“Zombiegeddon” is the ultimate film geek movie. It’s hard to dislike such a gleeful, joyous display of carnage, bad jokes and unabashed fanboy casting. Name a cult figure in b-movie horror and chances are, they’re in this movie. The plot, such as it is, involves the usual battle of good versus evil. See, mankind was created by God, and to counter that disease, Satan created zombies as his own race of Mother Earth inhabitants. But there’s an ancient bloodline of zombie-fighters who can take out the “Lord of the Zombies” and…
Ah, who cares? You’re not watching a movie called “Zombiegeddon” for textual acrobatics. Director Watson deserves a place in the film geek hall of fame for crafting this insane love-letter to b-movie horror. It’s barely more than a connect-the-dots getting from one celebrity cameo to the other, and some of the casting choices are sheer genius. Tom (“From Dusk ‘til Dawn”) Savini plays Jesus Christ, son of Edwin (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) Neal’s God; Brinke (“Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama”) Stevens is the disc jockey telling the story; Conrad (“Plan 9 From Outer Space”) Brooks plays a college dean; Lilith (“Severe Injuries”) Stabs and Jeff (“Dead and Rotting”) Graham are library employees; Felissa (“Sleepaway Camp”) Rose is a helpless young co-ed; Linnea (“Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers”) Quigley is a guidance counselor; Tina (“Witchouse 3”) Krause is a news reporter; Lloyd (“The Toxic Avenger”) Kaufman gets most of the best scenes as an insane janitor; Joe (“Mob Daze”) Estevez is the toady to William (“Big Bird Cage”) Smith’s Lord of the Zombies. And that’s not even counting celebrity voices (Matthew Jason (“Bloodletting”) Walsh, Julie (“Delta Delta Die”) Strain, Ron (“Terror Firmer”) Jeremy, Joe (“Citizen Toxie”) Fleishaker) or celebrity zombies (J.R. (“The Dead Next Door”) Bookwalter, Robyn (“Severe Injuries”) Griggs). And above all that, Ari Bavel steals the show as one of the most corrupt cops ever to become an accidental hero! There are cops named “Argento” and “Romero” here, for pete’s sake (although, that’s almost obligatory in tongue-in-cheek fan movies).
Is the movie any good? Hard to say. It lags in spots, and the low budget and short shooting schedule hampered the movie’s over-all production value. There are no rules to the zombies – they can take on the appearance of living people, and become rotting beasts at will, but that’s pretty much all that makes them zombies. The sound is hit-or-miss, but I saw a working-draft copy at a local screening. If you’re b-horror fan, then this movie is your wet dream! And besides, when’s the last time you saw a zombie-killer hunt for the undead with a tiger?
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