| Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mike Lyddon Will Frank Karl DeMolay |
| Written by | Mike Lyddon Will Frank Karl DeMolay |
| Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras (1999) is an independently-produced comedy horror film directed by Karl DeMolay, Will Frank and Mike Lyddon.
Contents |
The opening scenes of the movie center on MacGuffin, a deranged occultist, whose life has been dedicated to vengeance after being trampled and rendered a paraplegic as a child by overzealous revelers in the throes of bead-catching madness. With the help of a Sumerian Goddess MacGuffin performs a ritual that raises Zombie! (exclamation point mandatory) from his grave. Zombie! embarks on a killing spree in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras festivities. A trio of filmmakers get word of this and hasten to capture Zombie! on film. Renaissance genius Galileo, newly pardoned by Pope John Paul II and thus released from Purgatory, also chases Zombie! through New Orleans’ crowded streets. Meanwhile, a zaftig ninja vows to take down the undead menace. The film is peppered with comedy sketches and sight gags more or less unrelated to the plot, including numerous shots of bare-breasted women flashing the Mardi Gras crowds.
Originally released as a straight-to-VHS video, the film first gained attention when critic Rob Firsching, writing for The Amazing World of Cult Movies, dubbed the production “the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen.”[1] Other Internet critics took up the chant, knocking Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras for its artistic and technical shortcomings. The most notable slam may have come from James Berardinelli when he proclaimed it “the worst professionally produced film I have had the displeasure of sitting through.” Berardinelli goes on to mention that after "enduring Zombie! Vs. Mardi Gras, you will have a clear appreciation of which films are truly bad and which ones are just unimaginative and lifeless."[2] However, David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor noted that "Fans of unregenerate underground moviemaking will have a ball, and there's a creepy charm to the picture's proudly homemade quality" [3]. Later reviews were tinged with grudging admiration; T.L. Bugg describes the film as "trash on the highest order, but it is some damn entertaining trash" and further opines that "Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras comes across like an art film that’s been invaded by a dime store Val Lewton...." [4]
Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras received a theatrical release in New York in April 2001. The film mainly played in non-theatrical venues after its initial release, and maintains underground cult status.
The film was re-mastered, with noticeable improvements to sound quality, and released on DVD in February 2006 by the filmmakers.