Strikingly shot in black-and-white (until a sudden switch to color in the hectic finale), Japanese writer-director Sabu's (aka Hiroyuki Tanaka) film melds horror with social satire. The Walking Dead-type premise is that an epidemic has turned a significant number of the population into zombies. Some of the infected, however, are nonaggressive, and one couple decides to purchase a zombie to be their family servant. Miss Zombie (Ayaka Komatsu) is delivered in a cage, along with a manual (never to be served meat) and a pistol (in the unlikely event that she goes rogue). Assigned to wash the house's long stone walkway, the slow-moving creature attracts the attention of some slovenly workmen, one of whom rapes her. She also revives the couple's young son when he has a potentially fatal accident, and the boy subsequently becomes attached to his rescuer, much to his mother's distress. The relationship with the son apparently cues Miss Zombie's memory of the day that she was turned by an attacking horde of the undead, a recollection that includes the fact that she was pregnant at the time. Miss Zombie is a very slowly paced film shot in a stark, grim style that many viewers will find oppressive. Although it does offer an intriguing twist on an overworked genre, it also strains for an emotional impact that it never quite achieves. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Miss Zombie
Kino Lorber, 85 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 33, Issue 2
Miss Zombie
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