Did you ever wonder what would happen if the cast of "Boys in the Band" had stuck around to remake "The Night of the Living Dead"? Wonder no more!
The story starts (as did "Boys...") with a birthday celebration attended by a group of gay friends. Everyone gather's at Stan's beach house to honor Phillip (Nick Garrison), while his friends also want to convince him to drop his new boyfriend, who is cheating on him. Randall (Philip Clarke .. channeling Paul Lynde in full bitchy-queen mode) throws constant cutdowns at the others, especially his boyfriend-du-jour, Gary (John Kaufmann), who is instantly smitten by Stan's boyfriend, the hunky Billy (Vincent Kovar). Rounding out the group is Billy's shy gay cousin Joseph, who is attracted to Phillip.
Unfortunately, the chemical plant near the highway rest stop - a favorite cruising area for gay men, including Phillip's slutty boyfriend - has somehow mutated the local mosquitos, so that anyone bitten becomes a raving, undead flesh-eating zombie. But, of course, they are all gay, so they become GAY raving, undead flesh-eating zombies ... with an attitude, a dislike of cheap cologne, and an appreciation for showtunes and Judy Garland. Of course, the zombies come out to feed shortly after the party gets underway, and the partygoers hope for someone to take the lead in protecting them from certain, gory death. Un huh.
"Creatures from the Pink Lagoon" (2006) is a delightfully campy and cheesy send-up of stereotypes, primarily of gay men in the late 1960's (as portrayed in "Boys in the Band") and of a host of low budget "zombie" movies that filled the drive-ins and movie screens of that decade. Shot in black & white, and made on a shoestring budget by a group of Seattle stage performers and directors, using a cast with few if any movie credits. What the simplistic script and cheesy special effects (think turkey with chocolate sauce!) take away from the production is made up by the enthusiasm of the performers, who obviously had a lot of fun making this film, which makes it fun to watch as well. Park your political correctness hangups at the door, and enjoy!
An impressive number of DVD extras include trailers, deleted scenes, a "making of" featurette, a previous short by the director (and one of the stars, in drag) for Seattle's 2004 gay pride, production stills, crew and actor commentary. The film is in Black & White, to capture the mood of the '60's horror films it spoofs. I give it a joyful 5 stars out of 5, and recommend it highly for your Halloween party!
