Colin (film)

Colin is a 2008 British zombie film written and directed by Marc Price. After a successful run in a number of film festivals, it 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.[1] The director, actor and comedian 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 6 software which had come bundled with a video capture card he'd purchased a few years earlier.[2] Facebook and Myspace were used to gather actors to play the zombies.[1]

Colin
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMarc Price
Produced byMarc Price
Written byMarc Price
Starring
Music by
  • Dan Weekes
  • Jack Elphick
CinematographyMarc Price
Edited byMarc Price
Release date
  • 15 November 2008 (2008-11-15) (Aberystwyth Abertoir Film Festival)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£45[1]

Plot

Injured in the arm, Colin arrives home to the house he shares with Damien 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 London 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 friend) 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 recognize 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 boyfriend 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 Slingshot guy, 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 friend Laura's home, 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 going home, which brings the viewer back to the film's beginning.[3]

Cast
  • Alastair Kirton as Colin
  • Daisy Aitkens as Linda
  • Dominic Burgess 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
  • Rami Hilmi as Helpful Guy with Crowbar
  • Helena Martin as Pots' wife

Production

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.[4] Another feature film that deals with a story from a zombie's point of view is Andrew Parkinson's I, Zombie (1998). Marc Price, the director of Colin, said that if he had known about the existence of I, Zombie, he probably wouldn't have made his film.[5] The film was shot in London using friends and professionals who worked free to build their portfolio.[6] Shooting took 18 months.[7]

Soundtrack
  • Dan Weekes: "Colin's Theme"
  • Spencer McGarry Season: "The Unfilmable Life and Life of Terry Gilliam"
  • Jack Elphick: "Intro"; "Colin Broke My Keyboard"; "Boorman Lake"
  • Simon Bevan: "RunAway" (acoustic)

Release

Screenings

An early cut of the film was screened on 15 November 2008 at the Abertoir horror festival, where it drew the attention of sales agent Helen Grace of Left Films.[8]

It then played at the Cannes film Market [9] and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Saatchi & Saatchi presentation of new directors, 25 June 2009.[10]

On 13 July 2009, the film had a special screening at Zombie-Aid in Manchester, with cast and crew present for Q & A.

On 27 July 2009, it was announced that the film would be distributed to cinemas and DVD by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment (UK).[11] 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 during Halloween.[12]

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 a release in the US.[13]

DVD Release

It was released on DVD in October 2010 in the US.[14] A two-disc Special Edition DVD has been released.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 46% of 26 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.6/10.[15] Writing in Sight and Sound, Michael Brooke compared it to Return of the Living Dead 3, which is also narrated from a zombie point of view. He commended the film's ambiance 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.[16] Nigel Floyd of Time Out London rated it 2/5 stars and called it an "overlong, non-frightening" film that "shambles fitfully from one scene to the next, without ever achieving any momentum or sense of direction."[17] Carmen Gray of Total Film rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote, "If a Credit Crunch Oscar existed, his DIY chutzpah would take the gong."[18] Phillip French of The Observer called it "confused, unoriginal and unimaginative".[19] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it 3/5 stars and called it "a ultra-minimal, ultra-experimental future-shock".[20] Joshua Siebalt of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "For a first-time effort, Colin shows a helluva lot of promise."[21] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2, academic Peter Dendle said, "No one will mistake the final product for polished art ... yet there is no question that Price offers a fresh, provocative approach to a zombie apocalypse."[22]

See also

References
  1. Foster, Tom (22 May 2009). "Hollywood eyes $70 zombie movie wowing Cannes". CNN. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. "The Big Picture Magazine | Film in a wider context". Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  3. Michael Brooke: "Review: Colin:" Sight and Sound: November 2009: 19:11: 52-53
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Fitch, Alex (2 October 2009). "Colin: Interview with Marc Price". Electric Sheep Magazine. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  6. Bennett, Ray (15 May 2009). "The undead find life onscreen". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  7. Mackay, Mairi (28 July 2009). "$70 zombie movie hits the big screen". CNN. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  8. Manzoor, Sarfraz (29 July 2009). "My £45 hit film: Marc Price on his zombie movie Colin". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_rP4bjTU4U
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Mackay, Mairi (28 July 2009). "$70 zombie movie hits the big screen". CNN. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  12. "Cinema deal for £45 zombie film". BBC News. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  13. "Colin U.S. screenings news, DVD art/details". Fangoria. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  14. Collins, Clark (21 October 2010). "Did Cannes sensation Marc Price really make his new zombie movie 'Colin' for $70? No. He made it for less!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  15. "Colin (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  16. Michael Brooke: "Review: Colin" Sight and Sound: 19:11: November 2009: 52-53
  17. Floyd, Nigel. "Colin (18)". Time Out London. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  18. Gray, Carmen (22 October 2009). "Colin". Total Film. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  19. French, Phillip (24 October 2009). "Colin". The Observer. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  20. Bradshaw, Peter (22 October 2009). "Colin". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  21. Siebalt, Joshua (14 January 2009). "Colin (2008)". Dread Central. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  22. Dendle, Peter (2012). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000–2010. McFarland & Company. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7864-6163-9.
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