La Guerre des Monstres

The first 7 minutes or so when I watched it, it felt like a poor spoof film (of Twilight and a bunch of other flicks) so I really wasn't getting into it at all as I really am not a fan of spoof flicks (at least the ones they do these days).

But I decided to give it another go and although a lot of jokes (of which in some scenes every line of dialogue is one) fall flat (the ratio of funny jokes for me would probably be about 1 out of 10) once the action kicks off it still gets rather amusing.

It helps that it moves at a fast pace so you can't focus too much on the flaws.

Teenagers cracking jokes and battling various monsters seem to been a very popular subject in film in 2015 and if you loved DEATHGASM (2015), THE FINAL GIRLS (2015) and SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE APOCALYPSE (2015) I'm sure you will at the very least like this one as they are pretty similar.

This really is a freak show with it's flows. I mean, sometimes it's funny especially with the zombies. Just look at the conversation at the end between Ned and his father. There are parts sadly that are a bit boring with long conversations that doesn't really add a thing and aren't funny. On the other hand we do have gory parts when the vamps do come in.

Was it a funny movie? For me not really, it do has funny moments as I said but again, the gore adds toward the fun, just look how a tough guy is been eaten by zombies. And look how vamps explode in full bloom when spiked.

This flick do deliver on the part of the effects. The zombies all look stunning and the aliens do look great as do their mother ship. A big hooray for the effects. It sure is above mediocre over all and it's the acting of the zombie Ned by Josh Fadem that makes it worth seeing.

Like the story is full of freaks and good and bad parts I'm stuck with mixed emotions, still I will recommend it because it do has things for everyone out their, if you're a horror buff of course.

Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 2/5

Good Horror/Comedies are hard to come by, so many of them just tend to be super cheesy low budget movies with no real laughs or originality. "Freaks Of Nature" isn't groundbreaking or some kind of cult masterpiece, but it is a lot of fun and full of monster action & Blood.

The film has sort of a teen flick atmosphere but it isn't too heavy and it isn't as corny as most flick's with that atmosphere tend to be. Any cheese here is completely intentional and the whole "Being a teen is super hard" thing isn't really played up too much. All three main characters are likable enough and are fun to root for. The film is riddled with some really fun cameos that help to speed things up a bit when things start to slow down a bit (which doesn't happen very often).

I had a good time watching this film, it was fast pace, funny, gory, and original enough to make it not seem like just another horror/comedy. From the trailer you should know what to expect, and as long as you know what to expect you should enjoy this film.

7/10

Freaks of Nature is really a curiosity; a town inhabited by zombies, human and vampires, living peacefully until an alien invasion creates havoc and a huge civil war. It has some really comic moments (aided by the presence of comedians like Patton Oswald, Joan Cusack, Keegan-Michael Key, Denis Leary, Bob Odenkirk among others; and a voice cameo from Werner Herzog that is really worth watching).

Sadly many times, the movie slow down too much to enter into the clichéd territory of school / teenagers stories, with the romance, the good girl and the slut one, the nerd and the former nerd trying to be cool. If the movie did not sink is because the acting of the three main characters is really good and some secondary characters / situations are hilarious.

With all its mistakes; however the movie has a deeper subtext that rise the movie above the classic teenager fare to become a satire on thin equilibrium of a society that looks peaceful but is a time bomb about to explode, the USA concept of family, food and culture; and the rejection of the smarter being just because it is smarter.

In brief; if you can digest some gory situations and zombie makeup, the movie is worth to dedicate some time.

Comedy version of zombie apocalypse has been done a few times in last year alone, but "Freaks of Nature" has a brilliant idea, throws in vampires and aliens too for good measure. It results in a mishmash of erratic dysfunctional team, in some cases there's literally no sense of what's going on as it occurs too randomly. While the loud noise can be, and quite will be numbing, it does sneak in a few over-the-top comedic moments.

In a town where all monstrosities, and humanity, work in less than harmony, an alien invasion will change all that. This is the same type of nerds or outcasts save the day premise since Elijah Wood rescued the hot girl and defeated the foreign threat in The Faculty, only done in much more bloody chaotic fashion.

Dag (Nicholas Braun) is channeling his child Shia LaBeouf as he stutters, gestures and blurs out his lines in unexpected hero gig, though at this point it's too obvious of a hero set-up it becomes cliché. Petra (Mackenzie Davis) is looking highly uncomfortable with her fake fang and unapproachable issues. These two barely have any chemistry yet the screenplay just clashes them together for romantic subplot.

Lorelei (Vanessa Hudgens) looks like the mandatory wallflower and constantly gives uncomfortable erotic gaze to pretty much everything. Ned (Josh Fadem) is the zombiefied nerd, who actually has more relatable problems although the lumbering shtick feels restraining. Keegan-Michael Key from the Youtube or Comedy Central fame delivers his desperate teacher persona, which is expectedly and exaggeratedly entertaining.

The whole thing reeks of chaos, even though it tries to associate real life social metaphor of acceptance for the undertone of monster theme. It has a few witty moments in expense of the main characters and these are appreciated albeit blatant in delivery. Its abrupt change can be distracting since it tries to pile so many fleshy gore together, then suddenly includes display of nudity.

"Freak of Nature" is the example of outlandishly bloody parody, it's as juvenile as they come but might work momentarily for a mindless fun escapade.