Movie Review: Zombie A-Hole (2012)

Directed by Dustin Mills

Starring Jessica Daniels, Josh Eal and Brandon Salkil

Run Time: 108 min.

The Creators of The Puppet Monster Massacre are at it again,  this time plunging you into a surreal world inhabited by a well dressed demonically possessed zombie with a taste for the blood of naked twin girls. Hot on his heels and looking for vengeance is Frank Fulci (Josh Eal), a hard ass religious cowboy with one thing on his mind, taking down the fedora wearing zombie at all costs. Along for the ride is his mild-mannered side kick Castor (Brandon Salkil), who’s twin brother is the man who transformed into the rampaging Zombie A-Hole. Also looking to settle a score is the eye-patch wearing hottie, Mercy (Jessica Daniels), who lost her sister (and her eyeball) to the deranged and perverted fiend. With the help of a strange little creature kept in a box and used for morale support and zombie-hunting tips, they not only must face off against the Zombie A-Hole but his horde of skeletal minions if they are to save the world.

In the world of modern-day  “Grindhouse-Style” movies, there are those that try to emulate the look and feel of a cheaply made 70‘s exploitation movie, and then there are those rare instances when a movie by its very nature embodies every little nuance of this style of film. Zombie A-Hole in my opinion is a true throw-back, and an amazing achievement for a movie made on the almost unbelievable budget of $3000. What director Dustin Mills creates with this paltry sum of money is a strange world filled with over the top characters, each carrying their own unique can of whoop-ass, hokey monsters, creatures and special effects that will not only have you rolling your eyes but laughing your ass off as well.

Make no mistake, Zombie A-Hole is a bad movie, but its the kind of bad movie that should have exploitation fans chomping at the bit. The overall atmosphere is dark and gritty with everything being driven by a booming southern-style rock soundtrack. The acting was deliciously bad, melodramatic and hilarious all at the same time.  What is going to obviously stand out to anyone who watches this film is Josh Eal’s performance as Frank Fulci, the vengeful cowboy preacher and zombie hunter. He basically throws this movie over his shoulder and carries it across the finish line. Some of the shit this guy says is just priceless, and by the time this movie was over I was just praying to see this character in another film. Move over Dirty Harry, there's a new sheriff in town and his name is Frank Fulci.

Dustin Mills really does deserve a lot of credit for what he was able to create here on such a low budget. There is no shortage of bloody carnage, naked girls and violent fun. And although a very funny movie, some of my favorite parts involved the unintentionally hilarious special effects. Mills wanted to include a scene where our hero’s are battling a horde of re-animated skeletal zombies in the forest. What he used to create this effect looked like paper and plastic Halloween decorations from Wal-Mart. Ridiculous? Oh my goodness, yes. But an absolute blast nonetheless. The mere fact that you don't care how bad the effects are because your having so much fun with the movie is a testament to great low-budget film making.

This is a b-movie gem that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of absurd and indulgent trash cinema.

 

Overall it's a solid 7.5 out of 10 but if I was to rate it simply on the micro-budget indie movie scale, it would easily earn a 9.5 out of 10. A great, great effort by Dustin Mills.

EXTRAS-

*Commentary

*Trailer

*Deleted Character- The Nurse (more nudity)