Death Metal Zombies

The term "amateur horror" shouldn't necessarily be taken as an immediate warning sign. Horror lovers with no budget and no developed skills, but boundless heart and plentiful earnest effort, can sometimes achieve more than filmmakers with all the benefits of major studio resources and A-list stars. Yes, strictly speaking the acting is awful, and the dialogue; even the cinematography, editing, and direction are in question, let alone the muddled sound design (nevermind the text preceding the film that encourages viewers to "play it loud"). On the other hand, the soundtrack that filmmaker Todd Jason Cook compiled, filled with very metal recognizable bands (predominantly, but not exclusively, death metal), is superb; speaking as someone who used to go to shows relentlessly, the least that can be said is that Cook is obviously a fan himself, as the dialogue, characters, and scene writing should be familiar to anyone who has ever spent time in the underground scene. To that same point, between that writing, the low-grade nature of the production, and the minimal skills of those involved, the picture also plainly betrays that a Venn diagram of "metalheads," "film buffs," and "nerds, generally" is a perfect circle.

There are other considerations that are more important, though. Despite clearly demonstrating the untrained amateur level on which they were operating, I readily discern in the actor's performances the sincerity of their effort; they can't act, but they really do try their best, which I absolutely admire. That endeavor certainly comes across, too, in Cook's direction, however meager it might be, and in all other facets of the craftsmanship. Though modest, the practical effects, special makeup, and other tangible creations - that is, blood and gore - really do look great. And as the story Cook conjured trades on classic notions since time immemorial of the bewitching power of music, the foundations of the feature are solid. I'm not saying Brendon Small was directly inspired by 'Death metal zombies' in creating 'Metalocalypse,' but the similarities are notable as this homemade flick likewise blends together metal, mythology, and dark fantasy/horror. The writing surely could have been tighter, as some beats, scenes, or ideas could have been reduced or omitted outright, but the core is firm. It may show its limitations, but I see what Cook was doing here, and I'd be plainly lying if I said I didn't appreciate it.

While this was undeniably made first and foremost by metalheads for metalheads, the intersection of metal and horror is a substantial one; anyone who is receptive to amateur horror, shot on home video, should surely find much to love here. Even among its closest cinematic kin this is no top-notch exemplar, for even within the boundaries in which Cook and his friends operated one can observe ways in which the title could have been improved (including excision of tawdry gratuitous nudity). Be that as it may, the energy that those involved poured into this, and the wholehearted honesty of the project, pair nicely with what the participants meaningfully could contribute. Despite all the shortcomings and weaknesses one could reasonably point out I actually had a really good time watching, and I think the same will go for anyone who is open to what the movie represents. It's nothing one needs to go out of their way to see, but if the underlying notions don't turn you off and you do have the chance to watch 'Death metal zombies,' these eighty-eight minutes are pretty fun!

I've seen this movie a bunch of times..it's a great party movie! The original version is not edited as well as the newly re-mastered 10th Anniversary DVD edition.

The new DVD edition has top notch editing, much cleaner quality picture and sound and loaded with tons of cool extras including bloopers, behind the scenes and more.

This movie has a mix of humor and horror and manages some dark, moody atmosphere with some creepy lighting styles and wicked imagery.

I love zombie movies and this one has to be the most original zombie film I have seen. I recommend it to fans of low budget horror.

First of all: if you don't like camcorder no budget movies, never watch this, you will hate it. Second: If you don't like thrash metal, never watch this, you will hate it. I like this kind of no budget gory movies and i love heavy metal, thrash and all metal in general, so i can enjoy this effort. The plot is simple, a group of head bangers are turned into zombies(there isn't any zombie make up and they are not living dead, so i think instead of zombies they are "possesed by evil" people). There are zombie ridiculous stuff like fighting the head banger zombies with country music, awful acting, long music clips in the movie and atrocious photography. There is good gore, good music and a killer Nixon.

I like sov micro budget underground b movies. Low budget near no budget , but this was the worst in 10 years. Listen there wasnt anything even funny you could make fun of and laugh just bad and boring. Zombies had no make up lil black around the eyes. No effects horrible acting just C- video. You have been warned. Check out Deathgasm if you want a good metal zombie flick. 2 stars was for the effort of making a video. Cheers

As a fan of both gory low-budget movies and very loud rock music, it pains me to say that this mid-'90s home-made zombie flick was clearly put together by avid horror/metal fans with far less talent than taste. I wanted to like the film, but the dreadful acting, weak direction and awful script sucked all the fun out for me. Those involved look like they were having a great time, but I cannot say the same for myself.

The pitiful plot sees metal-head Brad (Bill DeWild) winning a radio competition, the prize being a special tape of music by his favourite band, Living Corpse. When Brad plays the cassette to his friends, the head-banging pals are transformed into zombies and ordered to kill by Living Corpse's lead singer Shengar (Thomas Banta). Meanwhile, a serial killer in a Nixon rubber mask is also on the prowl.

Kudos to director Todd Jason Cook for actually getting one of the girls to commit to a shower scene, and for achieving some reasonable splatter effects on an almost non-existent budget, but the cheapo gore and gratuitous nudity doesn't make the film any less painful to watch.