Eldritch USA

Right, well I didn't know that this was a musical, and had I known, I would most likely not have opted to watch it. Musicals is not really my cup of tea, aside from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Grease". But coming to learn that it was a zombie musical, I must admit that I buckled in and opted to check it out.

But writer Ryan Smith utterly failed to conjure up a script that entertained me. And I have to say that I am very perplexed that his 2023 musical titled "Eldritch USA" has managed to snag an 8.2 rating here on IMDb, as of this very moment while I am reviewing it.

I managed to suffer through a staggering 42 minutes of absolute boredom and pointlessness before tossing the towel in the right. It was painfully obvious by then that the contents of the musical would not improve for the better. And in those 42 minutes there wasn't anything even remotely zombiesque to be found anywhere.

Needless to say that I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in "Eldritch USA", but I was not particularly impressed. Sure, the performances were adequate, but it was nothing memorable or outstanding.

This is not something that I would recommend anyone to waste 99 minutes on watching. And it most certainly is not something I will return to attempt finish watching.

My rating of directors Ryan Smith and Tyler Foreman's 2023 musical "Eldritch USA" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

The story, sans, musicals, COULD be decent. The problem is it's exceptionally slow to progress because every 5 to 7 minutes there's another way-too-long musical interlude.

They've basically created their own distractions by adding musical to break up any tension, comedy, suspense, etc.

The audio, to me, all sounds like it's a looped 100%. As if there is little no actual live filmed audio and it was all added in post. That would make sense for the musicals (even though I disliked them) but even when characters are merely speaking to each other, it sounds looped.

Meh.. I lost interest QUICKLY due to the musical interludes. Ended up fast forwarding through most of it after roughly 30 minutes and the 4th musical number.

Acting was passable, not bad. And singing was good however misguided the idea was.

But ultimately..... ------- PASS ------

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but found it was a great mixture of horror/comedy (my favorite genre) with the addition of some great music! Picture Army of Darkness meets Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I did catch a few small mistakes in the film, (one scene accidentally showed the name of the town they were filming in instead of Eldritch, and the lip syncing on the songs wasn't right on a few songs), but they weren't enough to distract from the plot.

My granddaughter and I watched it together, and we both agreed it was fun, so it's definitely a film for young and old alike!

Eldritch USA was a really fun to watch! I enjoyed the story, songs and the actors very much. It really is unique in that it's a horror/comedy and a musical and it was honestly hysterical.

I totally expect this film to become a cult classic. It has a very, "Little Shop of Horrors," feel with the gore and the songs, but the story is very different. Two brothers are rivals at work and in life and a deadly accident puts one brother in the position to make a series of bad decisions that winds up changing not only his life, but the small town he lives in as well as many of the towns' people.

Don't want to give too much away though because you need to see this film!

I was lucky enough to see this movie at Alamo Drafthouse in May 2023. The movie is a mix of genres - part comedy, part horror, part musical.

The cast and direction are all superb. Nobody ever puts a foot wrong, performance-wise. With the exception of a fight scene at the end and some small technical issues that most non-filmmakers will never pick up on, this never feels like a homegrown indie movie. It punches way above its weight. I actually thought the majority of the film's sound had been ADR'd as the sound quality was so good.

The comedy was better than most so-called comedy films. It's genuinely funny and had a few really good laugh-out-loud moments.

The movie is part musical, and all of the songs are superb and you'll find yourself foot-tapping and singing along.

You will enjoy this film if you are looking for something different and fun and you appreciate creative and original ideas in a movie. It really is a breath of fresh air and I hope the filmmakers and cast of this film go onto greater things as they absolutely deserve it!

Highly recommended.