Zombie A-Hole

The movie is a intentionally vague, well edited, well shot, and conceptually sound. I enjoyed all 108 original and entertaining minutes of it. In my opinion a film should be rated as Enjoyment divided by budget - if we did this then Zombie A Hole would rate very highly indeed (and the cynically produced cash cows would flag as they should), don't get me wrong this is a film made by some people who wanted to make a film about Zombies however they have managed to create a world and fill it with a good original plot, some well delivered dialogue and a sense of humor.

I give it a thumbs up all round and look forward to future releases from these people. Every good director had to start somewhere, Clerks, Bad Taste to name two films that are not "Hollywood" quality but had extremely talented directors and I suspect a hell of a lot more cash to splash.

I literally just finished watching the Dustin Mills film Zombie A-Hole. This is one of his older films so I'm not familiar with most of the cast. Brandon Salkil is the only one that I recognize besides Dustin Mills is a small role.

Basically a zombie is going around killing sets of female twins. Most of whom are seen in various states of undress. There's a man and his sister, as well as the zombies brother hot on his trail. The sisters a previous victim who survived her previous enter at the cost of losing an eye and a jacked up hand.

I do like the zombie makeup. It looks similar to the zombies in the late 70s and early 80s Italian zombie flicks. However you can tell that they used silly string for special effects in a couple of scenes. Lol!

The acting is hit and miss. A couple people can across really corny.

Now, I felt that Zombie A-Hole could use some more editing or trimming. Running 108 minutes things tend to drag on a bit too much. Keeping it under 90 minutes would have been better.

Three people-religious cowboy Frank Fulci (Josh Eal), one-eyed avenger Mecy (Jessica Daniels) and lost soul with a dark past Castor (Brandon Salkil) all have one thing in common-they are out to kill a zoot suite wearing zombie (also played by Salkil.) Said zombie has a connection to all three, and on the side likes to kill naked women. That's about it for the plot.

On paper, I should hate this movie. It calls itself a Grindhouse movie when the real thing died years ago. It overuses things like slow motion effects, and its nods to both genre films and beloved directors are tiresome. Yet in spite of all of that, I found myself enjoying the movie more than I thought I would. This is mostly because it's a genuine Independent movie made for almost no money (it cost about $3,000 to make), but it thankfully doesn't make the same mistakes nearly every other micro-budget zombie movies does. By that, I mean it doesn't make the plot overcomplicated, sticks to the basics, and manages to work within it's minuscule budget. There's no stabs at social commentary, a zombie apocalypse or fat in the story. This is a basic B-Movie with the three B's (Beasts, Boobs and Blood) that knows what it is.

There's also a lot more imagination here than in most no-budget zombie movies. A good example is the talking, shrunken corpse, which is a really nice touch. In fact, this is a movie with several nice touches (bloody p!ss raising the dead, an animated flashback and energy weapons) that all add to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink nature of the film. Plus, it's clearly obvious that everyone involved is having a good time making this, and have no illusions about what it is they are making. Hell, a few of the cast members aren't too bad as actors, with Daniels in particular standing out. Finally, this may be favoritism, but this is from my home state. I gotta represent talent from here, especially if it's actually worth a damn.

I know that one could complain about the budget or that it looks like it was made by amateurs, but one must understand the limitations everyone is working with. Normally I would agree with such complaints, but I feel that this is a movie that manages to succeed in spite of those problems. Beside, as I said, there's more imagination going on here than what you normally get in today's zombie movies. that deserves at least some attention.

Is "Zombie A-Hole" A classic? Far from it, though it's obvious that those behind it didn't aim too high. They just wanted to make a no-brains Grindhouse tribute, and nothing more. It thankfully hits more than it misses, and those looking for a micro-budget zombie movie that actually tries something different might enjoy themselves.

A cowboy and a female mechanic go in search of a Zombie/Infected guy who seems to like killing nude identical twin females.

Story is different, the acting is average, the special effects are above average, in fact some of the effects are quite good especially considering the low budget. You will get some decent dialog (but the chatter does get a bit boring after a while), bit of action, plenty of blood and gore and plenty of full frontal nudity (Allthough about half way through the nudity did dry up a bit even when there was still plenty of opportunity to show some especially when the women were showering, getting ready for bed or having a bath).

There seem to be a lot of the cast in this movie not listed on IMDb, not sure if they couldn't be bothered or didn't want them listed, anyway i have submitted their names to be listed. ;) Even though all of the twins in this movie are played by the same actress in each case there are still quite a few that aren't listed.

Overall considering the experience these people had in movie making and what they had to work with it wasn't too bad. It turned out better than i expected but then again i was expecting it to be REALLY awful, it just needed to be 20 minutes or so shorter.

I have seen a lot worse with much higher budget but not a lot better with similar budget.

From the very start, before the opening titles have even splashed across the screen, you know that this is going to be a fun ride. Zombie A-Hole, the second movie from Dustin Mills, is a superbly crafted and solid genre offering.

Every frame has a beautiful grindhouse wash that makes this feature appear many moons old and there's not an ounce of fat on the tale. It moves towards its finale like an unstoppable freight train of guts, thrills, spills and laughs; and all the time, the action is accompanied by a great score.

There's an animated sequence that wouldn't look out of place in a Tarantino movie, some genuine "boo" scenes and the trademark Mills' puppet work. All of this is really great stuff but what makes these films so much fun is the brilliant script, very likable cast and the unique and rather jaw-dropping direction.

Yes, this grey haired Brit may well be developing a man-crush on the lovable Dustin Mills but special mention must go to the lead actors in this production. Josh (Easter Casket) Eal is as wonderful as ever as the Clint Eastwood / Man With No Name inspired Frank Fulci. I really do like this guy; he plays every scene perfectly straight, no matter how bizarre the circumstances he finds himself in.

Brandon Salkil is always a pleasure to watch. He's a chameleon (compare this performance to the one in Kill That Bitch), slipping effortlessly into each part he takes. He's a very physical actor and has a strong presence on the screen.

Finally, Jessica Daniels is a great heroine. Mills always casts strong female roles and has an eye for talent. Here, Daniels is likable, beautiful and strong.

It's always difficult to fault a Dustin Mills production. The jigsaw plots that always slot together perfectly by the end of the movie, the inspired moments of comedy mayhem and the sheer imagination and ambition of these projects leave me grinning like a loon every time I watch a film by this gentleman.

Just wonderful.