Crappy low-budget zombie comedies plague the direct-to-streaming and direct-to-DVD market these days. But Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood is an example of the reason I watch them all. It lands immediately on my list of zombedy favorites and earns a guaranteed spot at my next horror movie party.
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood deserves better than an edited, censored, commercial-filled life of Sunday afternoon airings on the SyFy Network.
C. Thomas Howell is clearly well aware that he once starred in black face opposite acclaimed actor James Earl Jones in a hit comedy, because he accepts his fate playing the whitest guy ever in a b-movie about zombies in the hood with no argument; he makes the brilliant move of just having complete fun with it, which is the exact performance this movie requires.
C. is a cop about to bust two street gangs—one black, one Asian—when really cheesy computer graphics take over the earth in a rainbow of color and everyone passes out. When they wake up, every kid of the eighties immediately has Night of the Comet flashbacks.
Along with plenty of gnarly zombies, gut-munching, and brain-blowing, Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood gives us a bunch of lovable characters (for a change). You don’t want any of them to die. They cast has great chemistry, loads of charisma, and perfect comic timing as it takes on the undead while trying to get to the safety of a doctor’s house on the other side of town.
The cast pokes fun at black and Asian stereotypes, drops plenty of horror names, and bickers about what kind of monsters they are actually dealing with, hence the title of the film. And in classic b-movie fashion, they even stop for a sex break! At this point it becomes obvious why Howell took the role; following movie world protocol, near 50-year-old C. scores a 25-year-old C….
But Mutany Vampire Zombies from the Hood smartly stays light and doesn’t go into extreme exploitation territory—which makes the orgy buffet just as shocking to the audience as it is to the characters in the movie! You’ll just have to watch it to see what I’m talking about.
