Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre: The Movie

Caught the first screening of the film at the Housecore Horror Film Festival back in November and the film did not disappoint. The film is about a band trying to get signed to a record label and doing everything they can to make sure they do. Which includes starting a zombie apocalypse. Good mix of horror, comedy and gore very much along the lines of Evil Dead. Tons of great one liners and awesome soundtrack by Marzi Montazeri and RipperOwens. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for the cameos in the film too. One in particular that elicited cheering from everyone in attendance. Overall very fun movie with plenty of blood, guts, guns and rock n' roll for everyone.

I remember seeing previews for this movie over a year ago and being excited to see it. I was not disappointed! The special effects for the zombies were very unique and well-executed. These are not your generic horror movie zombies. This is one of those movies that you and your friends will trade one-liners from for years to come. The no-holds- barred dialogue in the movie takes shots towards the metal scene, the horror scene and the director himself. It perfectly captures the whole "doofy young kids trapped in a cabin in the woods" feel that really makes for a good old school horror experience. Some moments are intense, some moments are ridiculous, some are laugh out loud hilarious. This is definitely a movie you'll want to watch over and over again to catch all of the subtleties. Excellent job.

This movie's only saving grace is the soundtrack accompanying it. The immersion is completely ruined by amateur actors and god awful sound design. Someone will talk sounding extremely muffled, and the scene will then pan to someone talking as if they're right in your ear. And to top it all off, the ending is incredibly rushed and abrupt, and leaves the viewer with more questions and no answers. The movie is admittedly funny when laughing at how absurd it is, but even the movie's "comedy" feels like it came out of a dollar store. I can see the appeal of the film for hardcore metal fans, but for the average person, this movie is nothing short of a cringeworthy dumpster fire. Do NOT watch this movie unless you want to waste your time...

Josh Vargas has created a movie that is as much an homage to the music in the movie as it is to the B-flick horror movie genre. This movie features great acting, over the top characters and enough gore to satisfy most horror aficionados. On top of this, the soundtrack is excellent. Marzi's contributions far exceed "hair metal" with riffs and solos that the glam metal bands couldn't have even imagined.

Character development begins from the opening scene, with characters that are well thought out rock archetypes. They are over the top, but so are many real life struggling musician types. There is excellent acting and while the simulated guitar playing isn't synced with the music, it is obvious those acting also know their instruments well enough to fake it (a common flaw even big budget movies do not address).

The leverage of having heavy metal greats in this movie, including Tim "Ripper" Owens on the sound track and Tom Araya of Slayer appearing in the movie only helps lend credibility to what Josh Vargas was doing with this movie.

Would I watch it again? Absolutely! I truly hope this movie becomes a commercial success so the director and writer can have further opportunities. What he managed with social media and a small budget should have producers lining up at his door with larger meager budgets for bigger and better projects.

I got to see this last night. Don't let the B-movie title fool you, this is actually really well done. The band members are freaking hilarious. Even though it is a fictional group, they come off feeling very real lol. And who does not like Zombies or Tom Araya? If you enjoyed the early Peter Jackson films, or Evil Dead...or even Spinal Tap than you should really give this film a go.

What starts out as the story of a band trying to get a killer recording done and score a deal with a label, quickly turns insane as events around them call forth Zombies.

While it is not Gone With the Wind, it is without a doubt worthy of your time.

Also, the score by Marzi and Ripper Owens kicks ass.