Kevin Hamedani’s debut feature is a very Romero-esque zombie fest blended with a healthy mix of comedy and satire. It’s funny, smart, and overall a very fun film. The small, highly conservative, town of Port Gamble in Washington is under attack by hordes of the dead, and our main characters are forced to endure not only the flesh-eating undead, but the bigots and religious zealots convinced that Armageddon is upon them and that terrorists are responsible.
The dialogue is witty and sometimes just south of brilliant, though what particularly stands out about this film is its tongue and cheek sense of humour, and commentary on small town prejudice in the new millennium. Clearly working off of post 9/11 paranoia, the film isn’t exactly subtle about it’s social commentary – at one point an Islamic girl is kidnapped and tortured under the assumption for being to blame for everything that is taking place. However, the violence and accusations are so over the top that you can’t help but laugh, despite the seriousness of these allegations. Despite the heavy-handedness of the politics there’s still plenty to like here. There are lots of laughs, and some pretty decent and thoroughly Romero-style zombie thrills.
Zombie movies have unfortunately been the go-to genre for many low-budget filmmakers ever since George A. Romero made the flesh-eating creature a household name with his own low-budget classic, and for the most part these have been pretty mediocre. Zombies Of Mass Destruction, however, makes for one very enjoyable watch. Some of the jokes feel a little overplayed at points, but it does serve up political correctness with a refreshingly bad taste.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The post 9/11 paranoia in small town suburbia works very well, and its certainly refreshing for a genre that in recent years has begun to get a bit dry.
