Colin (film)
Encyclopedia
Colin is a 2008 English zombie
film which, after a successful run in a number of film festivals, went on to be shown at Cannes
in 2009. Applauded for its success despite its low budget, the total cost of production was reportedly £45. The director, Marc Price, shot Colin on a standard definition Panasonic
mini-dv camcorder that he had owned for 10 years and edited the film on his home PC using Adobe Premiere
software that he had been given at media college. Facebook
and Myspace
were used to gather actors to play the zombies.
during the onset of a probable zombie apocalypse
. He acquires the usual zombie cannibal taste for human flesh but avoids conflict. While being mugged for his trainers, he is seen by Linda, his sister. That evening zombies invade a house party and kill everyone within. Colin follows the sole survivor of the carnage (who, we later discover, reminds him of Laura, his girlfriend) before she is trapped by a madman / serial killer in his basement with a group of blinded zombies.
Linda and a friend finally capture Colin and take him to their mother's house, but Colin cannot recognise them. Linda has already been bitten by Colin when trying to save him from the muggers, and turns into a zombie, while she is reanimating she is locked in with Colin and her friend and mother leave. Colin and Linda shamble away. The film also follows a cowering group of human survivors who finally go on the offensive. Led by Pots, the humans attack a large group of zombies with a makeshift grenade, which explodes near Colin, destroying most of his face. Three of the humans are bitten during the fight and are brutally killed by the rest of the group after one starts turning.
Colin survives and finds his way to his girlfriend Laura's home (and possibly his own), where the film cuts to a flashback to when he was still human. Arriving at the house, he discovered that Laura had trapped a zombie in the bathroom. While attempting to kill the zombie, she was bitten and died in his arms, before reanimating and biting him. He then killed her before running to Damien's house, which brings the viewer back to the film's beginning.
(1998) but it is about a man gradually changing into a zombie over the whole period of the feature film and is therefore not told entirely from a zombie's perspective.
horror festival, where it drew the attention of sales agent Helen Grace of Left Films.
Grand Lumiere Auditorium, Palais, Cannes - Cannes Lions, Saatchi & Saatchi presentation of new directors, 25 June 2009.
On Monday 13 July, the film had a special screening at Zombie-Aid in Manchester, with cast and crew present for Q & A
On Monday 27 July 2009, it was announced that the film would be distributed to cinemas by Kaleidoscope Entertainment (UK). A preview was shown during the Frightfest fantasy and horror film festival in London during August 2009. It was released in cinemas both in London and other major UK cities (although the other venues are still to be announced) during Halloween
.
During November 2009, it was shown during the 19th Málaga Fantastic Film Festival (Fancine) in Spain as part of the Horror Zone section.
During September 2010, Walking Shadows announced the following US playdates: North American Theatrical Premiere Sept 23, 13th Floor Haunted House (San Antonio, TX), Sept 24 at Facets Cinematheque (Chicago, IL), October 1 at The Guild Cinema (Albuquerque, NM), October 4 at the Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR), October 15 at Telluride Horror Show (Telluride, CO), Oct 21 at Sacto Horror Film Fest (Sacramento, CA) and Spooky Movie Film Festival (Washington, DC), Oct 23 at Knoxville Horror Film Fest (Knoxville, TN) and Zombie Film Feast 3 (Albany, NY), Oct 29 at ZombieCon Film Festival (Seattle, WA), Oct 30 at The Showroom (Asbury Park, NJ) and the Vine Theater (Hollywood Blvd, CA), and Nov 14 at the Zombie Outbreak Film Fest (Chicago, IL).
, which is also narrated from a zombie point of view
. He commended the film's ambience of panic, assisted by the relative intimacy of a handheld camcorder
as the principal instrument of filming. As a character, Colin is argued to be a sympathetic character despite his revenant status, comparable to Bub in Romero's Day of the Dead.
The film holds 46% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
film which, after a successful run in a number of film festivals, went on to be shown at Cannes
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
in 2009. Applauded for its success despite its low budget, the total cost of production was reportedly £45. The director, Marc Price, shot Colin on a standard definition Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
mini-dv camcorder that he had owned for 10 years and edited the film on his home PC using Adobe Premiere
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing software application. It is part of the Adobe Creative Suite, a suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems, though it can also be purchased separately. When purchased separately, it comes...
software that he had been given at media college. Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
were used to gather actors to play the zombies.
Plot
Injured in the arm, Colin arrives at the house of Damien, a friend, only to find it empty. While cleaning his wound in the kitchen sink, he is attacked by Damien, now a zombie. He manages to "kill" Damien by stabbing him multiple times in the head with a kitchen knife, but soon afterwards becomes a zombie himself. Now one of the undead, Colin wanders the streets of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the onset of a probable zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse
A zombie apocalypse is a particular scenario of apocalyptic literature that customarily has a science fiction/horror rationale. In a zombie apocalypse, a widespread rise of zombies hostile to human life engages in a general assault on civilization....
. He acquires the usual zombie cannibal taste for human flesh but avoids conflict. While being mugged for his trainers, he is seen by Linda, his sister. That evening zombies invade a house party and kill everyone within. Colin follows the sole survivor of the carnage (who, we later discover, reminds him of Laura, his girlfriend) before she is trapped by a madman / serial killer in his basement with a group of blinded zombies.
Linda and a friend finally capture Colin and take him to their mother's house, but Colin cannot recognise them. Linda has already been bitten by Colin when trying to save him from the muggers, and turns into a zombie, while she is reanimating she is locked in with Colin and her friend and mother leave. Colin and Linda shamble away. The film also follows a cowering group of human survivors who finally go on the offensive. Led by Pots, the humans attack a large group of zombies with a makeshift grenade, which explodes near Colin, destroying most of his face. Three of the humans are bitten during the fight and are brutally killed by the rest of the group after one starts turning.
Colin survives and finds his way to his girlfriend Laura's home (and possibly his own), where the film cuts to a flashback to when he was still human. Arriving at the house, he discovered that Laura had trapped a zombie in the bathroom. While attempting to kill the zombie, she was bitten and died in his arms, before reanimating and biting him. He then killed her before running to Damien's house, which brings the viewer back to the film's beginning.
Premise
Colin is the first feature film to be told entirely from a zombie's perspective from the outset, the main character Colin changes in the first few minutes of the film. Another feature film that deals with a story from a zombie's point of view is Andrew Parkman's I, ZombieI, Zombie
I, Zombie: A Chronicle of Pain is a film which was released by Fangoria Films in 1998; it was written, directed, produced and scored by Andrew Parkinson....
(1998) but it is about a man gradually changing into a zombie over the whole period of the feature film and is therefore not told entirely from a zombie's perspective.
Cast
- Alastair Kirton as Colin
- Daisy AitkensDaisy AitkensDaisy Aitkens is an English actress and TV writer, best known for her roles in the TV series Fear, Stress and Anger and the cult zombie film Colin.-Background:...
as Linda - Dominic BurgessDominic BurgessDominic James Cooper better known by his stage name Dominic Burgess, is a British actor. He is known for his appearances in several TV adverts, Batman Begins and Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as Pots - Tat Whalley as Boyfriend
- Leanne Pammen as Laura
- Kate Alderman as False Laura
- Justin Mitchell Davey as Slingshot Guy
- Kerry Owen as Colin's mother
- Leigh Crocombe as Damien
- Helena Martin as Pots' wife
Crew
- Marc Vincent Price: writer, producer, director, cameraman, editor, sound recordist, sound designer, visual fx, sound design and mixing, grading.
- Visual Effects: Justin Hayles, Leigh Crocombe
- Make-Up Unit: Michelle Webb, Christie Carrigher, Gayle Cooper, Justin Hayes, Geoff Heath and Lindsey Jones
Soundtrack
- Dan Weekes: "Colin's Theme"
- Spencer McGarry SeasonSpencer McGarry SeasonSpencer McGarry Season is a project by songwriter Spencer McGarry to record and perform 6 albums in 6 different styles. The project was borne from both a wealth of material and indecision over what musical direction to take...
: "The Unfilmable Life and Life of Terry Gilliam" - Jack Elphick: "Intro"; "Colin Broke My Keyboard"; "Boorman Lake"
- Simon Bevan: "RunAway" (acoustic)
Screenings
An early cut of the film was screened on 15 November 2008 at the AbertoirAbertoir
Abertoir is an annual horror and horror film festival held in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Ceredigion, Wales in November. Currently in its sixth year, the festival began as a 3-day event and has grown since to its current 6-day schedule. Abertoir is currently Wales' only horror festival and is a...
horror festival, where it drew the attention of sales agent Helen Grace of Left Films.
Grand Lumiere Auditorium, Palais, Cannes - Cannes Lions, Saatchi & Saatchi presentation of new directors, 25 June 2009.
On Monday 13 July, the film had a special screening at Zombie-Aid in Manchester, with cast and crew present for Q & A
On Monday 27 July 2009, it was announced that the film would be distributed to cinemas by Kaleidoscope Entertainment (UK). A preview was shown during the Frightfest fantasy and horror film festival in London during August 2009. It was released in cinemas both in London and other major UK cities (although the other venues are still to be announced) during Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
.
During November 2009, it was shown during the 19th Málaga Fantastic Film Festival (Fancine) in Spain as part of the Horror Zone section.
During September 2010, Walking Shadows announced the following US playdates: North American Theatrical Premiere Sept 23, 13th Floor Haunted House (San Antonio, TX), Sept 24 at Facets Cinematheque (Chicago, IL), October 1 at The Guild Cinema (Albuquerque, NM), October 4 at the Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR), October 15 at Telluride Horror Show (Telluride, CO), Oct 21 at Sacto Horror Film Fest (Sacramento, CA) and Spooky Movie Film Festival (Washington, DC), Oct 23 at Knoxville Horror Film Fest (Knoxville, TN) and Zombie Film Feast 3 (Albany, NY), Oct 29 at ZombieCon Film Festival (Seattle, WA), Oct 30 at The Showroom (Asbury Park, NJ) and the Vine Theater (Hollywood Blvd, CA), and Nov 14 at the Zombie Outbreak Film Fest (Chicago, IL).
Response
Writing in Sight and Sound, Michael Brooke compared it to Return of the Living Dead 3Return of the Living Dead 3
Return of the Living Dead 3 is an American romantic-horror film released in 1993. It was directed by Brian Yuzna and was written by John Penney. The film stars Melinda Clarke as Julie Walker, J. Trevor Edmond as Curt Reynolds, Kent McCord as Col. John Reynolds and Basil Wallace as Riverman...
, which is also narrated from a zombie point of view
Point of view (literature)
The narrative mode is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. Narration, the process of presenting the narrative, occurs because of the narrative mode...
. He commended the film's ambience of panic, assisted by the relative intimacy of a handheld camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
as the principal instrument of filming. As a character, Colin is argued to be a sympathetic character despite his revenant status, comparable to Bub in Romero's Day of the Dead.
The film holds 46% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
External links
- COLIN - Official US Website
- COLIN - Official UK Website
- British zombie movie that cost just £45 to make is set to become surprise hit at Cannes
- Zombie movie with a budget of $70 is making a killing at Cannes
- Colin the Movie, made by Marc Price for £45, typifies Cannes spirit
- Production Company Website
- HorrorTalk.com Colin (2008) reviewed by DJBenz
- HorrorTalk.com Colin (2008) on-set report by Rosie Fletcher
- mjsimpson.co.uk Colin (2008) reviewed by MJ Simpson
- quietearth.us Colin (2008) reviewed by Ulises Silva
- fatally-yours.com Colin (2008) Review
- Low-budget zombie film pays off (2010) by Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Review