Cooties

My quick rating - 5,9/10. Hard to call this horror, but the gore has to put it there. This movie is very original (with a slight homage to Tromas Beware! Children at Play) and is damn funny. Often there are some inside jokes that are dragged out but overall the performances are spot on spoof style. It also helps the movies cause watching a bunch of 8 year old kids running around like animals killing all the adults in sight. Heck, let's also not shy away from killing said children if need be. This movie skates very close to being over the top and if they would've put in just a bit more 'umpphhh' this would've been a classic. As it is, expect cult status out of this one. One "armchair quarterback" call by me when it comes to casting. The big OAF character played by Rainn Wilson really would've been perfect for either Will Ferrell or Brad Garrett. Another slight drawback is it drags a bit in the second act, but started strong and finished strong, so little quarrel with that. Definitely worth watching.

Cooties is about zombie children. That premise alone could come up with a lot of crazy ideas. And the movie does try to add up to that silliness; the characters are often too incompetent to face them. It's fun on paper, but the movie gets too confused by its focus. The characters are tough to care about and yet they get more of the center of this film. While there is some worthy sense of horror and worthy sense of humor, the movie doesn't have an exact direction where to go and it gets even confused with the plot, which eventually keeps stalling to unnecessary arcs that won't go anywhere in the end. Cooties overall feels like it's handling an unfinished script of a potential cult classic.

After the opening credits that reveals the source of this virus, the movie spends most of the time establishing its characters. Not that this is a bad narrative, but the characters it is trying to focus aren't really that interesting. The main protagonist is a writer out of luck, got strung to a love triangle and settle too much on that romance. The side characters are much interesting since they have something to involve in the actual plot; example is the socially awkward teacher who happens to know how to figure out the source and effects of the virus. He's basically a punchline, but he does more to this plot than the groan-worthy love triangle. Another one is a kid who was spared from the infected children who seems to be setup for a suspense of keeping him from becoming one of those zombie children, but that doesn't go anywhere either. And what's with the guy with the shrooms? In the end, these characters are either just one-noted or stereotypes, in both genres of comedy and horror.

When it's all about the horror, there is some really inspired moments; mostly at the night scene where there's a tricycle riding infected little girl wandering around the premises. There is a really effective amount of creeps to be found in those scenes. There's even one where they are being chased in a vent; in spite of its fast pace, the tension still works. But these worthy scenes are kinda few, most of them, while undeniably gross, is just as contrived as any horror film. It even occasionally just hides the monsters and just show their reactions. The cast did try to outweigh their roles, but hardly got the opportunity. Elijah Wood at least made his role sort of more charming than it should be. Rainn Wilson manages to ham it up to a role that doesn't exactly know what it's supposed to be.

Cooties doesn't feel like it has an ending, or at least the movie decided to be lazy instead in this conclusion. And of course, the climax! It's so rushed that it's supposed to be as charming and exciting as, let's say, Zombieland. But it doesn't deserve earning that since it mostly spends its time building up a romance that leads to nowhere. There is so much potential in this film that are mostly left out. While there is still some nice thrills, inspired horror movie moments and even sense of humor having these awkward unlikable comedy movie characters stuck in this darker genre, the film never becomes satisfying. It should have heightened more of its creativity; the tricycle girl is great, but how about an infected baby? I thought they were building that up to something more shocking. It's just ideas and violence being slapped together and never get to flourish. You may get some fine violence, creeps and laughs, but you'll suddenly realize that this atmosphere is hardly engaging.

"Cooties" marks yet another rare exception of the "most horror-comedies suck" rule, joining the ranks of other such classics like "Shaun of the Dead" and "Zombieland." Why all three are zombie-themed is beyond me, but I suppose the natural tension of sneaking through and surviving a zombie infestation makes for some exasperated laughs.

Elijah Wood plays a 30-something elementary school teacher who we like because his character, apart from being a typical improbable hero, genuinely enjoys teaching and working with his students. He shares the screen with Rainn Wilson, who is surprisingly endearing, given how his character on the American version of The Office contributed to the awfulness of the show. Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad round out the cast of quirky, 30-something faculty members who… don't seem all that great at their jobs. But it's a comedy, so incompetence in the public school system is funny (I guess.) Here's a question: why are none of the teachers 40 plus, and why are they all so trim? That seemed odd to me, but this is showbiz after all, and an elementary school isn't the sexiest of settings.

I enjoyed this movie because of its novel twist on the zombie tale-- children are the zombies. It's refreshing seeing kids twisted into savage monsters, kill violently, and be dealt with accordingly. Hollywood and western pop culture depict children as angelic simpletons: in most media, children are nothing more than vacantly smiling plot devices. But it's untrue: children can be every bit as crafty, cunning, and ruthless as adults. Apart from Lord of the Flies, I can't think of any other media depicting children so savage and cruel.

It's nice to see.

I have a really tough time figuring out what people want from the Horror genre nowadays. I am really surprised to see this movie doesn't have a higher rating on here. This is a great Horror/Comedy movie, with an outstanding cast, and very good writing. It's just a really gory, really funny, really run movie. What you see in the trailer is what you get, which is nice for a change with the amount of misleading trailers nowadays. The only reason I don't give it an even higher rating is because I agree with other viewers that it does lag a bit around the middle of the film. It almost seems like they just shoved some filler in to meet a running time. But it manages to get back on track again. I rarely read reviews on here, but I laughed out loud and had a great time watching this movie.

This is a week of horror comedies for me, it seems. Although I did not want it, but turns out that these horror comedies are not bad! And this one was entertaining, just like Bloodsucking bastards I saw yesterday.

I enjoyed the movie because of its unusual setting - elementary school and kids as zombies.

I must say that first two, three minutes were kinda disgusting to me as I sat down to watch the movie with a bag of chips and ... that fly pooping on the meat and then the process of making those chicken balls or whatever... Man, I will be more careful what I will eat in the future.

It is interesting how they portrayed teachers in school. I am sure most schools have those characters! I did not get which subject a gay teacher does.

In one scene, maybe in that discotheque playground, or somewhere I thought Katy Perry was lying murdered! LOL Don't know if that was intentional or not ...

Anyway, it is fun. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining! Seven from me.