So what we have here is just bizarre. “Lawrence of Zombania” is basically “From Dusk Till Dawn” mixed with “Night of the Living Dead,” with several shots of humor thrown in and put on frappe for three hours.
We’ve got two outlaws on the run, almost exactly like Clooney and Tarantino from “Dusk,” in black and white with zombies like “Night,” and then we introduce a dainty hobo (as opposed to a STABBIN’ hobo, in an homage from “The Simpsons) and a redneck all going after the treasure of T. E. Lawrence, which is of course surrounded by zombies.
But for perhaps the king of uncomfortable moments, I direct your attention to three minutes thirty two seconds, in which one of our fleeing bandits states that, if they don’t get some money, his partner will be “dead as Christopher Reeve in a knife-fight.”
Too soon, fellas. Too soon.
And man…they really did a number with effects and costuming. The zombie costumes are an utter stitch, and this fantastic “Army of Darkness” homage with a talking half skeleton is just a laugh riot.
T. E. Lawrence, by the way, is equally laugh-inspiring, reminding me of Dan Castenella’s “Blue Rajah” character in “Mystery Men.”
The special features include trailers for “Lawrence of Zombania”, “Eugene’s Inferno” and “One”, along with a behind the scenes slideshow, a music video from “The A-Sides”, cast and crew commentary, a promotion for Brooke and Wil Blair’s scoring / band East Hundred, and a reel of audience reaction at the Philadelphia premier.
All in all, I would love–LOVE!–to see a full length version of “Lawrence of Zombania”. The version I saw was pretty good in its own right, despite an awkward moment or two.
