Spring Break
Maul of the Dead puts a new twist on zombie stories
Zacc Lawton
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Culture
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"Maul of the Dead" was similar - but with a comical twist.
Written by Mitch Brian, "Maul of the Dead" played during the second half of October at the Coterie Theatre in Crown Center.
The story takes place in 1978 and was inspired by the legendary zombie film "Dawn of the Dead."
The action began before the show even started. It happened while I was standing in line.
All of a sudden, two guys with guns came running into the lobby. Chasing after them was a swarm of bloody zombies.
The ushers quickly closed the doors and we were rushed into the theater, left without any indication this occurrence was actually supposed to take place.
Once the play began, the audience realized the two men being chased were the two main characters, Frank and Lewis.
Having been chased by zombies, they take refuge in a mall, where four other survivors join them.
The two men are members of a SWAT team, so you could say they're better protected than others.
Among the other survivors were a local TV weather reporter, a punk-rock chick who claims she is from Great Britain, a bubbly perfume clerk and a hot-headed helicopter pilot.
With a combination of so many different personalities, it is almost guaranteed there will be some problems.
"Maul of the Dead" was full of comedy and off-the-wall special effects.
Live gunshots and blood squirting off the stage made the audience really feel like they were part of the action.
The make-up for the zombies was spectacular; it was extremely realistic considering all the knock-off zombies you would see at a Worlds of Fun haunted house.
Like any other zombie movie, there is always that one person who gets infected.
Everyone around that person knows the infected character could hurt them. But they constantly insist on taking care of them.
That's just what happened in "Maul of the Dead."
From that point on, things pretty much went downhill.
In zombie movies, however, there is usually at least one survivor in the end. But in "Maul of the Dead," there were none.
zlawton@unews.com
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