The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead

Plot synopsis:
The Book of the Dead is set in the Nara period at around 750 CE, the era when Buddhism was being introduced from China.
Iratsume, a young woman from a noble house, becomes obsessed with the new religion and spends much of her time hand-copying the sutras, trying to understand the teachings of the Buddha. On the eve of each equinox and solstice she begins to see a radiant figure looking not unlike the Buddha floating between the twin peaks of distant Mount Futakami. One evening, after completing her one-thousandth copy of a sutra, her view the figure she has been longing to see again is obscured by a rainstorm. In pursuit of it she slips away from her household to the foot of the mountain, where she arrives at a temple that women are forbidden to enter. There she learns that the figure might not be Buddha, but the soul of the executed Prince Ōtsu which wanders in torment between this world and the next. When Iratsume and Ōtsu's soul encounter, they feel compelled to unite. They forge a bond, bringing comfort and peace to each other – a bond that allows the prince's soul to find rest. The film follows the Japanese teaching that came from Buddhism: that no matter who they are, friends or foes, the souls of the dead need to be relieved. Kawamoto has said that the film is dedicated to all the innocent people who have died in recent wars.[2]

Tags: violence

Review:
I love horror films.
No, I like CLEVER horror films - ones that make you think, keep you guessing and twist your perceptions of what you think you know.
The Eschatrilogy is such a film.When a stranger walks into the refuge of a lone young man following what looks like the end of civilization, and then faints at his feet, the man finds a book telling of 3 stories involving 3 different protagonists.
This is the true genius of Damian Morter's storytelling, as you are treated to 3 sub-stories all interwoven together to slowly help the man (and the audience) put together the pieces of how things came to pass.
Each story is wonderfully shot and told, and the actors (especially the children) are superb in showing everyday people faced with extraordinary choices.Without giving any spoilers, let's just say characters from each story turn up in the other tales to varying degrees, helping to give a sense of continuity to events rather than it being 3 random stories.
Well, that's a story in itself, and one that brings the film to a logical, yet fiendishly clever conclusion.Look out for cameo appearances from Sarah Jane Honeywell (of CBeebies fame) and several other reasonably well known actors, all of whom lend a sense of credibility to an inexperienced but talented cast who will no doubt go on to great success following this work.
If there's one small criticism, the opening 10 minutes could probably be trimmed but make no mistake - this is one of the best films of the year.
Filmed on peanuts, with a cast of over 300 volunteers and with excellent cinematography, sound and a chilling score, catch this one on the horror convention circuit or eagerly await the DVD release in 2013.
I was really eager to see this film, and when I started watching it I thought this film looks truly beautiful!
The plot kept you gripped and this isn't the usual 'zombie/monster' film, it is far more special than that.
Even if you don't like horror films, watch this as this film is something different.The acting was good and especially the children stood out for me, they added to the story.Please make a point of seeing it, it will make you jump, feel moved at times and there were also some funny one liners.
This film is deemed a low budget film, it sure doesn't give that impression to me as the editing and music were 1st class.
Low-budget independent productions such as The Eschatrilogy blow these doubts out of the water, however, as they prove that money isn't everything.
What is really important is the creative collective drive of passionate filmmakers determined to make something special and passion is something this film has by the bucket load.The film opens with a montage of sole survivor Matthew (Tim Mcgill Grieveson) biding his time in a desolate forest hut.
This sequence is beautifully shot, edited and acted, giving an indication of the fantastic cinematography right from the get-go.
Although it is a lengthy scene to begin the film, we really get a sense of Matthew's loneliness and depravity in a bleak situation and this sets the tone for the three 'nightmare' segments that follow: 'Dead Inside', 'The Dying Breed' and 'A Father For The Dead'.Now I won't spoil either of the stories - it is really something you have to see to believe how well the three sections are tied together by the survivor plot - but I can tell you that you won't have seen anything like this before.
The overriding theme here is family and, like Romero, director/writer/actor Damian Morter weaves what can be interpreted as a social commentary of the present day.
Cal (Morter) travels the land whilst documenting tales of horror in his book to act as a warning for others to support one another no matter what the circumstances.
It goes to show that in the midst of economic crisis and war faith can be restored in humanity by supporting family and friends through difficult times.In short: watch this film if you are even marginally interested in British horror.
Both the storyline and the technical work put into this film are excellent.
I find that the fact the director (Damian Morter) both directs and stars in the film complimentary to the ethics of this movie.
Both Husband and wife (Nicola Morter) have worked together on this and this can be seen, as despite the movie being about zombies, it has a very humanistic, thought provoking storyline.
It is not just your stereo-typical all blood and gore zombie movie, but it actually touches the heart of the audience and would delve into the heart of even the most hardened of zombie movie addict.This movie appeals to both men and women, providing a good balance of SFX with a safe measure of a compassion of what a person would go through if they were to be in this type of situation.The acting from both the main actors and the rest of the cast is believable and consistent throughout the whole of the movie.
Especially, the eeriness of the children in the film, who act their parts out very well.
I read a few reviews, some giving this movie a 4 Star review and then the there are the ones that gave this 10 stars with some @*%# about how others that gave this a low rating just didn't understand something about this movie.
Well, this movie plain and simply gives proof that Britain should not be allowed to make, export or give advice when it comes to horror movies, and should only be allowed to make comedies..
Typical bad low budget zombie movie....
I bought the movie because it is a zombie movie and because of the cover, so I was sorely disappointed with a slap to the face.This is a compilation of three tales that are interwoven.
That being said, I will have to stress that the stories weren't particularly entertaining, neither alone nor in their tied in connections, nor did the overall feel of the movie come off as anywhere near captivating.
And come daybreak of the next day you will have forgotten about this movie already, trust me.There were a bit too many wrong Things with the zombies, such as they could remember their Family members, some were quite fast and agile, and of course the typical poor zombie make-up in low budget zombie movies - where they paint the face a horribly bad gray color and forget about the rest of the body, with the neck and hands standing out like sore thumbs.As an avid zombie aficionado I devour, pardon the pun, anything even remotely zombie.
This movie, however, falls into the lower aspect of the zombie genre, and I can't recommend it to anyone because it is boring and bad on the level that only low budget zombie movies manage to reach..
The acting is just terrible and i am pretty sure i have seen more convincing performances on TV adverts.
The script makes Eastenders look half way impressive (Impossible feat i know) and as for the special effects.
Still, i had such a laugh watching this film that i can forgive just how awful it is.
It's one of them very rare 1 or 10 star rated films depending on your mood kind've like sandsharks.
Anyways, i did enjoy it (for all the wrong reasons) and it's full of just about every zombie cliché out there ripped from everything from the original Dead trilogy to 28 days/months later (The stalking zombie was a highlight <3 ).
Rarely do i notice a score in films, but this stood out like a sore thumb.
Aesthetically stunning movie, set around diverse and interesting characters.Set in a post-apocalyptic world over run with zombies being led by a dark mysterious and demonic character.Man-kinds days are numbered as the unstoppable force of darkness continues to rip through society as we know it.(Not many, if any will survive) Beautifully shot, with some great effects and make up.
with an amazing score by Robert Wingfield and some cracking performances with two dead mans shoes actors and a CBBC presenter included in the cast.
This is a low budget movie but it really dose not show i have seen big budget films with less production values and if i was told this was shot on a budget of a million i would not bat an eyelid.
The Eschartrilogy is definitely worth a watch!No zombie film collection is complete without this movie..
I attended Grimmfest in Manchester with my brother for the very first time this year and saw this film early on the Sunday morning we were pretty tired but were ready to kick the day off with Twisted when we discovered it had been switched with this film instead, so we decided to give it a watch, Im glad we did, because it was the film we talked about the most on the drive home.I didn't know much about it apart from the fact it was a zombie anthology film and it was made by unknowns in the North of England.
The film opened amazingly well and I was immediately drawn in, a young man in a secluded camp (which would not have been out of place in THE ROAD) scours the roads, picking up the now starved dead and burns them in his camp.
As the young survivor begins to read, we are then transported into each particular zombie tale.
First of all the soundtrack was ace, and it reminded me of every great 80's horror film ever made, the production values and locations were very good, far beyond what you would get in a movie of this budget, you can tell the filmmakers were never lazy with their approach.I did have issues with acting on a whole, only the two leads in the framing story really convinced me , the rest of the cast seemed less experienced, some even looked uncomfortable in their roles, maybe having bitten off more than they could chew so to speak, also the mixture of accents at times was off putting, but thats down to personal preference!
What amazed me most was after the film we attended the Q & A where the director, main actor and two crew members were told us it was made for around £15,000, it was a shock and put the film very high on my list of best of fest!
I am an amateur filmmaker and watching something like this gives me a bigger push to get my own work out there and proves it can be done with dedication and hard work, so i suppose the film was pretty inspiring that way!
If you are a fan of horror anthologies and especially zombie movies, this is definitely one of the best low budget zombie movies next to Before Dawn (which also screened at Grimmfest), it's originality alone is worth the look, let alone proof that things can be done with very very little!
I hope to see more from these guys, they looked like they were just there to have fun at the Q & A and I think they have done a great job..
Before we start yes, I am an extra in the film but I'm trying my best to write this without being biased towards it, I'm also a fan of the zombie film genre too so...
Having watched many low budget films lately in the zombie genre (and still working my way through them all as well) I went into the premiere of this movie expecting another mindless horde of zombies to rampage through the streets and countryside of the UK hell bent on devouring everyone in a small rag tag bunch of survivors (typically containing an old man, gun toting muscle bound hero and several big breasted women) but not in this movie, the director Damian Morter who also wrote and starred in the film did something a little different, the way the film is set out reminded me of a few older films the one that sticks in my mind the most is cats eye which has three stories that are based around a kind of main plot following a cat.
A young man then comes across a stranger in a forest who has this book and begins to read the tales within, these tales tell of the pain that three separate families suffer as part of this rising of the undead while the main plot surrounding the young man and the stranger unfold...
Its different, not your ordinary zombie film, in my opinion its definitely worth a watch if you get a chance to visit a festival its showing at or if you get a chance to buy the DVD when its finally released.
The camera work throughout is fantastic and doesn't again in my opinion betray the fact its a low budget film the crew, Damian and Nicola Morter, the make up artists, actors and extras at safehouse pictures have really outdone themselves (yes me included ;) ) bringing this film into being, lots of blood sweat and tears have gone into it.
Definitely one to watch out for if your a fan of horror or zombies :).
Low budget in the worst way.
A friend and I recently caught this at Grimmfest in Manchester and could not believe they were screening it; to say it is low budget is an understatement as this is closer to home movies for production values (and I've seen better acting in Syfy originals)The scenes in between the three stories were the 'highlight' for want of a better word - they obviously had the most effort go into them and the opening section was pretty promising, it looked well shot and as if it would lead into a different type of horror movie to the usual fare.
Then we cut to the stories...These 3 stories were badly acted, badly shot, badly written, and just bad.
The reviews about this being thoughtful because a zombie remembered his child clearly overlook how truly terrible every other aspect of the film was.
I can only assume that the 78 10/10s that are currently keeping this film up at 7.4 are from cast and crew because no-one could ever watch this film and find it good let alone flawless..
Matthew (Tim Mcgill Grieveson) lives by himself in a self sufficient post zombie apocalypse era.
Mathew reads zombie stories from the stranger's book which comprises much of the film.
The first episode concerns the rural beginnings of the zombie issue as a cowboy looking fellow with hat and spurs emerging from a grave as an anti-Christ or something (the explanation tried to be religious without being religious) and starts the zombie craze in a nation that doesn't have a Second Amendment designed to protect the general population from such things.The second story is in a small city during the peak of the outbreak and the third concerns the beginning of a remote survivalist group.
As always in such tales, the fourth story concerns the story teller.My biggest fear of obtaining this DVD (Walmart $9.96) was that the three tales would be parts of other films, or worse, a hand held camera running and screaming in the dark.
The zombies were decently made up with a Tor Johnson looking guy who seemed to be on the screen more than George Clooney in a George Clooney film.
Most characters are alive for 20-30 minutes of screen time before they stick their arms up in the air and start dragging their feet.The zombie direction seemed to be a bit off.
In one scene a little zombie girl has her hands down and is just standing in front of a human, then after the camera pans away and comes back, she suddenly has her arms up in zombie attack mode.
I wouldn't have paid "real" money to see it, but honestly...Not bad.Believe me...There's much worse out there and unfortunately, I think I've seen most of them.
Just like any zombie film, some of it is stupid, some situations you'd look at and go, "what the.....?
David Frampton's performance was touching and helped bring a human element to some of the stupider and badly acted parts.Worth a watch...Could have ended better...Much better, but all in all...Pretty well done!.
Interesting zombie flick, made on the smallest of budgets and pretty successful within its constraints..
This independent horror flick was shot in various locations around Barnsley and Sheffield on a micro budget, and is proof that low-budget movies are not necessarily bad movies.
Here, writer-director Damian Morter deliberately distorts the word to give his portmanteau film a rather intriguing and foreboding title.
The three stories are book-ended with a sequence set in the remote hilly woodland of South Yorkshire, where survivor Matthew (Tim McGill Grieveson) spends his days maintaining a makeshift compound and collecting corpses from the areas of civilisation far below.
One day, an unexpected stranger, Cal (Damian Morter), stumbles into camp and collapses from exhaustion.
Matthew discovers a journal among Cal's belongings which recounts three tales about the zombie apocalypse that has changed the world.
Story 1 (Dead Inside) deals with the outbreak of the zombie virus, brought about by the arrival of a malevolent demon.
As the zombies grow in number it becomes clear there will be no happy ending here.
Finally, story 3 (A Father For The Dead) is set later still, with the number of survivors having dwindled to almost none.
Yes, there's gore and guts and blood and so on, but the film always remembers to come back to the human element to give us something to identify with.
Although the twist ending is a little too predictable from the off, and the acting in some segments is less than convincing, the film overall delivers upon its own modest aims.
Romero pervades throughout the film.
What better endorsement could any zombie film hope to receive?