I obtained this movie from the Troma stand at Horrorhound Weekend and although it was a movie that I was somewhat familiar with, I had not actually sat down and watched it in its entirety. Obviously as far as Indie Horror goes you do not get much better than a Troma production. Traditionally these films all have just the right amount of gore to churn your stomach, just enough sexuality to keep you interested and enough laughs to keep you chuckling till next Christmas and this movie was no different. The movie is set in a brand-new fast-food restaurant that serves exclusively Chicken products, that is built on an old Indian burial ground. Would the grand opening go off without a hitch? Well, the protesting Lesbians would actually be the least of this companies worries as the spirits of the Native Americans that once buried their dead in this very location are now pissed off Chicken Zombies intent on devouring all of the Chicken they can and ultimately causing havoc for the brand-new employees.
I went into this movie with a very open mind as I know that Troma movies can be incredibly weird- in a good way of course but the only way to approach these films is with an open mind and this certainly did not disappoint. The movie was kind of a slow starter and seemed to lack a linear direction in the beginning but as the story progressed, they did an exceptional job in crafting an excellent story and an even better job in creating compelling characters that I could really get behind- especially Arbie- our hero of the movie. The film possessed an air of slapstick comedy that is very indicative of a production backed by Troma but also at times felt like a traditionally shot musical. I felt that adding the musical numbers to the movie was a stroke of genius and although the first couple of musical scenes performed felt a little out of place in a Horror movie, by the end I was loving them and felt that they were an integral part of the story.
Without giving away to much of the story, Lloyd Kaufman plays an important role in the movie and his character, as you would expect with a man of his charisma is hilarious and a real breath of fresh air within this movie. His musical scene with Arbie is one of the highlights of the movie and had my sides quite literally splitting with the chemistry shared between the two actors. The only real negative I can say about this movie is that the Zombies were not a main feature till close to the end of the movie and in actual fact for a little bit they seemed like an afterthought. The costumes and design on the Chicken Zombies were excellent and their effects team did a great job for an independent movie that was shot in 35mm. I would very much like Troma to revive this movie and maybe make a sequel to it- perhaps we could see this happen at another location, although Tromaville seems like the only town this might happen in. Or maybe we could see what happens to Arbie after this ordeal, the movie hinted at it but I for sure would like it confirmed in a sequel.
All in all, this was a solid movie from Troma and I fully enjoyed it. I have never been a huge fan of Comedy Horror as I feel it takes away too much from Horror elements of a movie but in this case, it worked, and it worked well. The movie had some very disturbing scenes blended in with the comedy that on a couple of occasions made me want to look away from the screen- the poop scene being a good example of this, but I am happy to report that my eyes remained glued to it for the duration of the flick. I would give Lloyd and his team at Troma a solid 7 out of 10 Gears for this movie.
~An enjoyable blend of slapstick comedy and Horror that will churn your stomach but pleasure your eyes.~
~Gearhead~
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