Autumn (2009 film)

Last updated
Autumn
Autumn film.jpg
Directed by Steven Rumbelow
Screenplay by
Based onAutumn
by David Moody
Produced by
  • Anton Brejak
  • John Dunlop
  • Steven Rumbelow
  • Matthew Stone
  • Michael Summerfield
Starring
CinematographyStephen Crone
Edited by
  • Steven Rumbelow
  • Anthony Valenti
Music by
  • 615
  • Craig McConnell
Production
company
Release date
  • May 30, 2009 (2009-05-30)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Autumn is a 2009 Canadian horror film directed by Steven Rumbelow, written by David Moody and Rumbelow, and starring Dexter Fletcher. It was based on Moody's self-published novel Autumn. Fletcher plays a schoolteacher who must survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by evolving zombies. This was the final film of David Carradine before his death.

Contents

Premise

After a viral outbreak kills 99% of the world's population, scattered survivors come together and attempt to deal with the collapse of civilization. They face a new threat when the dead begin to reanimate. Initially catatonic, the corpses slowly regain their senses, become increasingly sensitive to outside stimuli, and show signs of aggression. Eventually, the survivors must fortify themselves against attack and try to find a reason to survive.

Cast

Production

Author David Moody had offers on two of his novels, Autumn and Hater, at the same time. Although Hater had Guillermo del Toro attached, Moody reasoned that Autumn, as a small independent film, had a greater chance of being made. Moody made both deals and participated in the making of Autumn. [1]

Release

Autumn played at the 2009 Grimm Up North Festival in the UK. [2]

Reception

The film drew mixed to negative reviews. Reviewing the film while it was still in post-production, Brutal As Hell wrote that the atmosphere and settings of the film are better than other low budget post-apocalyptic films. [3] Sabrina Bangladesh of Shadowlocked.com wrote that the film is too boring to be "so bad it's good". [4] Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News called it "a thinking man's zombie flick with some fun performances and decent effects." [5] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2, academic Peter Dendle called the film "a patient meditation" with a "mournful, serious tone" and "rich aesthetic to many of the scenes." [6]

David Moody, the author of the source novel, said, "Ultimately, although it has some redeeming qualities, and the main cast did a great job, I think it was a disappointment to a lot of people. The filmmakers were really stretched by having to work within a microscopic budget, and there are places where that really shows." [1] The mostly negative reception of Autumn led Dexter Fletcher to direct his own films, which were better received. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction</span> Genre of fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as nuclear holocaust or resource depletion; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment, Second Coming or Ragnarök; or more imaginative, such as a zombie apocalypse, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics or alien invasion.

<i>Burial Ground</i> (film) 1981 film

Burial Ground is an Italian grindhouse zombie movie directed by Andrea Bianchi. It is one of several films released under the alternative title of Zombie 3.

<i>Dead & Breakfast</i> 2004 American film

Dead & Breakfast is a 2004 musical zombie comedy film directed by Matthew Leutwyler starring Ever Carradine, Gina Philips, Erik Palladino, Bianca Lawson, Jeremy Sisto and Oz Perkins. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and went on to win over a dozen awards and was nominated for a Saturn Award.

<i>The Earth Dies Screaming</i> 1964 film

The Earth Dies Screaming is a 1964 British science-fiction horror film directed by Terence Fisher, written by Harry Spalding, and starring Willard Parker, Virginia Field, and Dennis Price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zombie apocalypse</span> Subgenre of apocalyptic fiction

Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack humans is unknown, in others, a parasite or infection is the cause, framing events much like a plague. Some stories have every corpse rise, regardless of the cause of death, whereas others require exposure to the infection.

Severed, titled Severed: Forest of the Dead in the United States, is a 2005 Canadian zombie horror film directed by Carl Bessai and set in a remote logging community following an incident where a genetic experiment goes wrong.

<i>Beneath Still Waters</i> 2005 film

Beneath Still Waters is a 2005 horror film directed by Brian Yuzna. It stars Michael McKell, Raquel Meroño and Charlotte Salt. It was based on a novel by Matthew Costello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazi zombies</span>

Nazi zombies are a horror trope found in films, video games, and comic books. Nazi zombie narratives usually feature undead Nazi soldiers resurrected to fight for the Third Reich. The book Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture described the genre as a small theme of horror films.

Days of Darkness is a 2007 American horror film written and directed by Jake Kennedy. Survivors of a zombie apocalypse, including a young couple played by Travis Brorsen and Roshelle Pattison, seek shelter in an abandoned military complex while they attempt to figure out what has caused the outbreak.

David Moody was born in 19 November, 1970. He is an English horror writer. He first came to public attention with his book Autumn, published freely on-line in 2001. Autumn was made into a motion picture starring David Carradine and Dexter Fletcher which was released in 2009. Film rights to Moody's Hater trilogy were picked up in 2008 by Universal Pictures, with Mark Johnson and Guillermo del Toro to produce and Juan Antonio Bayona to direct.

<i>Zombies of Mora Tau</i> 1957 film by Edward L. Cahn

Zombies of Mora Tau is a 1957 black-and-white zombie horror film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes and Autumn Russel. Distributed by Columbia Pictures, it was produced by Sam Katzman. The screenplay was written by George H. Plympton and Bernard Gordon. Zombies of Mora Tau was released on a double bill with another Katzman-produced film, The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957).

<i>The House of Seven Corpses</i> 1973 American film

The House of Seven Corpses is a 1973 American horror film directed by Paul Harrison and starring John Ireland, Faith Domergue and John Carradine.

Zombie Planet is a 2004 American horror film directed and written by George Bonilla. Frank Farhat stars as a zombie hunter in a post-apocalyptic world. The film also stars Christopher Rose, Matt Perry, Rebecca Minton, and Karl Gustav Lindstrom.

Exhumed is a 2003 Canadian horror anthology film directed and written by Brian Clement. Set in three different time periods and locales, the film tells the story of an artifact that can return the dead to life.

Brain Dead is a 2007 American horror comedy film directed by Kevin S. Tenney, written by Dale Gelineau, and starring Joshua Benton, Sarah Grant Brendecke, Michelle Tomlinson, David Crane, Andy Forrest, and Cristina Tiberia. Christians, sorority sisters, and escaped convicts attempt to defend themselves against a zombie attack.

<i>Descendents</i> (2008 film) 2008 Chilean film

Descendents is a 2008 Chilean experimental horror film directed by Jorge Olguín, written by Carolina García and Olguín, and starring Camille Lynch. Lynch plays a young child who attempts to cross a land divided by brutal fights between the military and roving zombies.

Dead Moon Rising is a 2007 horror film written and directed by Mark E. Poole. It stars Jason Crowe, Mike Seely, and Erica Goldsmith as locals who must fight waves of zombies in Louisville, Kentucky.

<i>The Dead and the Damned</i> 2010 American film

The Dead and the Damned is a 2010 American Western horror film directed by Rene Perez, written by Perez and Barry Massoni, and starring David Lockhart, Camille Montgomery, Rick Mora, and Robert Amstler. The film depicts a meteorite that unleashes a zombie virus in the American Old West.

References

  1. 1 2 Gilliam, J. D. (2011-12-17). "Interview: David Moody, Author of the 'Hater' Trilogy". Starburst . Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  2. Moore, Debi (2009-09-12). "2009 Grimm Up North Festival Details Emerge". Dread Central . Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  3. "Autumn (2009)". BrutalAsHell.com. 2009-07-25. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  4. Bangladesh, Sabrina (2010-04-20). "Autumn DVD review". Shadowlocked.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  5. Miller, Mark L. (2011-12-30). "AUTUMN (2009)". Ain't It Cool News . Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  6. Dendle, Peter (2012). Zombie Movie Encyclopedia: Volume 2, 2000-2010. McFarland & Company. pp. 26–27. ISBN   9780786492886.
  7. Barber, Nicholas (2013-09-29). "Dexter Fletcher interview: Mr Sunshine talks switching to directing, Bugsy Malone and waiting for the 'Doctor Who call' from Steven Moffat". The Independent . Retrieved 2013-12-01.