Stalled Explained

Stalled
Director:Christian James
Producer:Richard Kerrigan
Daniel Pickering
Starring:Dan Palmer
Chris R. Wright
Mark Holden
Marcus Kelly
Russell Biles
Music:Adam Langston
Cinematography:Sashi Kissoon
Editing:Mark Gilleece
Studio:Cubicle Hero
Runtime:84 minutes
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English

Stalled is a 2013 British zombie comedy film directed by Christian James. It stars Dan Palmer, who also wrote the screenplay, as a man confined to a bathroom stall after zombies attack. Produced by Richard Kerrigan and Daniel Pickering, the film's cast also includes Mark Holden and Antonia Bernath. It has been screened at several film festivals and was scheduled to be released on home video in 2014.

Premise

On Christmas Eve, office maintenance worker W. C. (Dan Palmer) attempts to avoid being eaten by zombies after he becomes trapped in a woman's toilet cubicle during the zombie apocalypse.[1]

Production

The film was directed by Christian James.[2] Dan Palmer, who wrote the film's screenplay, starred as W. C. in the film,[3] with Mark Holden and Antonia Bernath co-starring.[2] The cast also includes Giles Anderson, Sarah Biggins, and Victoria Bloom.[4] The film's production company was Cubicle Hero. Richard Kerrigan served as producer. Sashi Kissoon did cinematography and Mark Gilleece edited the film.[4]

Reception

Stalled has received positive reviews. Kim Newman of Screendaily wrote that Stalled "is a worthy successor to Shaun of the Dead and Harold's Going Stiff in its mix of homage to past zombie film glories and very British social comedy."[4] Scott A. Grey of Exclaim! praised Stalled and considered it "a welcome addition to the limited pantheon of successful zombie comedies."[3] A writer for Ain't It Cool News opined that "the zom-com has been tried before, but very few of these films are as successful at being entertaining as Stalled is."[5]

Edward Boff, writing for Film Juice, gave Stalled four stars out of five, writing that "Just the right mix of thrills, gore, laughs and genuinely touching character moments, using the very limited location to the fullest."[1] Todd Brown, writing for Twitch Film, considered the film "proof that sometimes all you need to sell a movie is a good concept" and that it was "just pretty damn funny".[6]

Release

Stalled premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on 24 August 2013.[7] Stalled also screened at PiFan[8] and at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, where it won the "Feature Film Méliès d'Argent" award.[9] The film screened on 14 November 2013 at the Prince Charles Cinema, where the filmmakers will attend and give away props from the film. The DVD was released in 2014.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stalled – FrightFest Review. FilmJuice. 27 August 2013 . November 7, 2013.
  2. Web site: Flickering Myth's Stalled screening to be recorded for the DVD. Flickering Myth. 6 November 2013 . November 7, 2013.
  3. Web site: Gray. Scott A.. Stalled - Directed by Christian James - Toronto After Dark Reviews. Exclaim!. November 7, 2013.
  4. Web site: Stalled. Screendaily. Screen International. November 7, 2013.
  5. Web site: AICN horror at TADFF. Ain't It Cool News. November 7, 2013.
  6. Web site: Brown. Todd. Sometimes All It Takes Is A Title. Meet The Toilet Zombies Of STALLED.. Twitch Film. November 7, 2013. October 28, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131028185036/http://twitchfilm.com/2013/02/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-title-meet-the-toilet-zombies-of-stalled.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Stalled. London FrightFest Film Festival. November 7, 2013. November 21, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131121085734/http://www.frightfest.co.uk/films/2013frightfest/2013films/2013film4frigh32.html. dead.
  8. Web site: PiFan 2013 Reveals Treasure Trove of Fantastic Delights. Twitch Film. November 7, 2013. August 18, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130818234309/http://twitchfilm.com/2013/06/pifan-2013-reveals-treasure-trove-of-fantastic-delights.html. dead.
  9. Web site: Lund International Fantastic Film Festival. melies.org. November 7, 2013.