A mysterious alien virus which manifests itself as a deadly gust of wind transforms the local yokels in a sleepy small Texas town into pasty-faced bloodthirsty zombies. Laid-back photographer Jeff Rhodes (a solid and engaging performance by Thom Meyers) and his sweet newfound girlfriend Julie (the adorable Laura Ellis) do their best to stay alive and survive this harrowing ordeal. Writer/director Glen Coburn delivers a delightfully dry'n'deadpan tongue-in-cheek send-up of schlocky low-budget fright flicks that comes through with plenty of priceless gut-busting dialogue (all-time favorite line: "You cut my *beep*ing arm off!"), broadly drawn redneck caricatures, and spot-on sidesplitting jokes about such worthy subjects as huffing nitrous oxide, kinky sex, racism, and gung-ho military fanaticism. Moreover, the make-up for the zombies is hilariously horrible and there's a few cool moments of gory over-the-top splatter which include a juicy decapitation, dismemberment, and several lovely shots of folks vomiting up uproariously unconvincing watery blood. The enthusiastic acting from a likable cast of mostly no-name amateurs further enhances the picture's considerable screwball appeal: Meyers and Ellis make for charming leads, Dennis Letts has a field day as brash ramrod General Sanders, token name Pat Paulsen contributes an amusing cameo as a preoccupied lecher President of the United States, plus there are neat turns by Robert Bradeen as the mean Uncle Joe, Kris Nicolau as nerdy Brit-accented doctor Jeri Jett, Chris Heldman as the amiable Deputy Sam, Big John Brigham as paranoid janitor Norman, Jim Stafford as the oafish Buford, and Billie Keller as the dotty Aunt Kate. The bleak and desolate Lone Star State locations add some tasty regional flavor to the infectiously wacky proceedings. The incredibly catchy'n'groovy 80's New Wave rock theme song seriously smokes. Chad D. Smith's purposefully static cinematography might be rough around the edges, but it does the trick all the same. A total riot.
Review of Blood Suckers from Outer Space
