid landscape while battling against the newly risen living dead.
"Almost losing all hope, he encounters an African soldier desperately searching for his son amongst the chaos. The mercenary and the soldier rise up together to forge their way through the unstoppable assault of the ever-hungry undead and forward into an uncertain future..."
Cast includes Rob Freeman, Prince David Oseia, David Dontoh, Elizabeth Akingbade, Benjamin C. Akpa, Stephen Asare Amaning, Anthony Arinze, Kwesi Asmah, Edward Bruce, Genardo Campbell, Mark Chapman,...
- 2/11/2012
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Title: The Dead Directed by: Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford Starring: Rob Freeman, Prince David Oseia and David Dontoh Running time: 105 minutes, Rated R, Available on DVD In the near future, a virus is spreading throughout the world turning people into the walking dead. Lt. Brian Murphy (Freeman) survives a crash off the coast of Africa, and is determined to find his way home to his wife and daughter. He soon crosses paths with Sergeant Daniel Dembele (Osei) whose own village has been ravaged by zombies, but Daniel is certain his young son has survived. Together they trek across the African plains, taking down the reanimated dead until...
- 2/9/2012
- by juliana
- ShockYa
I’m not a big fan of zombie films, for very much the same reason I don’t really have time for stalk and slash films … Because they’re all the same! I’ve seen Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978) and Scream (1996), that’s all I need. Similarly, with zombies, I’ve seen all the George Romero films and find no one else’s take on his zombie idea really adds anything. We all die. The end. Seen it; next please.
But, every now and then, someone comes along with a different take on the same old motifs. Shaun of the Dead (2004), very obviously, added lovable characters, an English setting and a sense of hope that the American zombie films lack. Has The Dead, written, produced, shot and directed by English brothers Jon and Howard Ford – available now on Blu-Ray and DVD – similarly re-defined the genre?
Well, things start off promisingly enough – the setting is Africa.
But, every now and then, someone comes along with a different take on the same old motifs. Shaun of the Dead (2004), very obviously, added lovable characters, an English setting and a sense of hope that the American zombie films lack. Has The Dead, written, produced, shot and directed by English brothers Jon and Howard Ford – available now on Blu-Ray and DVD – similarly re-defined the genre?
Well, things start off promisingly enough – the setting is Africa.
- 10/10/2011
- by John Ashbrook
- Obsessed with Film
Directors/writers: Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford.
The Dead is a zombie thriller filmed in Burkina, Faso from brothers Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford. Released in the United Kingdom in September and to show in America October 7th, The Dead is a self-described "zombie road trip" movie. So, there is plenty of time spent in a broken down pickup as charcters Lt. Brian Murphy (Rob Freeman) and Stg Daniel Dembele (Prince David Oseia) cross the African continent in search of safety. The great cinematography made this reviewer wonder if this is the first African shot zombie film. No others come to mind and The Dead is unique in landscape, but not in methodology. The shamblers propel the story forward like George A. Romero's undead in Night of the Living Dead, while the film keeps the tension up by offering death on every corner.
Murphy and Dembele meet up in an arid desert.
The Dead is a zombie thriller filmed in Burkina, Faso from brothers Howard J. Ford and Jonathan Ford. Released in the United Kingdom in September and to show in America October 7th, The Dead is a self-described "zombie road trip" movie. So, there is plenty of time spent in a broken down pickup as charcters Lt. Brian Murphy (Rob Freeman) and Stg Daniel Dembele (Prince David Oseia) cross the African continent in search of safety. The great cinematography made this reviewer wonder if this is the first African shot zombie film. No others come to mind and The Dead is unique in landscape, but not in methodology. The shamblers propel the story forward like George A. Romero's undead in Night of the Living Dead, while the film keeps the tension up by offering death on every corner.
Murphy and Dembele meet up in an arid desert.
- 9/26/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Kill List (18)
(Ben Wheatley, 2011, UK) Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer. 95 mins
Who knew there was a missing link between Mike Leigh, Andy McNab and The Wicker Man? That's how unpredictable this macabre and outlandish tale is, but it unfolds in a credible modern-day Britain scarred by foreign wars and domestic recession. Circumstances lead a blokey hitman and his partner to accept a dodgy new assignment – and by the time they start asking questions, it's too late.
Attenberg (18)
(Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2010, Gre) Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelina Randou. 97 mins
Fans of Dogtooth will be ready for another prime dose of Greek oddness. Beneath the animal impersonations, silly walks and bad sex lies an intelligent, intimate study of human behaviour.
Fright Night (15)
(Craig Gillespie, 2011, Us) Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant. 106 mins
A teen vampire horror remake that benefits from superior effects, a shrewd Las Vegas setting, and some lively comedy.
(Ben Wheatley, 2011, UK) Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer. 95 mins
Who knew there was a missing link between Mike Leigh, Andy McNab and The Wicker Man? That's how unpredictable this macabre and outlandish tale is, but it unfolds in a credible modern-day Britain scarred by foreign wars and domestic recession. Circumstances lead a blokey hitman and his partner to accept a dodgy new assignment – and by the time they start asking questions, it's too late.
Attenberg (18)
(Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2010, Gre) Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelina Randou. 97 mins
Fans of Dogtooth will be ready for another prime dose of Greek oddness. Beneath the animal impersonations, silly walks and bad sex lies an intelligent, intimate study of human behaviour.
Fright Night (15)
(Craig Gillespie, 2011, Us) Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant. 106 mins
A teen vampire horror remake that benefits from superior effects, a shrewd Las Vegas setting, and some lively comedy.
- 9/2/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer and director siblings the Ford Brothers, Howard and Jonathan, will be attending this years Film4 Frightfest in London to help promote their upcoming zombie survival flick 'The Dead'. The screening will feature the duo giving a live commentary whilst the flick plays to its audience. If you won't be attending the event this year then fear not as 'The Dead' has just been given a 2 September release here in the UK. The movie stars Rob Freeman and Prince David Oseia and you can check out the newly revealed artwork, courtesy of Anchor Bay, below along with all the necessary plot details....
- 7/28/2011
- Horror Asylum
Year: 2010
Directors: Howard J. Ford & Jonathan Ford
Writers: Howard J. Ford & Jonathan Ford
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: rochefort
Rating: 8 out of 10
The zombie apocalypse is going down again, this time in the wilds of Africa. During a panicked attempt to escape the viral outbreak that is transforming Africans into flesh-eating undead, Military engineer Brian Murphy's (Rob Freeman) plane crashes on the African coast, and he's the sole survivor. As he heads inland in search of a working plane to take him back to his family in the States, he meets Daniel (Prince David Oseia), an Awol African soldier in search of his missing son, and the two band together to rescue Daniel's boy and get out while they still can.
Part "Dawn of the Dead", part "Walkabout", Howard and Jonathan Ford's new zombie opus, shot on location in Burkina Faso and Ghana, is a genuinely distinctive addition to the zombie canon.
Directors: Howard J. Ford & Jonathan Ford
Writers: Howard J. Ford & Jonathan Ford
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: rochefort
Rating: 8 out of 10
The zombie apocalypse is going down again, this time in the wilds of Africa. During a panicked attempt to escape the viral outbreak that is transforming Africans into flesh-eating undead, Military engineer Brian Murphy's (Rob Freeman) plane crashes on the African coast, and he's the sole survivor. As he heads inland in search of a working plane to take him back to his family in the States, he meets Daniel (Prince David Oseia), an Awol African soldier in search of his missing son, and the two band together to rescue Daniel's boy and get out while they still can.
Part "Dawn of the Dead", part "Walkabout", Howard and Jonathan Ford's new zombie opus, shot on location in Burkina Faso and Ghana, is a genuinely distinctive addition to the zombie canon.
- 9/30/2010
- QuietEarth.us
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