George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) has the largest collection of memorable zombies. Sure, Day of the Dead (1985) had Bub, Return of the Living Dead (1985) had the Tarman, but Dawn had the Hare Krishna zombie, the helicopter zombie, the Flyboy elevator zombie, and the list just goes on. Over the years, many of these performers, no matter how small their appearance may have been, were huge draws on the convention circuit since Dawn of the Dead is considered by many to be the penultimate film in the zombie subgenre.
The name Jeanie Jeffries might not be immediately recognizable to most, but her contributions to that film are epic. Not only did she serve as Tom Savini’s makeup assistant, but she also appeared as one of the memorable zombies who attempts to devour Flyboy (David Emge) and fights her off long enough for Peter (Ken Foree) to open fire. She’s affectionately known as “the blonde zombie.”
Having revisited the film countless times over the years, you can’t help but wonder who these people were behind the make-up. Filmmaker Chad Campbell helps fill that void with his documentary short Jeanie’s Face Exploded, which examines the life of Jeanie Jeffries (now Jean Ann Boshoven) and why her film career was cut short following George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
At just over 20 minutes, I don’t want to give away too much. Jeanie’s story is both wonderful and sad. Talking to the camera, she recalls stories about working with George Romero, her relationship with Tom Savini, and an interesting tidbit about Ed Harris. Jeanie also worked as the lead make-up artist on Romero’s Knightriders (1981) before leaving the business. She talks rather candidly (emotionally as well) about her experiences, and it’s all rather sweet.
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SRS Cinema has released the short on Blu-ray, and it’s a terrific little package. As much as the documentary fills you in on Jeanie, the disc’s bonus content sheds light on the director, Chad Campbell. The answer is simple: he’s one of us. Several of the director’s other shorts are included here, like Roger’s Nest, the location of Jeanie’s interview. Roger also has a massive horror collection, which we get to take a quick look at.
Then there’s Last Day for Videos, a heart-wrenching short that takes a look at the final day at a Family Video store before it closes its doors for good. You also get Halloween Movie Marathon XX, which follows a group of friends who get together every year for a horror movie marathon on Halloween. There’s also A Week of Kaiju-Godzilla Vs. Music Box.
Everything on this disc proves just how passionate Campbell is about the genre, and it will certainly tug at your emotions, especially if you’re like me, who really hold on to certain things that have impacted your life in some way. It’s a must-own disc that leaves you reflecting on what has made you who you are.
The Blu-ray is now available on Amazon Prime.
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