After reading HORRIBLE reviews of this film online, it shouldn’t surprise me that 13 Eerie is officially one of my all-time favorite zombie movies. Ginger Snaps (Katharine Isabelle) is reunited with her Freddy vs. Jason and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed & Ginger Snaps The Back: Beginning co-star Brendan Fletcher (best remembered for sticking his meaty bare buns up against a window in Freddy vs. Jason…at least by me) AND her Ginger Snaps co-star Jesse Moss.
13 Eerie does everything right in my book. A teacher (Stargate SG-1 hottie Michael Shanks) takes his forensics students to an isolated wooded island for a “field trip”…to find and study real dead bodies sprinkled around the location. There are mysterious vats of goo. There’s a history involving prison inmates. There are fucking zombie monsters! Holy shit this movie rox.
There’s nothing I love more than zombie movies that dare to take place in large part during the day—the look is very 70s/80s. There are no zombie swarms here, but this handful of zombies is unrelenting! Fast, big, and strong. The film delivers creepiness, atmosphere, suspense, unique zombie scenarios, incredible gore, and absolutely brutal kills that make you FEEL what it would be like to be zombie chow. Totally wince-worthy. And all the performances are outstanding.
Plus, Ginger Snaps fricking rules. She becomes pretty bad ass. She reacts like someone who knows damn well that she’s about to be attacked by a zombie and doesn’t hesitate in doing what needs to be done to take care of it. That’s way realistic at this point in time when EVERYONE knows the protocol for zombie attacks! There’s even a classic explosion slo-mo walk away.
Naturally, there are flaws, but imperfection is perfection as far as I’m concerned when it comes to horror films. Why did the generator fail? Why did the walkie-talkies quit? How does a kid who puked just looking at a dead body suddenly touch its guts with bare hands? Why don’t the survivors stay safely in the empty house they find? Who cares?
While 13 Eerie is hardcore and serious, the “fuck it” ending, which people hate, is absolutely brilliant! There’s no attempt to satisfy viewers or keep with the tone of the rest of the movie, which is SO satisfying IMO. Me and my hubby literally shouted with joy. Let’s just say it was pretty much like the final frame in a segment of Creepshow. AMAZING.
Icing on the cake? The dancing zombie on the DVD menu…
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