Eldritch USA

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!

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.

This thing is wacky. 10/10 for creativity and a big swing from the whole crew behind it. Idk where it was shot but feels very much like a town decided to make this.

Weirdest thing I've ever seen but I loved it. The songs are fun and the effects are way better than I expected based on the cast and crew being full of people I've never heard of. Lots to love here and everything that's flawed in it I found endearing 😂

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 ------

This is camp horror at its finest. Great writing, acting, and you can tell a lot of effort went into its production. It's also a musical, which makes it that much better, in my opinion.

All the actors have great chemistry and timing, and you could tell they were having fun.

The story really plays with tricky family dynamics, and sibling rivalry, as well as the lengths people are willing to go for their family.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed watching this movie with my friends. It was just the right amount of horror, wit, and music.

Highly recommend for those who enjoy the horror/comedy genre.