First off I have a feeling Zombie fan boys are going to be pretty split about the upcoming summer zombie movie World War Z.  It’s a strong departure from the typical zombie flick and I’m sure fans of the genre will cry foul over how the movie seems to break away from all the standard zombie conventions.  These are not your standard creeping, slowly moving zombies slowly roaming the city like we are used to, but instead a horde of blood thirsty mindless humans running at full speed after their targets.  They look more like a buffalo stampede and crawl over each other like ant’s would to get over obstacles.  I’m sure zombie guru George A Romero would be rolling in his grave if he saw this new breed of zombie.  I mean if he was dead,

World War Z stars Brad Pitt and is directed by Marc Forster (who’s credits include the James Bond film Quantum of Solace and the acclaimed Monsters Ball).  Which in itself sounds like a great mix to make a great horror movie thats front loaded with tons of action.

However, buzz around the internet suggests it might not be as promising as the trailer insists.  While the 2006 book it was based on World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks,was widely received by critics and fans alike, the movie adaptation has been receiving a lot of flack.

The problems plaguing the production of World War Z seem almost as horrifying as a zombie outbreak itself.  It was originally slated for a December release, but has since been moved to June for various reasons.  One of which was the various rewrites the film went through.  Originally J. Michael Straczynski was signed on to write the script, which was soon tossed out and rewritten by Matthew Michael Carnahan.

After shooting was finished Damon Lindelof was brought on to rewrite the back third of the script and had to bow out to have Drew Goddard (The Cabin In The Woods and Cloverfield) pick up the slack. Combined with weeks of reshooting and reedits, it’s rumored that World War Z went completly over budget and had almost grinded to a halt during numerous stages of development.

I guess we will have to wait until it’s release to see if it’s any good, but fans of the genre have already pointed out how disappointed they are with the zombies who have been compared to those in the movie I Am Legend.

In the meantime check out the trailer and let me know what you think.