"Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse" - A Mostly Positive "Oi, Oi, Oi"

 *Blog post started on October 20, 2020.

My weekend was not too bad. They have hired enough newbies at the retailer that my work for the most part is that I just have to make sure nothing goes wrong at check out, and our customer service experts are now scheduled properly. Without too much pressure, I think I can work almost all the time. It keeps my mind off my existential crises and the pay makes it a net positive. Who needs a therapy when you could make $15 an hour?

Sunday was alright because I at least had the time to video games. Once the ex called to check on her cat and encourage me to abandon the written word for the video abyss, I decided to leave the gaming chair to get comfortable. Eva the Queen Kitty filled that spot immediately after I left to answer the phone, so that put an end to catching Pokemon. This was interpreted as a sign that I should watch a feature to feed the blogs. My little brother's abandoned copy of "Board Heads (a.k.a. "Beach Movie")" fit the NinetyForChill.com criteria (Longer than 75 minutes, Shorter than 97).

I do not know if I made it 15 minutes into this attempt to bridge Cinemax's late night features with early 80's dudes trying to get laid flicks that have aged poorly. The latter genre for the most part does not bother me too much. If you want to say that "Revenge of the Nerds" is far too rapey, I will remind you that the premise is REVENGE.

There has been some jonesing for Jim Jefferies's humor since he left Comedy Central and I had success with a previous Oceania horror comedy in "Bad Taste". It was time for an iTunes impulse buy in "Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse".

"Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse"

A "Walking Dead" like scenario has finally occurred in Australia. They may not be the undead, but they seem to be rotting away quickly and they definitely have a taste for human flesh. Everyone who is definitely alive is searching for safety. Daryl, Joel, and their telecom supervisor Roy know that the tower they work at has a security door, so sheltering there will do for now. Joel has brought the beers, Daryl brought Betsy the shotgun, and Roy is accompanied by his 19 year-old daughter Emma and a vape pen. You cannot let the apocalypse interfere with quitting nasty habits.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast with @CatBusRuss: "Zombieland (2009)" with Nic from "In Love, with Movies"

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast...with @CatBusRuss

Episode 117: "Zombieland (2009)" with Nic from "In Love, with Movies

”Zombieland (2009)” with Nic from ”In Love, with Movies”

2 days ago

This week's episode is proof that you can actually meet genuine people at comic cons. One half of "⁠In Love, with Movies⁠" hosts, ⁠Nic⁠, comes on the show to chat about ⁠Ruben Fleischer⁠'s only undisputedly good feature "⁠Zombieland⁠". ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ and his guest did not take a lot of notes suggesting that it maybe one of the best paced comedies of the current century. Watching the feature was more than a pleasant palate cleanser after visiting "⁠FeaDotCom (.com)⁠" for ⁠Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's "Trash Feature Revue"⁠.

The two end up realizing the kind of comfort cinema sci-fi comedies can be. It is only appropriate that it pulls so much from "Ghostbusters" with very little shame. Zombieland's characters may not evolve, but like the three NYU professors who got into paranormal investigation, they do not have to. If they did, the audience might leave feeling betrayed (which may explain the lack of success of "Gangster Squad" and what ⁠CatBus⁠ feels is an underappreciated sequel "Double Tap"). If the premise is enough, why mess around with it too much? Of course this film got a crappy television show when Amazon said hold my beer.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CatBusRuss) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

I am doing the best I can with the free time that I can find. Currently in my peripheral is "Deadpool" and my hopes that I can manage to call it a sub 100-minute movie. Credits can be so fucking long. Of course there is the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" tribute after the story concludes, but my potential guest and I have determined that just calling that a tease is appropriate to the character and the actor.

There is not much to complain about in the past two days since my last blog post. On top of fitting in a blog post and new (this) podcast, I had to make some head space to worry about my beverage retailer job after my second write up that may have cost the company cash. The review was quick and painless aside from getting my manager to reset my login credentials. If I lose this job, I know its my fault. At this point, it is enough fun that I would hate to disappoint myself.

I am still determined to keep up the podcast, but the past week was tough. Unless guests want to stay up late, Sundays are the only day that I am certain can be made for podcasting. With that said, if you have a movie or topic that you want to chat about, send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

Since I am rewatching "Deadpool", a film that clocks in at 1:48, a potential guest had asked if we could do it. Well, he suggested it after our first in person meeting (at the booze palace). We plan to record this weekend (Kessel Run rules), but I better stick to the format when it comes to having a guest every other week. As for my binge or theme for a solo effort, nothing is set right now.

I have done the last three podcasts that featured guests sober, so perhaps it is time to just accept that is how I should approach the next one. But there has yet to be an excuse to open up my 103-proof Redemption Pre-Prohibition Bourbon. Trivia (and goth night) is tomorrow, so being sharp(ish) is a necessity. In other words, how am I to see a new release at the cinema to associate with a relevant DVD at home if I am shit faced?

The 9/10 o'clock show I suppose. Maybe I should actually user Uber for the first time. As for opening the bottle, maybe it would have helped me get more out of "The Ring" meets "Hackers" in the early noughties horror flick, FearDotCom (.com).

As for the episode this blog is about, I had a lot of fun squeezing it in between my two retail shifts. Nic and I had little to complain about "Zombieland". We did more to breakdown the performers than we did to breakdown their near perfect characters. Our feelings are divided when it comes to the need for "Double Tap", but we do not really go into that. Nor do we address the mystery that was the TV series.

"Zombieland" is cinematic chili. None of the ingredients are necessarily awesome (aside for Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin...at least for 2009). Ruben Fleischer has yet to offer anything close to the success this feature is (fuck "Venom's" gross). Jesse Eisenberg was a year from "The Social Network". Emma Stone was just the everyday girl amusing nerds instead of Ryan Gosling. It really comes down to the script I suppose. And Sony's interference nearly messed that up.

It is a weird chemistry that created this feature. I think Nic would agree with that statement. If anyone knows anything about movies and chemistry, it would be Nic and his wife Dani.

I am still catching up on "In Love, with Movies", but the stories they tell with their guests about how people get together is a lot of fun. Seeing how the couples survive suggested movies makes it all worthwhile and definitely worth a listen. "Clueless" was a lot of fun. Gods know I am pumped for "Labyrinth".

I just need to get myself shipped. The plan is to have me as a guest in May or June to talk about "Trainspotting". Any Scottish-heroin comedy fans out there who want me to help me fake it through the first half of their podcast. Hell, let's break up mid show. That will boost the numbers for everyone.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

 

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast: What a Twist??? ”High Tension” & ”Sleepaway Camp” with Rae from 3B

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 107: What a Twist??? ”High Tension” & ”Sleepaway Camp” with Rae from 3B.

What a Twist??? ”High Tension” & ”Sleepaway Camp” with Rae from 3B

Since the original "Friday the 13th", it is safe to say that a third of slasher movies try to subvert audience expectations with a third act twist. Just trying to identify the killer may have become a stale concept far too early in the genre, so some films are dependent on discovering the deep-seeded why behind a killer's motivation. Much of the time, that ends up holding a fun or even brilliant film back. CatBusRuss and "Booze, Boobs & Blood's" Rae explore two examples of this: 2003's "High Tension" and 1983's "Sleepaway Camp".

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

It seems that I am getting more accustomed to these seemingly longer weeks. I was able to watch "AEW Rampage" live on Friday night despite all the Midnight Moon Blackberry Moonshine that I drank on Wednesday recording this episode, Pour Bros. Trivia on Thursday, and still just being over halfway through a six-day work week. All it cost me was not seeing the 4-star+ bout between MJF and Takeshita.

And, there was no tequila/mezcal involved in Whaddayaknow Trivia. Perhaps that is why team "Shrug Life" failed to defend our championship. Good things happen for me when agave-based booze is involved.

I suppose I could try to dedicate myself to healthier living. Rae had recently quit drinking and sounds better for it. Or that means she has finally recovered from walking pneumonia and two bouts with COVID. Hopefully, my shot of Malort to open the podcast did not offend her. She was probably more on edge about me telling her that I got shingles at 35. That was the one disease she was happy about not starting the new year with

She is a podcasting professional, so her demeanor remained upbeat. I find that to be impressive since we were chatting about two slasher movies that do so many good things that a poor executed twist lets those film fall from great to average at best.

"High Tension" was a great horror film about a mysterious killer. It is French Extreme, so the violence and gore is beautiful. But, perhaps being French, the auteur Alexandre Aja felt that it had to actually be clever. Needless to say, I wish I was in England when this film was released because the title "Switchblade Romance" would have left me better prepared for the swing and a miss the unnecessary third act is. There just had to be a better way to get that pavement saw scene into the tale.

As for "Sleepaway Camp", Rae's suggestion for this double feature, we both found it to be a quaint little horror flick. Of course it is from the eighties, so satanic/homophobic/transphobic panic had to be the reason for the evil acts taken. There is no Satanism, the trans elements are fine, but they needed to shoehorn the gay subversive subtext. Was it meant to confuse us like the killer?

This week's trip to "Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue" is also a horror movie that tries to be satirical. Sorry Robert DeNiro, but Stephen Graham is my Al Capone (Boardwalk Empire).

"Doghouse" is a tale of immature, 30-something Londoners who decide to get away from the city for a guy's weekend in Moodley, 300 miles from London. Their mate from the town says that there is a 4 to 1 female to male ration there, so that should get the soon-to-be divorced Vince over his depression. Sadly, that ratio is now 400 to them after a bioweapon had turned all the women there into pissed off, cannibalistic feminists.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

 

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast: The Sadness...Holiday Appropriate? (Featuring Gregory Carl)

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 95: The Sadness...Holiday Appropriate? (Featuring Gregory Carl).

The Sadness…Holiday Appropriate? (featuring Gregory Carl)

November 22, 2022

To get you ready to defend yourself against the madness of Black Friday, Gregory Carl and Cool Movies Darth take on the Chinese viral outbreak movie, "The Sadness". It is a COVID-19 inspired tale about a virus that will not kill you via lung failure, but by the perverse whims of the infected. This is a case of what does not kill will you makes you stranger, more violent, and what is most shocking, hornier.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

We always seem to think the "zombie" film fad is about to pass, and then a feature like "The Sadness" comes along. This feature is not a zombie flick, but an outbreak feature, but to the layman it is tomayto tomahto. The dead are not coming back to life, and if the dead were to reanimate, they would not run.

Zack Snyder had screwed up this subgenre of horror with his "Dawn of the Dead". It really lacked the satire that made George A. Romero's original the classic that it is, and for that alone I was not a fan. The director has his missteps, and that just happened to be a financially successful accident. I am a fan of his DCEU efforts, "300", and "Watchmen", but even there, he does not have a clue about the messages these stories try to get across. There is no way I can get too angry at this director because he did allow us films like "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" and the "Zombieland" franchise, but the Western zombie scene had lost its way.

Fortunately, "The Sadness" is the course correction that we need. To its credit, it demonstrates that there are those in the West who agree with me. This feature was directed by a Canadian animator, Rob Jabbaz. The frustration with this is that he had to go to China to make it. I have no issue with foreign films, but if I was not looking for material to podcast about, Greg probably would have remained turned off by the subtitles.

The most important thing about "The Sadness" is the degree of satire. It presents over the top violence that will shock initially, but as it continues to be displayed, you cannot help but embrace the ridiculousness of it. Having watched the feature a handful of times for this episode of the podcast, Greg and I end up with a similar relationship to the film that Beetlejuice had with "The Exorcist".

The satire stems from our "need" to resist authority's suggestions for safety. How do they know what I need?

It was featured in a far more relatable sense with Romero's "The Crazies" which is honestly more disturbing. Jabbaz's film shocks you every chance it can get, but with so few protagonists, you do not get attached to anyone. Thus, you can impress the gore-hounds with the blood and the critics with the stunning visuals. There are some filthy scenes, but they do not seem personal, so it is easy to get comfortable while watching this.

With all of that said, I had difficulty deciding whether or not to censor the most obscene language from this episode. Should children have access to such ideas? Well, I am not a parent. Gregory is. He starts the podcast by asking his grade schooler if he wanted to watch this along side him because "You don't have school tomorrow". So, this leads me to rely on Sheila Broflovski to justify cutting out the F-bombs from our conversation:

Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty woids! That's what this war is all about!

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast: Vicious Virus Videos: Shivers, The Crazies (1973), and Mayhem

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 94: Vicious Virus Videos: Shivers, The Crazies (1973), and Mayhem.

Vicious Virus Videos: Shivers, The Crazies (1973), and Mayhem

November 14, 2022

Outbreak films have been around as early as the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to say the very least, but most of these features focus on humanity being absolutely lost. Lost via body theft by aliens or demons. Individuality vanished due to a disease taking over the body and conscience. What happens when a virus removes your inhibitions and replaces it with madness? Cool Movies Darth investigates this idea as presented in the 1970s and the 2010s by reviewing Romero's "The Crazies", Cronenberg's "Shivers", and Joe Lynch's "Mayhem".

Allow me to get out of third-person. Are we happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

My introduction to horror movies as art came with Dario Argento. With his greatest works being associated with the 1970s, it was not much a stretch to find myself being fascinated by the ideas of his legendary friend George A. Romero. As I am discovering these artists, Cronenberg was making waves with his relatively down to Earth features "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises". Obviously, this Canuck gained my attention if wanting to see the film with the most famous exploding head was not enough.

There was also the release of Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later", but Boyle narratives got a little long in the tooth after the success of "Trainspotting". Fortunately, I have seen another member of the Great North get inspired by that "zombie" film, so do not hold it against me not covering the Rage virus in this episode.

When it comes to zombies, of course I have seen all of Romero's films about the undead. But surely there is more than that when it comes to the auteur. "Bruiser" was fun, but it does not make a case for him having range. Fortunately, "The Crazies" received a remake in 2010. Gut reaction is to consider that an insult. To make sure of that, the original has been on my queue for a while.

A pathogen driving people crazy, I knew that was the plot of "Shivers" and that brings us to why I got around to this feature (aside from viewing it for the "Gen X and Scorsese V. Millenials and Marvel" episode with ThePoeticCritic). When I think back to "28 Days Later", the realization that there are two extremes to viral madness. The sides are excessive violence or excessive sexuality. Inhibitions stop those from occurring.

So the narrative of this blog post should end with Rob Jabbaz's "The Sadness" where the violence and sex intermingle, but that is for next weeks episode. Plus, I feel I got to add some genuine fun into this episode. You can enjoy the ride that are "The Crazies" and "Shivers", but they are not meant to receive out loud laughter. "The Sadness" may also still be to serious for its own good.

Gregory Carl will return to "NinetyForChill" next week to discuss this crescendo. So to get my relatively guilt-free kicks in, I got around to "Mayhem". Samara Weaving has been a sign of great sub 100-minute cinema on this podcast, and I wanted to see the office place purge film that "The Belko Experiment" sold itself as. It did not disappoint.

With all this said, the next episode that I need a guest for will need to be recorded by December 4th, 2022. There are not too many Christmas movies, so I do not expect anyone too feel restricted to a seasonal theme. The Twitter migration to Mastodon is not as grand as Neil Gaiman has implied, so I need to call for assistance on any platform I can find.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

NinetyForChill: The Podcast - SkimbleSHANKS presents: Night of the Demons (1988) with Tim Bates

 NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 89: SkimbleSHANKS presents: Night of the Demons (1988) with Tim Bates.

SkimbleSHANKS presents ”Night of the Demons” with Tim Bates

October 11, 2022

1987 may have been the peak of eighties horror. The Tommy Jarvis trilogy had concluded and Freddy was not going to top his bout with Patricia Arquette. Few would argue that neither of those franchises had what it took to surpass "Evil Dead II". The wise thing to do would have been to ride on Sam Raimi's coattails. In steps Kevin Tenney with "Night of the Demons".

It is weird for I, Cool Movies Darth, to not actually refer to myself in my Podbean/iTunes podcast synopsis. This is what happens when things seem to go right when setting up a recording. All thanks should go to Evil Penguin Game's Tim Bates's flexible schedule. Well, my work schedule allowing me to watch a 90-minute movie, followed by two hours of wrestling before primetime concludes giving me two hours to record this show was nice, but we do not want to give the corporate world that much credit.

"NinetyForChill: The #Podcast" had spoken a big game when it has come to landing Tim as a guest. This is the guy who introduced Kodiak Thompson to "John Dies at the End" and more. We are coworkers, so we talk a lot of "schlocky" films if we are not dealing with customers.

He had kept me up to date on his Tubi binge of Jean-Claude Van Damme's filmography before the movies were pulled from the service. We keep returning to chats about Charles Band's "Arena". Discussions about what movies should get steelbook reissues have been had. In the end, this podcast recording may have been necessary since the holiday season will mean we just will not have the time to bullshit.

Hopefully, we will get to chat on the podcast again soon. Our taste is far more vast than horror, and when he mentions "Robot Jox" off the air, there is definitely more fun to be had. But, it is spooky month, and "Night of the Demons" is the appropriate conversation to be had.

Like "House" from last week, you get an "Evil Dead" vibe, but you do not get the charming characters. This is a checklist of stereotypes that you hope to see murdered in unique ways. There are not bucket of blood, but you get some great make up effects and some silly fates. Most importantly, Kevin Tenney's film is aware of what was expected from a horror trope standpoint during the decade, and decides to make some fun efforts to subvert them.

I found the soundtrack to be fun, and when the jokes are at their most blatant, they still work out great. There are some plot holes, but they serve to make those who enjoy the feature search for any Easter eggs that could be found. This is a fun slumber party movie which really makes me wish I did not grow up in a town of 37 churches for 15 thousand citizens. All the things I grew up missing will forever frustrate me.

And this flick also frustrates me because I was unaware of the director's influence on me. Kevin Tenney directed the first no budget movie I had "intentionally" seen, "Brain Dead". It took a few more "Drunken Zombie Double Features" before I had the guts to write "Main Event of the Dead", but this was the start. It is just sad that this is the second film of Tenney's that I have viewed.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast - Buddy the Elf's Zombie Diary

NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 49: Buddy the Elf and His Zombie Diary (A Pitch Favreau, Caan, and Ferrell Can't Turn Down)

Films Researched for this Podcast: Elf (2003); The Zombie Diaries (2006).

Oh, the best laid plans of mice. This week's original guest was a last minute scratch, but fortunately Cool Movies Darth can count on family. ThePoeticCritic was kind enough to grace us with her presence to focus on the 2003 Will Ferrell classic, "Elf", and the near 20 years since that have been without a Christmas classic.

 

 

I am still working with Michael Dubois to come with a time to discuss 2019's "Ready or Not". It should be a great show since "You're Next" is still relatively fresh in my mind. That feature would serve well as a point to compare and contrast. The 2019 flick was being rewatched to prepare for the scheduled recording, and I am picking up the finer details about the film. Whenever we get to record our next ode to Samara Weaving, there is a sense it might be one of best episodes.

But ThePoeticCritic never fails to impress.

She had just gotten around to seeing "Elf". The feature impressed her (5 stars) which surprised me. With all its fanfare, I find it hard to not feel like it had been shoved down our throats for the past 18 years. ThePoeticCritic does point out, it may feel overrated because Hollywood has failed to provide us with another feature to honor the holiday.

I should have asked if Marvel has ruined Christmas.

Perhaps streaming services needing seasonal features is where the next memorable holiday feature will end up. She did say "8-Bit Christmas" was a good bit of fun. Being the only Captain N cosplayer, I guess I am obligated to see it. But every couple of years in the '90s (if not the '70s and '80s as well), we got a memorable Santa-related picture. In other words, Hollywood is just unwilling to make a mid-budget feature any more for the big screen. Fortunately, Santa has delivered TPC to this earth, and she will happily guide you to the means to fill that holiday void.

As for horror movies, that brings us to Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Features Revue. She could not find a movie starting with "Z", but when she has spent over $260 on movies for me to breakdown, I shan't hold that against her. With a little extra effort, 2006's found footage zombie feature that is nothing like George A. Romero's "Diary of the Dead", "The Zombie Diaries" got a couple hours of my time. That is a jab at the fans of the British feature who cried foul of Romero's similar concept, not of the feature's quality.

My Twitter account is @catbusruss. This is where I want your hate to be directed if you disapprove. Otherwise, positive feedback would be best displayed as subscriptions to my podcast and five-star reviews. Lets work that algorithm.

If you think you have a film or franchise that you are an expert on. Send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. Most franchises have at least one feature that will qualify for NinetyForChill. The runtime just needs to be between 74 and 99 minutes. We have four episodes to fill.

 

I have been asking for weeks for assistance in composing an episode dedicated to vampire features like "The Lost Boys" trilogy, "Near Dark", and the "Underworld" movies. Here is to hoping that this bunch of critiques will stir up some inspiration in my audience to step up and hold off on the garlic. If this is a topic you up for discussing, feel free to send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All I need is a half hour on Zoom to get this done.

I hope I am impressing or at the very least amusing you with this podcast and I am open to any and all criticism. My biggest want is more guests and more suggestions on what to chat about (@catbusruss, russthebus07@gmail.com@coolmoviesdarth). If we can get 3 hours out of "Little Nicky", the possibilities are endless. Thanks for visiting.

After WrestleMania Backlash, I will tell you that we need to take zombie pro wrestling back. My suggestion is that we finally get my low-budget zombie movie, "Main Event of the Dead" off the ground. The script lacks a lumberjack match, so you know it has got to be better than the "Army of the Dead" advertisement. Ask for a treatment or give me suggestions on how to get it to a crowd-sourcing stage with an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

 

76-Minutes DVD - "When Evil Calls", It Is Misleading.

Lionsgate cannot appropriately promote a Winstone Sister DVD. Ray should have a word with them.

Jaime's "Cravings" is not about vampires and Lois's "When Evil Calls" is not a Japanese, paranormal horror knock off. It is definitely not a full-length feature. Was this distributor trying to come off as trashy as the lesser Family Video DVD providers? Trash is what was rented when "The Dark Knight" was checked out. That is a sideways move.

Samantha is the headmaster's daughter at her high school, and she just wants to be popular. After the wicked popular girl Kirsty stomps on her cell phone, Sam cannot stand the torment any longer. Fortunately, a demonic clown arrives to repair her phone and make her an offer. She will be granted one wish as long as she texts the same offer to two friends.

Her desperation leads her to wish to become the most popular girl in school, cost be damned. And all goes well for her. But for those who continue to pass the text messages along to their friends, they soon find out that one must be careful for what they wish for.

Twitter @AJRimmerLog

I rented "When Evil Call" because of its ensemble cast. Sean Pertwee ("Dog Soldiers", "Event Horizon", "Formula 51"), Chris Barrie (Rimmer from "Red Dwarf"), and Dominique Pinon ("The City of Lost Children", "Alien Resurrection") being billed lead me to believe it would overcome any Asian horror influence. Thankfully, "When Evil Calls" is a British comedy. This may clash with the horror elements because dry humor and gore are not something you would immediately associate with slapstick.

This series of stories was conceived as the first horror series for mobile phones. I suppose Jeffrey Katzenberg failed to research this series when coming up with Quibi. Obviously this was not going to translate well to DVD in terms of effects and direction quality. The director Johannes Robert wisely uses an over-the-top Pertwee to hold the stories together. Barrie and Pinon make sure the audience is supposed to laugh and not expect to be scared.

"When Evil Calls" maybe a let down for a fan of mass produced horror, but if you are into "Monty Python Lite" humor, it serves as a nice retreat to celebrate the ridiculous nature of the genre. Gore of "Holy Grail's" levels with the appropriately silly violence, this series is not meant to be taken too seriously. Too bad the story about how one arrives at this title is more memorable than the series itself.

Sean Pertwee - 2014 New York Comic Con - Day 4

NinetyForChill dot Com - The Podcast: Mitchell Macabre at the "Dance of the Dead" (Part 2)

   

NinetyForChill.com: The Podcast

Episode 18: Mitchell Macabre at the "Dance of the Dead" (Part 2)

Read more: https://html.com/media/#ixzz6jIeBsAn5

Mitchell Whitt from the "Morbidly Macabre" podcast and I conclude our conversation about 2008's "Dance of the Dead". We talk about its strong and beyond appropriate gore effects, how it stacks up against other zombie comedies like "Fido" and "Dead Snow", and how we have to get the theater business, at least on the Champaign/Urbana level, ready to blow the minds of those who will coming back to Ebert Fest.

There are some tangents like all good podcast should have, and I was a little bit naughtier than I should have been when it came to explicit language. Fear not irresponsible parents. All of the words used on this finalized podcast have been featured on Public Broadcast Stations. Oh how I love the importing of British comedy. It is silly that it is a good thing for BBC America to have lost its way.

 

And I will say, it was a relevant weekend when it came to this podcast. Mitchell had just gotten married on Saturday (I am sure his registry on Amazon and Target have some items they could use that their guests did not claim.). Finding out about Mitchell's family living in Jacksonville lead to a New Jack story (Rest in Peace). And to further display my knowledge of low-budget zombie movies, I revisited "Last Rites of the Dead" a.k.a. "Zombies Anonymous".

I also got to listen to the latest "Morbidly Macabre" episode about the Columbine School Shooting. If you really want to know what makes Mitchell tick, it is a must listen. As for the history of the topic, they nail down all the important details while walking a dangerous line of when or not empathy may have been warranted for the two boys.

You really get to know the two of us, me on deeper level, and our love for cinema. And we share our depression about The Art Theater no longer being in operation. If you want to suggest some means to resolve this issue or be a podcast guest (You just need a sub 100-minute movie as this episode shows.) send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

And for those who recall "The Student of the Game", there is a bit of wrestling talked about at the end of the cast. If you still are not aware of my thoughts about Chris Benoit and the Hart family tragedies, this is your opportunity. I wonder if it helps explain my sympathy towards certain wrestlers who seem to be persona non grata when there are plenty of other wrestlers who inspire questions who still get to make a living. That will be a blog for another time on MainEventOfTheDead.com.

A guest has been lined up for next week's episode, tentatively about the sub 100-minute filmography of Adam Sandler. Was it all down hill from "Punch Drunk Love" to "Uncut Gems"? We will find out. Thanks for visiting.

Dance of the Dead: For those who thought "Return of the Living Dead" was too cheesy

Those Red Box DVD kiosks outside grocery stores and truck stops have to do better when describing their offerings. I cannot remember them mentioning that Ghost House Underground’s "Dance of the Dead" was a comedy, and with so many clever gimmick zombie flicks dropping the ball in terms of capitalizing on the humor of the walking dead (on a plane, in a prison, in a mall circa 2004, etc.), it is important to tell potential viewers that someone has released a refined version of the original "Return of the Living Dead". No, Dance does not have the neon red pubic hair of the cult classic, but it makes up for that by doing everything else the RotLD better.

It seems like it should be common sense not to build a nuclear power plant next to a cemetery, but in a predominantly white community where the son of the police chief is an aspiring backyard wrestler, this idea’s downside can be overlooked. The cemetery’s custodian has been able to keep the reanimated corpse problem under wraps, but one night the high school’s science fiction club just has to give their P.K.E. meter a try, and the recently departed decide that they have to take some kind of action against these meddling kids.

Not content with just terrorizing the geeks, and unable to ignore their hunger, the undead decide to treat the town as a buffet, and the local high school’s prom is the dessert table. Now it is up to a slacker, a cheerleader, the class vice president, the yarder and the nerds to take their town back, and prevent too many memorial pages from taking up space in the yearbook.

Dance of the Dead is a pretty down to Earth zombie feature. The story is very linear, so no one will get lost, and the characters are of the same archetypes that the audience cheered for in the John Hughes and "American Pie" eras of high school comedies. Nothing about the movie is very foreign or intellectually deep, and comes across as more of a PG-13 comic book movie than a horror film. Thankfully, the messiness that comes along with zombies prevents the film from taking itself too seriously and more importantly tiresome.

There is not much depth to the characters, and since this film is not trying to present a message about society (I think we have all grown past the nuclear scare nonsense that Mr. Burns is the mascot for), there does not need to be. If there was, this film would drag along and forget about the necessities of a zombie comedy. A gut-busting scene that is too intense for R rated zombie dramas, heroes who have fun dispatching the flesh eaters, gore that is reminiscent to the 80's movies, and hot zombie-on-zombie action. If there is any problem with the story, it is that the characters seem callous at times because they do not take much time to mourn, but that would waste time in a 95 minute film that is determined to never slow down.

Dance of the Dead is one of those great scripts that just needed to be shot. As long as the effort put behind the gore and the actors just care enough, it should be entertaining. Perhaps if it had a great director and budget behind it, it would have the potential to be as fun as "Zombieland", but then it may have also lost the charm of being an excellent B-Movie in an overly A-Movie world.

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