Director: Matt Jaiselle
Year: 1997
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie
Plot:
After attacking and killing a serial killer, the corrupt cops who initially killed him find themselves unwillingly drawn into a series of killings similar to his rampage and learn that a Satanic Cult mistakenly revived his body in a special ceremony forcing them to stop the vicious killer.
Review:
This was a wild and hysterically fun shot-on-video effort. That this plays so well within the confines of the genre with so much of this one playing off the expectations and experiences is what makes this so much fun. The wacky and bizarre storyline that includes everything from corrupt cops capable of drug use, framing an actual criminal with far more noteworthy criminal activity and turning a blind eye to their dealings is a fine start to this, while the rest of the film concerns a Satanic cult resurrecting the zombified corpse of a serial rapist-killer to begin a rampage while the cops bumble around the case until it intersects together. This is so bizarre and gets stranger by the minute which is always a good sign.
Likewise, the film's highly enjoyable and goofy attack scenes are also a part of the shot-on-video charm. Willingly going for the cheap and cheerful route here including the use of dolls for body parts and a reanimated zombie baby flying around attacking others, the decaying make-up work on the zombie, or the fact that the creature is clearly walking down city streets in guerilla-style sequences offer up the kind of low-budget insanity which is a lot of fun for those that enjoy this style. As well, the sloppily choreographed and shot confrontations where the zombie appears and strips female victims before raping and killing them and getting their intestines and other organs that are usually displayed in this kind of film all give this one quite a lot to like about it.
That, though, doesn't mean much for those who are turned off by the utterly terrible technical features on display. As mentioned, hardly anything here, from the gore to the special effects and props to the overall presentation here, come off in the slightest bit realistic or believable through design or choice in how to shoot the sequence as that tends to spoil the effect of what's happening. That also needs to take into account the other factors here that make up its obvious origins and limitations here with the usual elements of these types of films including the underwhelming and obvious special effects, flimsy locations, and guerilla-style sequences which all point to the films' origins and limitations holding it down.
Overview: ***.5/5
Far more fun than it should be, this shot-on-video classic has quite a lot going for it for fans of the style which is where the majority of the fun with this one lies. Those who prefer the style and approach of those kinds of films or even the creative crew will have the most to appreciate with this one while those who don’t enjoy those factors should heed caution.
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