Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras

"Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras" (1999) is an independently-produced comedy horror film directed by Karl DeMolay, Will Frank and Mike Lyddon.

ynopsis

The plot involves a deranged paraplegic occultist and a Sumerian Goddess who create a spell that raises Zombie! (spelled with an exclamation point) from his grave. Zombie! goes on a killing spree in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras festivities. A trio of filmmakers get word of this and try to capture Zombie! on film. An overweight ninja and Galileo, newly released from purgatory, also chase Zombie! through New Orleans’ crowded streets. Throughout the film are comedy sketches and sight gags that are not related to the plot, including numerous shots of bare-breasted ladies flashing the Mardi Gras crowds.

Critical reception

Originally released as a straight-to-VHS video, the film first gained attention when critic Rob Firsching, writing for the Amazing World of Cult Movies, dubbed the production “the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen.” [Amazing World of Cult Movies [http://www.awcm.us/bbb/nr990512.htm] ] Other Internet critics began to chime in, knocking "Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras" for its artistic and intellectual shortcomings. The most notable slam may have come from James Berardinelli in his proclamation that it was “the worst professionally produced film I have had the displeasure of sitting through.” [James Berardinelli review [http://www.reelviews.net/movies/z/zombie.html] ]

Theatrical release

"Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras" received a theatrical release in New York in April 2001. However, the theatrical reviews were equally savage. Lawrence van Gelder, writing in the "New York Times", called the film “amateurish and incoherent” and added the film was “made on a $5,000 budget, which seems largely to have been misspent.” [New York Times review [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/06/arts/06ZOMB.html?ex=1208923200&en=47637315e77d422d&ei=5070] ]

The film had no further theatrical engagements after its New York run, but it has played in non-theatrical venues. "Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras" was released on DVD in February 2006, with a re-release planned for October 2008.

References

External links

*imdb title | id=0217904 | title=Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras
*" [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zombie_vs_mardi_gras// Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras] " at Rotten Tomatoes
*Film Threat interview with co-director Mike Lyddon: [http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=interviews&Id=101]