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Zombie Town
SCREENER/APPROX. 95 MINS/2006/USA R18+
SCREENER/APPROX. 95 MINS/2006/USA R18+
6
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Take a large dose of “28 Days Later” and add a goodly helping of “Slither” then subtract most of their budget and what do you get? You get
“Zombie Town.”
It seems some previously unknown slug-like parasites have crawled out of the local swamp and are turning townsfolk, (and the odd house pet)
into flesh eating zombie like creatures. A semi crashes, blocking the only road out of town, (some of the worst CGI in history) and so it falls to an
inept mechanic, his hot biologist girlfriend and redneck rival for her affections to stop them before it's to late. Gut munching, head shots and bad
acting ensue.
The parasite induced zombiism angle is nothing new, tracing its roots back through “Night of the Creeps” to David Cronenberg's “They Came from
Within”, or even as far back as 1958s “The Brain Eaters” (though they looked more like fuzzy slippers than the usual slug-like creatures.) Given
their long and varied history there isn't much new that can be done with the idea, and this film doesn't try. It doesn't even explain how/why they
suddenly show up.
Like “Slither” and “Night of the Creeps” this film doesn't take itself entirely seriously, straddling the line between horror and parody. Unfortunately
most of the jokes fall flat due to the leads horrible acting. I don't expect Oscar worthy performances in films like this, but the acting here is two
steps below reading off a cue card. Despite that there are some funny moments, such as the sequence in the bingo hall and the ensuing attack of
geriatric zombies and we can't forget the zombie poodle.
The effects are also a mixed bag with several good flesh ripping/gut eating scenes and other assorted mayhem including blood splattered
gunshots and the obligatory chainsaw sequence. Especially effective is a sequence of a man being torn in half. It doesn't top Rhodes death in “Day
of the Dead” but for the budget this was made on it's damn effective. The shots of the bodies after the parasites in them have been killed are
pretty weak, looking like something from a wax museum rather than corpses.
Despite this the film isn't all that bad. There's some suspense and plenty of action to keep things moving along. Indeed once the action really gets
started it doesn't let up with plenty of chases, zombie attacks most of which are well staged and messy. And the final showdown is quite the
bloodbath, as the remaining heroes lead the creatures into a trap and the plan, as all these things do, runs into problems. Despite relying on a
large dose of Deus Ex Machina it is tense and well shot, with a good deal of gore on display.
And for us pervs looking for another kind of action there is some skin courtesy of a nice scene involving a couple in the backseat of a car.
I saw this on a barebones screener from MTI Home Video so I can't comment on the extras. The retail version has two featurettes and a filmmaker
commentary. Being a fan of low budget films I would have liked to have heard what the folks behind the film had to say, even more so on this film
than most because you can sense there's some real talent behind the camera here. I'd like to see what these guys could do with a bigger budget
and better script.
My final verdict on “Zombie Town” is- worth a rental if you're in the mood for some light viewing, but don't expect anything to much above average
and you won't be disappointed.
“Zombie Town.”
It seems some previously unknown slug-like parasites have crawled out of the local swamp and are turning townsfolk, (and the odd house pet)
into flesh eating zombie like creatures. A semi crashes, blocking the only road out of town, (some of the worst CGI in history) and so it falls to an
inept mechanic, his hot biologist girlfriend and redneck rival for her affections to stop them before it's to late. Gut munching, head shots and bad
acting ensue.
The parasite induced zombiism angle is nothing new, tracing its roots back through “Night of the Creeps” to David Cronenberg's “They Came from
Within”, or even as far back as 1958s “The Brain Eaters” (though they looked more like fuzzy slippers than the usual slug-like creatures.) Given
their long and varied history there isn't much new that can be done with the idea, and this film doesn't try. It doesn't even explain how/why they
suddenly show up.
Like “Slither” and “Night of the Creeps” this film doesn't take itself entirely seriously, straddling the line between horror and parody. Unfortunately
most of the jokes fall flat due to the leads horrible acting. I don't expect Oscar worthy performances in films like this, but the acting here is two
steps below reading off a cue card. Despite that there are some funny moments, such as the sequence in the bingo hall and the ensuing attack of
geriatric zombies and we can't forget the zombie poodle.
The effects are also a mixed bag with several good flesh ripping/gut eating scenes and other assorted mayhem including blood splattered
gunshots and the obligatory chainsaw sequence. Especially effective is a sequence of a man being torn in half. It doesn't top Rhodes death in “Day
of the Dead” but for the budget this was made on it's damn effective. The shots of the bodies after the parasites in them have been killed are
pretty weak, looking like something from a wax museum rather than corpses.
Despite this the film isn't all that bad. There's some suspense and plenty of action to keep things moving along. Indeed once the action really gets
started it doesn't let up with plenty of chases, zombie attacks most of which are well staged and messy. And the final showdown is quite the
bloodbath, as the remaining heroes lead the creatures into a trap and the plan, as all these things do, runs into problems. Despite relying on a
large dose of Deus Ex Machina it is tense and well shot, with a good deal of gore on display.
And for us pervs looking for another kind of action there is some skin courtesy of a nice scene involving a couple in the backseat of a car.
I saw this on a barebones screener from MTI Home Video so I can't comment on the extras. The retail version has two featurettes and a filmmaker
commentary. Being a fan of low budget films I would have liked to have heard what the folks behind the film had to say, even more so on this film
than most because you can sense there's some real talent behind the camera here. I'd like to see what these guys could do with a bigger budget
and better script.
My final verdict on “Zombie Town” is- worth a rental if you're in the mood for some light viewing, but don't expect anything to much above average
and you won't be disappointed.
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