I sure had the bar set low when I selected this from movies on demand. But I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was pretty good, for what it is (a comedy with zombies). I really enjoyed the political satire - Bush in his 4th term as president, now that's a horror story). The makeup and gore effects, even the digital ones are really good. And there's plenty of T&A and full frontal nudity. There is some genuinely funny slapstick and it's probably the best zombie comedy since Night of the Living Dead. B rate horror yes, but there's not much low budget about it. Again for what it is I can't really say one bad thing about it. Well yes I can. It's not 1% scary and I usually like some scare with my horror even if it is a comedy. But it makes up for that with some truly shocking gore moments.
Reviews
5 Reviews
The Deadly Spawn
(1983)
Creme of the crop B movie horror fun
22 January 2008
Back when I was in college in the 80s, I rented 3 movies for a movie marathon in the dorm. Eyeball, which we didn't even finish it sucked so bad. Evil Dead - we all know that classic, and this. Of course I overrated the film with a 9, but we were 15-20 college kids crammed in a dorm room, which is the prime environment for a film like this. If you're looking for the epitome of low budget B-movie horror scifi with tons of gore that will make you say, "how the hell did they do that?" then this is your film. Despite being low budget and over the top, the effects are pretty shocking and eye popping and definitely not for the squeamish.
Heatseeker
(1995)
in the right hands....
15 August 2007
this could've been a martial arts B movie classic. But if I didn't know better, I'd swear this was made from a video game. Sadly it's that bad. That said, I've studied martial arts a long time and the choreography was interesting enough to keep me watching. That and Keith Cooke is no joke. He's the real deal and he's been around a long time though he never had a big enough vehicle to really exploit his talent.
I give it a 5 because I'm a martial arts junkie and a huge fan of cyberpunk. Even sucky cyberpunk like Johnny Mneumonic. However the movie was a letdown in that it really didn't establish the cyberpunk theme. Too bad because the premise is great. A totally human fighter enters a tournament of cyber enhanced fighters. But in fact they could've taken the cyber stuff out, and you'd have the same exact movie pretty much. Oh well, for a late night movie on Sci Fi I can't really complain I suppose. :D
I give it a 5 because I'm a martial arts junkie and a huge fan of cyberpunk. Even sucky cyberpunk like Johnny Mneumonic. However the movie was a letdown in that it really didn't establish the cyberpunk theme. Too bad because the premise is great. A totally human fighter enters a tournament of cyber enhanced fighters. But in fact they could've taken the cyber stuff out, and you'd have the same exact movie pretty much. Oh well, for a late night movie on Sci Fi I can't really complain I suppose. :D
The Stink of Flesh
(2005 Video)
A higher level of low budget
6 July 2007
I was impressed for what this film is. Low budget zombie movie fun, with some unique twists. I had low expectations going in and was pleasantly surprised.
Technically it has a spit and polish I'd expect from a higher budget. The lighting, sound, shots and makeup effects are really well done. I studied martial arts 18 years and the fight choreography isn't bad either, for what it is. Hong Kong cinema it's not but it's still pretty good. And it's not a mindless zombie flick. It actually has some depth, which I'll explain.
Dexy is an excellent cast, IMO. She's full figured and while she doesn't look like what would be typically sexy, she exudes sexy psychologically. Her sexiness comes not through her looks or figure (unless you like full figured women) but through her appetite for and attitude about sex. She also exudes a caring and warmth. If you had a beautiful looking actress playing that part, the subtly would've been lost, I think. Personally, I'm a fan. I thought she was great.
Ross Kelly is excellent as the brooding husband, turned on, yet disturbed by his wife's antics in the bedroom as he satisfies his own desire for flesh elsewhere.
Matool is the only minority in the whole movie I think, so having a Hispanic in the lead is refreshing. Being introduced so strongly I thought his character kind of got "lost" as the movie progressed.
The Stink of Flesh in an interesting title in that, the people are not that different from the zombies. Both crave flesh in a mindless, animalistic way that underlines its apocalyptic theme. Zombies aren't capable of ethics or morals and in the same situation neither are the people. All that's left is a desire for flesh and survival. You can't get much more basic in human behavior than eating and having sex and having the 2 parallel in a movie was really a fascinating twist. I just wish the story was presented better.
There are some things that didn't make sense (to me anyway) and it was really one of only a few things that disappointed me. I thought some good acting and an excellent premise was wasted on the lack of cohesion in the story and plot.
Zombies aren't angry. There's a sadness and emptiness that belies their behavior and zombie acting really is a unique perspective. I still look to Romero's films for the ideal zombie. I did like the idea of a "hyper - 28 Days Later" type of zombie. Zombies act through physiology and eyes... if they have eyes, so I feel the zombies could've been better, but that's being totally subjective. So the makeup effects sort of overshadows the zombie acting.
There really is some disturbing stuff here that I can take or leave. Again being a little disappointed in the story I would've preferred more focus on story and characters and less peripheral stuff going on that added little to nothing to the story. But nonetheless a great effort. I really enjoyed it.
Technically it has a spit and polish I'd expect from a higher budget. The lighting, sound, shots and makeup effects are really well done. I studied martial arts 18 years and the fight choreography isn't bad either, for what it is. Hong Kong cinema it's not but it's still pretty good. And it's not a mindless zombie flick. It actually has some depth, which I'll explain.
Dexy is an excellent cast, IMO. She's full figured and while she doesn't look like what would be typically sexy, she exudes sexy psychologically. Her sexiness comes not through her looks or figure (unless you like full figured women) but through her appetite for and attitude about sex. She also exudes a caring and warmth. If you had a beautiful looking actress playing that part, the subtly would've been lost, I think. Personally, I'm a fan. I thought she was great.
Ross Kelly is excellent as the brooding husband, turned on, yet disturbed by his wife's antics in the bedroom as he satisfies his own desire for flesh elsewhere.
Matool is the only minority in the whole movie I think, so having a Hispanic in the lead is refreshing. Being introduced so strongly I thought his character kind of got "lost" as the movie progressed.
The Stink of Flesh in an interesting title in that, the people are not that different from the zombies. Both crave flesh in a mindless, animalistic way that underlines its apocalyptic theme. Zombies aren't capable of ethics or morals and in the same situation neither are the people. All that's left is a desire for flesh and survival. You can't get much more basic in human behavior than eating and having sex and having the 2 parallel in a movie was really a fascinating twist. I just wish the story was presented better.
There are some things that didn't make sense (to me anyway) and it was really one of only a few things that disappointed me. I thought some good acting and an excellent premise was wasted on the lack of cohesion in the story and plot.
Zombies aren't angry. There's a sadness and emptiness that belies their behavior and zombie acting really is a unique perspective. I still look to Romero's films for the ideal zombie. I did like the idea of a "hyper - 28 Days Later" type of zombie. Zombies act through physiology and eyes... if they have eyes, so I feel the zombies could've been better, but that's being totally subjective. So the makeup effects sort of overshadows the zombie acting.
There really is some disturbing stuff here that I can take or leave. Again being a little disappointed in the story I would've preferred more focus on story and characters and less peripheral stuff going on that added little to nothing to the story. But nonetheless a great effort. I really enjoyed it.
Frankenfish
(2004 TV Movie)
More like a B+ movie
28 April 2007
I can't say anything that hasn't already been said by people who liked the movie. Decent acting, gory effects and a pace and body count that makes you dizzy. Typically someone dies or gets eaten and you have to wait a while before another death scene. Not so in Frankenfish. The pacing is pretty relentless in the latter part of the film with one death after another. I think it's a great movie for what it is. B movie horror fun.
My only real complaint would be some of the characters weren't as developed as I would've liked them to be. You really don't get a chance to hate the evil scientist guy and some other characters I really felt indifferent about. But just because it didn't provide a heavy emotional factor does not mean you should pass this gem up. And I do give it props for prominently featuring a number of minorities, African American in particular. Normally the one or two token minorities get fed to the monster early on and that's it. But I felt pretty satisfied with how they were portrayed.
My only real complaint would be some of the characters weren't as developed as I would've liked them to be. You really don't get a chance to hate the evil scientist guy and some other characters I really felt indifferent about. But just because it didn't provide a heavy emotional factor does not mean you should pass this gem up. And I do give it props for prominently featuring a number of minorities, African American in particular. Normally the one or two token minorities get fed to the monster early on and that's it. But I felt pretty satisfied with how they were portrayed.
Tell Your Friends