Marcel Marceau, the world's greatest mime, playing a zombie master and pedophile? Sold!
A while back, I praised the queer zombie film Otto for simply being completely original in the zombie milieu. By the same token, I have to tip my hat to Shanks. The world’s greatest mime playing a naive puppeteer who becomes a zombie master? And he’s also in love with a thirteen-year-old girl, who thinks he’s just swell? And it’s all presented as some sort of whimsical fairy tale, until a gang of bikers randomly appear and rape and murder his Lolita girlfriend and are murdered in turn by his zombies? How was this not a hit?
If you aren’t sold yet, there’s an appearance by a young Don Calfa, who’s also appeared in the zombie classics Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town and Return of the Living Dead (his greatest role, where he played a Nazi mortician). Still not convinced? How about a guy pecked to death by a zombie chicken? Again, how was this not a hit?
Admittedly, it is deadly slow and wholly nonsensical, not to mention a little disturbing (was borderline pedophilia really that acceptable in 1974?), but I can’t help but make a place for it amongst the movies recommended for the fact of their batshit insanity.
This year’s theme is turning out to be “whacko” which I am down with. Tomorrow night is Zombie Honeymoon. In case you missed it (I see people Googling for it) I am posting the complete list after the break.
As you might guess, the movies with a √ by them are the ones I’ve already watched during the marathon, the others are those still to be watched.
Dead Set √
Grapes of Death √
I Walked with a Zombie √
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things √
Shanks √
Zombie Honeymoon
Return of the Living Dead
Pet Sematary
Mutant
Redneck Zombies
The Walking Dead
Resident Evil
Plan 9 From Outer Space
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Burial Ground
Hell of the Living Dead
Nightmare City
Zombie
Zombie 3
American Zombie
Day X
Versus
Attack Girls Swim Team vs. The Undead
Onechanbara
JUNK
Tokyo Zombie
Enter Zombie King
Messiah of Evil
Zombie Strippers
Sugar Hill
