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Zombies of Mass Destruction

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION--what a spectacular title. No way an After Dark Horrorfest entry could live up to such a masterful name, is there? I had some pretty low expectations for this movie, and was somewhat surprised by the overall results.

But after thinking about this movie for a couple of days, I've come to an important realization--I'm getting kinda tired of my zombie films being infected by this outbreak of comedy. I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, but I'm starting to crave a totally serious, well-made undead film. Something along the lines of the classics White Zombie, I Walked with a Zombie, or Night of the Living Dead. I'd even settle for a brutal gorefest with a cardboard script, as long as it didn't cram politics down my throat in a completely obvious manner. No teen romance, no trite morality tale, no transparent social criticisms, PLEASE! It's getting overdone.

Although I really enjoyed ZOMBIES OF MAS DESTRUCTION, it didn't totally avoid any of these cliches. It did bring some immaculate gore--the heinous, blood-soaked flesh-chomping madness that is vital for this type of film. The type of stuff that will make you shudder, wince, and eventually chuckle a bit to cope with the absolute mayhem. Very well done in that regards.

But there is plenty of gay humor that's worn pretty threadbare in this film. It focuses too much on the town, family, and church's response to the gay couple, and it's completely overdone.
Other stuff that came off pretty heavy handed--the media's reporting of the zombie crisis. They quickly called it the work of terrorists. This causes one idiot to become overly suspicious of his friendly Iranian neighbors. Ok, ok, I get the real life implications, just thought it was forced upon us way too much.

Still I thought ZOMD was very solid. I actually liked it more than Zombieland even. It didn't have anybody near as cool as Woody Harrelson though. No sweet cameos either. But this is must see stuff for the zombie fan. It doesn't quite live up to the genius title, but it was a decent try.

Zombies rule!

I saw this flick at the theater during the Horrorfest itself and right away I knew we were going the horror-comedy route so I was like, okay, not my favorite but when done well it usually can top any real horror flick easily.

We have some island community right off the coast in the Pacific Northwest, just like "any small town" in the US (or even Canada for that matter). Instantly we find out that almost everyone in the town is a caricature or an exaggeration ... think the Simpsons humor. We have a gay couple that are truly stereotypical where one is deciding to come out of the closet. We have a crunchy-feely hippie middle aged woman. We have an ethnic father from the "old country" (in this case Iran). We have his teenage daughter who is a typical teenager (pop music lover, dresses like Britney Spears, dates a boy her old man doesn't like, etc.) The next door neighbor family who seem to be clueless of what an American is. The girl's rock and roll boyfriend. The local pastor and his pulpit somewhat as a political tool. The conservative mayor running for re-election. Now take these characters and make them so exaggerated and poof, you have the Simpsons. Only the teenage girl is "normal" and pretty much is the straight-man for the flick.

The movie actually was pretty fun, the humor was great (from Archie Bunker ridiculous, to parody like the Simpsons), and the story seemed pretty cool. Basically a zombie outbreak occurs, started by an Islamic terrorist group, and then the island goes into total chaos with jokes created within the extremes of the caricatures themselves. The main jokes focus around the misunderstanding of the teenage girl's heritage and how the typical "dumb" American doesn't know the difference between a middle eastern American and a Middle Easterner. Also, the gay couple gets it good from "right wing" crazies even though a zombie outbreak is occurring. Anyone that happens to be on the right of the political spectrum are turned into either evil people or the typical uneducated religious, political, or sportman crazy. Anyone on the left of spectrum are turned into stereotypical ethnics, gays, or hippies. The only likeable character out of the whole film is actually the teenage girl who is the type of person you'd see at any McDonald's eating a burger with her boyfriend; in other words, completely normal.

I loved the film when I watched it but looking back I slowly grew to not like it as much as I originally thought. I guess making everyone a "joke" and throwing in the political/religious aspects of intolerance and showing the "bad" in people makes it not as enjoyable or even as funny as I thought. And again, the point of the film was to show the "bad" in people but the "bad" that was shown was more of the exception and not more of the rule as the director/screenwriters presented. So as a result, I have a bad taste in my mouth. The funny aspects were more ripping the right-from-center folks and not seeing the gray in both political sides of the table but simply the black and white.

Would I recommend this film? Sure, watch it and you'll either love it, hate it, or feel as I do. It really all depends on where you are politically. If you are on the left, you'll love it. If you are on the right, you'll hate it. If you think both right and left are flawed but neither are "evil" as the film makers show, then you'll probably be right where I am. But then again, if you go into this film and try your very hardest to overlook the stereotypes of the characters and any political statement presented, you may get a good enjoyable experience.

Zombies of Mass Destruction is one of those flicks that, based on the reviews I'm reading here, people seem to either love or hate. I was initially a little surprised because I watched ZMD at the After Dark Film Fest and thought it was undeniably brilliant. And by "brilliant" I mean pure zombie-shredding awesomeness. But then again, Evil Dead 2 has some seriously negative reviews on Amazon, so go figure. So hopefully this review will serve as an aid to help you determine whether you ought to click either the "add to cart" button or instead do a search for "New Moon."

Like Evil Dead 2, Zombies of Mass Destruction doesn't fit neatly into one genre. If you're the kind of movie geek I am, this is a huge buy sign. It suggests to you that not only are you about to watch a gory Zombie movie, but also that the film has a shot at throwing in some nice surprises. If, however, you're one of those people who, in order to enjoy a movie, your predetermined expectations about it must be met, then I daresay "Twilight" might be the better option for you.

If you're the type of person who discovers cool movies and music on their own, then gets their friends into it, then I'd say you have a good chance of digging this flick. If, however, you go see movies only after someone tells you it's good, you might want to wait until you get to college where it will suddenly be hip to see culty movies like Zombies of Mass Destruction. Now, I'm not suggesting you have to be any kind of genius to get this flick, but be honest with yourself: Are you strictly a main-streamer? (e.g. You like movies about daywalking teen vampires). Did you think the parking garage/Gypsy fight scene in DRAG ME TO HELL was "unrealistic" or "lame" or "silly?" If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then this flick may not be for you. In fact, do that search for Kristen Stewart right now.

The fact is, ZMD is at once a very scary and gory bloodbath, but also a perverse black comedy that could have been done by an unholy alliance between George A. Romero and Matt Stone & Trey Parker. The performances are compelling and the film balances its humor with its horror nicely. But the political satire and the subtle homages to classic cult horror flicks never get in the way of telling a solid zombie survival story.

But lastly and most importantly, if you've read this review and have failed to understand that I consider the insinuation that you might enjoy the "Twilight" series to be an egregious insult, then Zombies of Mass Destruction is definitely not for you.

My journey into the lineup of the fourth After Dark Horrorfest begins promisingly enough with Zombies of Mass Destruction, which upon first glance I did not expect a whole lot out of. Thankfully though, this little zombie film that could turns out to be surprisingly good, funny, ironic, and featuring some surprising political commentary. An ultra-conservative island town becomes the ground zero of a zombie epidemic, and an Iranian-descended college grad (Janette Armand) and a gay man (Doug Fahl) looking to come out to his mother are among those who have to contend with zombies and closed-minded town folk alike, with some incredibly gory results. Zombies of Mass Destruction may not offer up anything that any zombie fan hasn't seen before, amd its ending is a bit of a letdown, but it is surprisingly well made and chock full of tongue-in-cheek humor and shocks regardless. In those respects alone, Zombies of Mass Destruction is a more than worthwhile endeavor for zombie-holics looking for something to sink their teeth into.

If a political commentary is to succeed, especially if it's a comedy, it cannot simply point at a target and pump it full of lead. It must also be clear on what it's speaking out against and why, and it must go about it thoughtfully and intelligently. The great failure of "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction" is that aims at everyone, regardless of political orientation. It gives the appearance of an attack against conservative American values, but at the same time, it takes potshots at progressive ideas and the people who support them, so in the end, everyone looks weak, unfocused, and just plain stupid. Are the filmmakers saying, then, that politics in general turns us into zombies, like the ones roaming the streets feeding on flesh? They may be right in that some of us are mindless and ignorant, but they're wrong in that it applies to everyone.

Part of the problem is that the zombies exist as a metaphor for far too many social issues, including racial intolerance, homophobia, ignorance of world affairs, terrorism, religious fanaticism, the electoral process, and family values. At a certain point, it becomes exhausting trying to figure out exactly what political point is being made. Another problem is that, so far as I can tell, most of the subplots would have been just fine without the presence of the zombie metaphor - it provides little apart from an excuse for relentless gore, which is so over the top that it surpasses humor and becomes monotonous. After it was over, I felt as if nothing of political or social relevance had been said, not even with the inclusion of obvious imagery and one-liners.

The setting is a small community called Port Gamble, located on an island off the coast of Washington State. The white picket fences and neatly manicured lawns give it the appearance of Normal Rockwell Americana, but appearances can be deceiving. Stepping back into it are Tom Hunt (Doug Fahl) and Lance Murphy (Cooper Hopkins), a gay couple. They're visiting from New York in order to finally come out to Tom's mother, although Tom is deathly afraid of how she will react. In the meantime, he would prefer it if Lance acted straight. When we finally do meet Tom's mother, the zombie metaphor works its way in, although not successfully; you'd have to be pretty dense to not recognize a zombie when you see one, especially when it's someone you love.

After the zombies have taken over, they find themselves locked in a church with regulars who, for reasons I can't begin to understand, have been unaware of the situation. Also in the church are two mayoral candidates (James Mesher and Linda Jensen) and a reverend (Bill Johns), who all debate the zombie situation in obvious political undertones, specifically as it relates to the status of American gays. I guess I got their point, although I can't say it was made cleverly. Ultimately, the characters of Tom and Lance do little more than perpetuate gay stereotypes, and not in a way that's funny, satirical, or politically motivated.

Another important character is Frida Abbas (Janette Armand), an Iranian American everyone assumes is Iraqi. Immediately, we see what the filmmakers were getting at: She was born in this country, and yet everyone expects her to look, sound, and behave as if she were from the Middle East, including her father (Ali Hamedani), who wants her to be proud of her heritage. She crosses paths with Joe Miller (Russell Hodgkinson), who starts out as a mere conservative but devolves into a paranoid, delusional maniac once the zombies start attacking. It doesn't help that the TV continuously flashes news reports that the infection was probably the result of a terrorist plot. In due time, Joe has Frida tied to a chair in his basement, employing interrogation tactics that could never been seen as funny, not after all the news surrounding the appalling treatment of suspected terrorists in foreign countries.

George A. Romero has proven time and time again that zombie movies are useful for social and political commentaries, so I'm puzzled as to why Kevin Hamedani and his co-writer Ramon Isao couldn't make "ZMD" work. Why did they feel that everyone should be a target for ridicule? The tone of their film is not one of message making but of nihilism, the sense that it's pointless to care about anything because there's nothing worth caring about. This is something that no amount of explicit gore can gloss over. I suppose this movie had all the right ingredients, but it's useless if no one bothers to mix them together properly. "ZMD" is not the clever satire it wanted to be; it's a silly, mean-spirited, brutal, uneven mess, lacking the ability to choose which side it wants to make fun of more.

A breath of fresh air - you name it. This is not only a zombie comedy - it's a glorious parody of our years of madness (which are, of course, still going strong). And, yes, it absolutely has a decidedly "liberal" slant - so what? Satires always present a very definite point of view: how could you satirize something if you had no point of view against which to compare whatever it is you're satirizing? And in this case, that point of view is reason, balance and sanity - which constitute the traditional point of view which gives satire its sting. The residents of Port Gamble are already zombie-like in their ritualistic adherence to what they take to be the norms of society. They go through their lives reacting blindly to outside stimuli without ever thinking about anything beyond the immediate environment. So when they begin one by one turning into actual zombies, it's quite a while before anyone in town notices their transformation. Once their transformation is all but complete, the comedic parody takes a terrifyingly gruesome turn. The three main characters - Frida, daughter of an Iranian immigrant, and Tom and Lance, gay lovers who come to town so Tom can "come out" to his mother - find themselves having to fend off, not just an army of zombies, but the few remaining townspeople unaffected by whatever caused the mass transformation. There is gore and mayhem enough to satisfy die-hard zombie fans, aided by one after another narrow escape from the clutches of death. And, through it all, the satire just keeps rolling along.

This is a good zombie comedy, made absolutely enchanting if you appreciate the very pointed satire. The acting is generally very good - particularly the Mayor, the Preacher and the terrorist seeking Redneck. The setting melds perfectly with the satire: a quaint picture postcard town with white picket fences populated by crazed zombies. The dialogue, too, is perfectly suited to the surroundings and the events. Plus there's the suspense of not knowing for sure who will survive and who will succumb to the zombie attack. The movie has it all, even if it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

We have all seen it a million times before, zombies attack a small town, and a couple people survive. The movie got stupid at times, like, For example, when they tried pushing the Humor, It Didn't Work. The Acting wasn't good at all, just boring. But, I Would watch this movie again, it wasn't that bad.

Zombies of Mass Destruction is a 2010, "zombie comedy" directed by Kevin Hamedani and was released under the, "8 Films to Die For" collective. The film takes place in Port Gamble, Washington, and bisects into both the story of a man bringing his boyfriend home from the east coast to admit his homosexuality to his mother, and the story of an Iranian-American woman battling stereotypes in a town teeming with ignorant locals. The intent, here, was to tackle both subjects with humor.

If you're familiar with 8FTDF, you no doubt know what to expect concerning budget, and the same issues apply here. Sort of. While the acting mostly fell flat, I was surprised to see that the special effects for the film were executed really well. A couple of the kill scenes were original and definitely violent, but the real rewards came in the mindless gore that popped up randomly throughout the project. The eyeball scene, for example, was goofy, but so fun to watch. If I were grading this movie on special effects alone, I'd give it four stars.

I just couldn't get into the movie, though. The design of the gay couple was so stereotypical that it became unrealistic almost immediately. Because of this, I thought their involvement dragged like a broken leg for the film's entirety, which is exhausting. Towards the end, the, "I'M WITH HIM" half of the duo seemed to start dialing it in, but for me, it was already too late. I also found that the middle-eastern, political focus of the film was tritely saturated, as well. I understand that it's seemingly relevant to our times, but the attempt here came across as merely surface fodder for the dim, and hardly made any statements.

Still, as I mentioned before, the proprietors of this film weren't swimming in cash, so you get what you get, and that's fine. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this film to anyone, especially when there are funnier zombie films out there like Dead Alive, Shaun of the Dead, and even Fido. But, if you're bored and feel like watching Gorgeous Frida barefoot her way around your television for an evening, I wouldn't really blame you. They at least found a stunning lead.

- t -

I was extremely disappointed in Zombieland, except for the parts with Bill Murray, & hadn't seen a good zombie movie on TV in 2 years that I hadn't already seen before. Then this movie pops up on FEAR.com On Demand.

This is a comedy, like Shaun of the Dead & Braindead (aka Dead Alive), only it takes itself completely seriously, so you don;t see the jokes setting themselves up or know when to expect them.

Heroes: An ambitious Liberal woman just getting into politics, a young Muslim woman rebelling against her old-fashioned father, & a gay couple, with one being somewhat closeted in the beginning & fully proud by the end.

Villains: A close-minded racist redneck, a conservative Republican, a Christian priest, & the Zombies.

If you don't like that arrangement, than this movie is not for you.

Ok, here we go... This movie tries to be a comedy(not quite Shaun of the Dead) and still maintain a shred of seriousness. I think they have accomplished this. The production is good. The story is good. Has a few hilairous moments. I'm rating this a 3.5.

The Zombies: Your general run of the mill Romero zombies. The never really explain how the zombies come to be, besides guessing that this is a terrorist attack. Rating of 3.5.

The S.F.X: These were fairly descent. The zombies look like zombies. Plently of blood. Zombies getting their heads blown off. Rating of 3.

The Story: Girl moves back to town/ some gay guys come to town too come out to their parents... When all hell breaks loose. Your normal zombie story from there. Rating of 3.

The Acting: It was generally good(no oscar nominations sadly). The gay guys were pretty funny... Rating of 3.5.

Nudity: NONE!!!

VERDICT: Overall I was happy with my purchase (I got it from Walmart for 9 dollars). I own over 80 zombie films and i put this in the top 20. Casual fans will enjoy and Zombie fans this is a must have!