User reviews

"I, Zombie" successfully pulls the zombie genre out of the clichéd assumption that the walking dead congregate in groups and enjoy their feasting on human flesh. Writer-director Andrew Parkinson takes a more sensitive route, presenting us with a likable young chap who, after an argument with his girlfriend, finds himself out in the countryside, where he is bitten by a feral woman. The rest of the movie, as the subtitle implies, is a document of his loneliness and pain as he's turned into a reluctant, decomposing killer. While the makeup FX are a bit rough in spots and some of the events become redundant, Parkinson delivers some disquieting imagery (including screwed-in metal plates covering up wounds) and invokes surprising sympathy for the protagonist's plight. Visually, the film possesses a look and tone akin to the work of Jorg Buttgereit ("Nekromantik," "Schramm"), and carries a similarly deeply felt effect.

Written, directed and edited by Andrew Parkinson, I Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain stars Giles Aspen as tragic PHD student Mark, who gradually succumbs to a degenerative disease after being bitten by a woman he encounters while on a field trip. Developing a hunger for human flesh, Giles is unable to return to the home he shares with his girlfriend Sarah (Ellen Softley), and so he does a runner, renting out a flat where he proceeds to document his slow transition into a rotting ghoul, which includes finding human victims for food.

Low budget zombie movies are ten a penny, but rarely do they offer much in the way of originality; it's always interesting to find something that attempts to breath new life into the tired genre. I Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain is one such film, an existential horror flick that provides a thought-provoking insight into the mind of a man doomed to a horrific existence; this alone qualifies it as a worthwhile effort for fans of the living dead—never mind the zombie masturbation scene that sees poor Giles literally pulling one off!

However, as different as this all is, the film isn't an entirely successful venture, suffering from an excruciatingly slow pace that makes it seem a lot longer than 79 minutes, a couple of weak performances, and not nearly enough gore for this particular viewer. Thankfully, the low budget aesthetic and technical shortcomings do nothing to detract further from the film's effectiveness—if anything, they help lend the film a much-needed sense of realism.

Parkinson's next film, Dead Creatures, would be a virtual rehash of I Zombie, albeit with multiple female 'zombies', indicating that the hardly prolific director was already struggling for fresh ideas.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Andrew Parkinson's debut feature is a brave try at making the ultimate existentialist zombie movie, following a graduate student (Giles Aspen) infected by the zombie disease during a country walk and his progressive yielding to the hunger for human flesh. Intercutting "present-day" TV-style interviews with his girlfriend and the friends he lost touch with after his disappearance with his own experiences as he progressively succumbs to the primary urge to survive, there's much to admire in the straight-faced approach to the premise and in the bold clinical way in which Parkinson documents the gradual loss of Mark's humanity. Not surprisingly, the amateurish home-movie visuals (the film was actually shot in 16mm over a two-year period) lend some power to the conceit; the basic problem with "I Zombie" is that the script is insufficiently developed for a feature and should have stayed just under the hour-long mark. Alternatively you may try and see it as a laugh, but you'll be surprised just how quickly the laughs die down under the film's dark spell.

This is the worst movie ever made. The production was crappy and the plot, while innovative, was weak and slow. I am huge fan of zombie movies and Fangora magazine. When I heard they were making a movie I thought "Wow! I bet that is gonna rawk!" When I finally seen it I changed my tune. It was a great idea but it was executed poorly. I don't want some "thinking man's zombie" that cries when he kills people. Maybe I am spoiled by such horror greats as "Dawn of the Dead" and "Dead Alive" but I want more than one whiney, tree-hugging, zombie bitch-boy. When the best part of your movie is a man pulling off his dong because he won't give up the "thing" he loves, then you need to put it back in its little film can and throw it in the river with Hoffa. This is a horrible movie and every copy needs to be burned before someone in the future gets ahold of it and thinks that we were all loved crying, masturbating zombies. I wouldn't want that on my consience, would you? HA!

This movies is horrible. Do not waste your time watching it. It is so boring, and there is hardly any death or gore. The whole movie is about some guy who gets bit by a zombie, then starts recording himself talking about how bad it is to be becoming a zombie, and how he hates eating people but has to. Then there is his girlfriend who he is still in love with and dreams about. And don't forget the unnecessary scenes of him whacking it until it falls off. This movie sucks!!! Whatever you do, do not mistake this for a good movie, or one that is worth watching. It is the most boring zombie movie I have ever seen, and I have seen some boring zombie movies. Who ever said horror buffs will enjoy this one, was sadly mistaken.

Many people think that horror movies are mindless popcorn movies for those who enjoy violence. Probably those people have not seen many horror films to begin with so this is a movie I would show to people like those. This movie breaks that false mold and is truly an emotional Tour De Force that plays with your emotions and truly moves you.

Director Andrew Parkinson's first movie tells the story of Mark(Giles Aspen), a young man who is bitten by a dying woman while he was on a field trip. After this he begins to experience a serious transformation of his biological functions. The wound doesn't heal and he begins to decay, also, a hunger for human flesh makes his life impossible. HE locks himself in an apartment and we are witnesses of how his life is destroyed by the "disease".

The Zombie condition is presented as a metaphor for AIDS or similar diseases, we watch how he has to end up his relationship with his girlfriend(whom he loves very much) and mixed within the film, we see in a documentary-style fashion interviews with her about how she has moved on with her life. All this surely have a great impact in the audience, a sense of how the isolation of the sick destroys the mind at the same time the disease destroys their bodies.

It's a very unusual and original take on the zombie genre, as Mark struggles to retain his mind while he is without a doubt turning into a zombie fueled by hunger.

As I wrote above, the movie is very touching, and the acting of Giles Aspen carries the film with power and makes us sympathetic for him, who tries to keep his humanity even when we, the audience knows that it's very possible that he will fail in his attempt.

The direction is solid, and even when most of the time the movie is set in the apartment, it never becomes tiresome or boring. Most of the make-up & effects are simply average, which is understandable, although the transformation of Mark is quite outstanding considering the budget.

I must warn you about the infamous scenes of this movie. Without spoiling things, I must say that there are a few scenes that may be disgusting due to Mark's gruesome decay. It's gory and disgusting, but nothing serious. Nevertheless, consider yourself warned.

The tag line reads: "His soul was the last to go", and truly the movie lives up to that premise. Sure, after the end of the movie you will probably feel depressed, but at the same time, thankful for being alive and healthy.

8/10. Good effort.

Yeah I got your attention.I happened upon a DVD of this movie after reading glowing reviews of it at several horror websites.I guess these reviewers are more easily impressed than I am.

A writer doing some research in a remote location is suddenly attacked by a woman who seems to be severely injured.What had actually happened was he was attacked by a zombie.He returns home, isolates himself from family and friends and slowly we watch his body and mind turn into a zombie as he tries to deal with the myriad of problems one has while living the zombie lifestyle.

Several things are never explained ,such as why he seems to be the only one that was attacked.City life goes on around him without one mention by anyone of an outbreak of zombie attacks.And where did the zombie come from that attacked him? But the biggest question concerns how he changes into a zombie.It is slow and gradual.He deals with procuring his food supply in a very methodical way.He bandages his decaying flesh. Now when was the last time you've ever seen anyone change into a zombie over weeks and months and worry over their health? Anyway the action is almost nonexistent.The zombie in training attacks one person at a time and eats some meat but it is done in a very calm and almost bloodless matter and then he cleans his mess after he is done eating.What a boring zombie life this guy has.

This movie is mainly known for the masturbation scenes in which our hero takes out pictures of his girlfriend and ,well,masturbates.

One masturbation session ends in tragedy for him and offers the really only good moment this film has.

This movie is overly long and moves at a snails pace.The special effects are tame and homemade looking .In fact they probably are as this whole movie has the look of a film that was shot on a shoestring budget with a cast of 4 or 5 folks.Sometimes that works but in this film it doesn't.This movie in one word would be-boring.

Still it is hard for me to hate this film too much because you just know the guy who made this thing poured his heart and soul into it.

But still that doesn't always make for a good movie.

The problem with the zombie genre post-Night of the Living Dead is that there's only really one way to do a film in this genre. Several other ways have been tried, but almost always end in failure; and I, Zombie is certainly a massive failure. The film tries to strip the zombie genre down to its core and focuses just on one man turning into a zombie. This is all well and good except for the fact that the film tries to be far too arty and the result is just boredom. The film only lasts for about eighty minutes, but it really does feel far too long and it really drags. The film was obviously made on a very low budget, and so some credit has to go to writer-director Andrew Parkinson for all his efforts...but not too much because the film is a big failure. The only really interesting scene is the often mentioned masturbation sequence, and it's really not THAT interesting, and certainly not worth seeking out and watching the whole film for. Overall, I appreciate that this film is trying to do something different with an overpopulated genre; but it didn't work and I was really bored with it.

After watching this pathetic piece of dreck I threw it in the garbage, nobody should have to endure such drivel. I can only assume that the actors were handed the ass-wiping of a baboon and told to interpret them. The story basically follows a young mans decent into zombidom delivered in an uncomfortable mix of monologue and documentary style interviews. You get to listen to his sensitive soul-searching in between murders and corpse munching. Gore hounds don't get your hopes up the few scenes you might be interested in are far and few and the effects fairly abysmal. Near the end of the film the main character has rotted to the point of being unrecognizable yet his clothes remain remarkably tidy. You might expect all those oozing sores to have leaked through, I guess he must of been using his Arid Extra Dry. There is only fifteen to twenty minutes of material, a handful of scenes repeated ad-nauseum that build up to him, get this, pulling off his own penis while masturbating over photos of the girl he loves and had to leave behind. The actors probably have some talent but they had nothing to work with. The only redeeming quality was the decent camera work. Andrew Parkinson who wrote and directed this should be taken out into a field and pummeled for unleashing this monstrosity on and unsuspecting public.

This was a very sad movie actually. This is the first movie to make you feel sorry for the zombie. A sad descent from humanity, to animal. The budget was low, but, it looked great. The acting was actually pretty good. Didn't seem so much like someone acting, was almost like watching a home movie. Horror buffs should enjoy this one.

I think that the premise for this experimental sort of film was great and very original. Instead of treating "zombieism" as purely supernatural, as a bunch of brainless monsters, this film presents it more like a "disease". It details the trials of a man afflicted by the disease, after having been bitten by a zombie, trying to carry on his old life as normally as possible. However, there is no way that he can completely hide his condition and it eventually gets the best of him.

Unfortunately, the quality of the film is poor. The technical aspects of filmmaking are suffering in this movie. Very harsh, unattractive lighting, blown out whites, drab color, low quality sound...things like this and other complaints concerning detail really detract from what could have been a great film. Regardless, this is definitely worth seeing for genre fans, especially ones who can appreciate a more intelligent approach to horror. Casual fans or total action/gore fans should not bother.

Overall, this film is a mixed bag.

The acting is acceptable and the production values are decent. There are plot holes, but given the budget and subject matter, these can be overlooked. This film is more about mood anyway, and the actors and director do a good job of establishing that without digressing to unintentinal camp and humor, as often happens with zero-budget films. Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted, but the actors pull it off with a fair degree of credibility (the fact that they are British helps; their proper way of speaking helps with the goofy-sounding verbiage).

The real problem with this film is that there's not enough going on in it. There is some violence, some of it disturbing, but a little more action would have made this film a lot more entertaining.

This film is good for a rental, but you won't get enough viewings out of it to make it worth owning.

The more zombie movies you watch, the more twists you come across.

I am currently reading Zombie CSU to see if forensic science can discover and/or combat an outbreak of zombies.

Andrew Parkinson, writer/director/producer/cameraman/editor/actor in this indy film, presents us with a documentary-style approach.

The individual infected was doing research and continued that research as he deteriorated. He logged his mental and physical deterioration, and we saw his emotional deterioration as well.

There were some funny and interesting things in the film. He managed to consume his victims with wine and a cigarette afterwards. he maintained his full faculties until the end.

The physical deterioration is something to see and quite amazing. I would not spoil it for those who want to see this film, but is does get hilarious.

If you are looking for something different, then this is it.

This film begins with a young man by the name of "Mark" (Giles Aspen) collecting samples in the woods for a research project when he comes upon what appears to be an abandoned house. Upon further investigation, however, he finds a man's decomposing body inside the building along with a woman writhing in pain on the floor. Being the thoughtful person that he is, he immediately tries to help but is bitten by her in the attempt. Although he manages to escape from the house, from that point on his body gradually deteriorates to the point that his transition to an actual zombie takes place-along with the craving for human flesh in the process. Now rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film started off rather well but lost steam after the first 30 minutes or so to the point that everything slowed down dramatically afterward. Admittedly, Giles Aspen put in a solid performance but the film itself was simply too long for the minimal material he was given-causing the picture as a whole to suffer accordingly. Everything seemed too dull and lifeless and I have rated this film accordingly.

This is a low budget so don't expect anything flashy but the idea is very original. I see that others have already stated the plot so i'll just say that i like it as well and recommend it to any horror fan. It's good to see a recent horror film that is original and entertaining at the same time. And now i say to all "Go see Bubba Ho-Tep any way you can!"

I was surprised when I first saw this film. I thought it'd be a mean-spirited, spurting gore-for-the-sake-of-gore filled romp. It's not. This first film from Fangoria isn't lighthearted, but it actually tries for sympathy...and gets it. Giles Aspen plays Mark, a man who is bit by a zombie while on some kind of scientific expedition. Slowly, he starts to crave human flesh and get horribly violent convulsions if he goes long enough without it. This creates the feeling that he is an unwitting killer, and not someone that WANTS to kill. His convulsions push him to kill, thus also eliminating the mean-spirited factor in this film. This film raises some questions, like "Why don't his victims come back from the dead?", but I didn't care. I think it's a good zombie film and well executed. It also has a good music score, which the director did. Now, don't take it the wrong way, there is gore, but none of it spurts out. It's just blood gel. It can be hard to find, but I found it at Hollywood Video to rent. Hollywood also carries the second film in the Fangoria movie series, Lady of the Lake, which I haven't seen yet, but plan to. I don't think it'll be as good as this, though.

I, Zombie may not be exactly the kind of putrid instant gratification Romero or Fulci fans are looking for, but they have much to gain by getting over that fact and watching past the first fifteen minutes. Andrew Parkinson has created a monster of a different breed, and while he nonetheless owes much to the aforementioned predecessors in the genre, he has more in common thematically with Hitchcock or Antonioni (and I'm not invoking those names lightly). Horror fans may complain that I, Zombie is too slow and that nothing really happens, and their sentiments were probably echoed by some of the first viewers of Red Desert. No surprise; essentially, this is textbook European Art Cinema filtered through the rotting flesh of the living dead. The temps morts in the story only serves to heighten the nauseating distress that we feel as we wait for Mark's body to slide off his bones and into complete nothingness. There is definitely not the kind of action-paced gorror that made Dawn of the Dead so awesome in this film, but Parkinson does a more than adequate job of creating a terrifyingly bleak universe via a psychological journey into the life of an emotionally lifeless men. I, Zombie is, ultimately, a metaphor for male sexual neurosis (from homoerotic urges to being capable of deriving pleasure only from pictures of women), and Mark is impotent in the face of a potential understanding of the origins of that neurosis. Science provides no answers and his own intellect can't measure up to the horrifying forces of the primal scene and castration anxiety. The documentary-like interview interludes are much more than the banal and uninsightful commentary that they seem to be, as our vision of Mark's decomposition acquires the horrible weight of a real life experience, a notion reinforced at the end of the film by the montage of photographs of him growing up in backyards not too different from the one you played in when you were seven. Granted, there are some lacking technical moments here: sloppy editing, poorly figured camera angles, and obfuscatory lighting, but there are also moments of formal brilliance (the beginning of the `drill scene') that show an understanding of generic conventions and evince an ability to disrupt them to even more powerful effect. In the end, the few formal faux pas are overshadowed by an incredibly engaging nightmare that you may never be able to forget. The film is funny at times, but that's not its goal; it wants to take you down with it. I, Zombie will probably make you sad, might make you throw up, and will definitely make you think. No question about it: five brilliant stars.

This movie is very weird,It started like a good Night of the living dead and finished like a "Steel magonolias" kind of film,This guy gets bitten by a zombie and instead of fraking out and changing into a blood thirsty,Carcass human eating zombie in a matter of seconds he begins decaying just day by day,he just escapes from his old life and begins a new one as a Zombie, the masturbating scenes were not really necesary to make us feel bad about this guy but theyre disturbing. If you must check it out, if you have other choices please take them,this movie is not really that good so you better spend your money on original Zombie flicks, invest Romero. Ill give it a poor 7 out of 10 on Horror zombie masturbating films.