PAT’S HORROR PICKS: DAY #2

Posted on Oct 2 2011 - 9:21am by Pat Jankiewicz

Day #2 of 30 obscure but good horror flicks for Halloween is Thunder Levin’s MUTANT VAMPIRE ZOMBIES FROM THE HOOD! A very low-budget zombie movie with a strong performance by C. Thomas Howell as a gruff cop who only wants to get home to his family, MUTANT VAMPIRE ZOMBIES has both a comedic side and a surprisingly serious one.

A solar flare in the skies over Los Angeles forces those who were in direct sunlight to start craving a taste for human blood, a funny nod to ’80s cult classic NIGHT OF THE COMET. As C. Thomas Howell realizes he’s in one of Southern California’s worst neighborhoods, he tries to get home without too much trouble with the neighborhood’s rapidly mutating residents. As gangbanger G-Dog gripes, “I”ve had it with these motherfuckin’ zombies in my motherfuckin’ ‘hood!”

L.A. being the opportunistic place that it is, several criminals start catering to the newfound demand for human flesh and blood drinking. A scene in a zombie strip club starts funny and then becomes unsettling–although it should be noted that Keralea Kirschner and Wrenna Monet make cute zombies

Co-Writer/director Thunder Levin is not afraid to have characters screw up (A grief-stricken woman, who can barely speak, is accidentally set up for slaughter by Howell) or put his unique spin on the zombie genre. His zombies grow more aggressive as the movie goes on, including a lust for sex that is quite creepy. Maxie J. Santillian, JR. stands out as one of the neighborhood’s wiser occupants.

Pat Jankiewicz