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.
