POULTRYGEIST
NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD
* * * * (2006, 138 minutes, Unrated)
It's a musical.
This is a zombie movie, so we have to start in a graveyard so the living dead can pop out of the
ground. There to witness the dead rising are high school sweethearts Wendy and Arbie, about to
shed their virginity. But this is also a Troma Film made by the same guy who gave the world the
Toxic Avenger, so while Arbie and Wendy are gettin' it on in the Tromahawk Tribe Burial Grounds,
the living dead lend a hand (or three) and an axe-wielding homicidal maniac shows up wielding
something else in his other hand. Let's just say that by the time we get to the end of the scene, the
film has already taken full advantage of its unrated status.
The next semester, Wendy and Arbie are reunited at a protest of the new American Chicken Bunker
built on the Tromahawk Tribe Burial Grounds. Upset that Wendy has abandoned him and is now
"bumping tacos" (Arbie's term, not mine) with a crunchy activist lesbian named Micki, Arbie takes a
job at the chicken shack. After launching into the film's first musical number, "Revenge is a Dish
Best Served Fried."
That's right: This isn't just any old movie about chicken zombies. It's a musical about chicken
zombies.
So Arbie goes to work with an assortment of characters, including the gay Hispanic Paco Bell, the
inbred redneck Carl Jr., the frustrated (angry?) black store manager, Denny, and the insidious
NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD
* * * * (2006, 138 minutes, Unrated)
It's a musical.
This is a zombie movie, so we have to start in a graveyard so the living dead can pop out of the
ground. There to witness the dead rising are high school sweethearts Wendy and Arbie, about to
shed their virginity. But this is also a Troma Film made by the same guy who gave the world the
Toxic Avenger, so while Arbie and Wendy are gettin' it on in the Tromahawk Tribe Burial Grounds,
the living dead lend a hand (or three) and an axe-wielding homicidal maniac shows up wielding
something else in his other hand. Let's just say that by the time we get to the end of the scene, the
film has already taken full advantage of its unrated status.
The next semester, Wendy and Arbie are reunited at a protest of the new American Chicken Bunker
built on the Tromahawk Tribe Burial Grounds. Upset that Wendy has abandoned him and is now
"bumping tacos" (Arbie's term, not mine) with a crunchy activist lesbian named Micki, Arbie takes a
job at the chicken shack. After launching into the film's first musical number, "Revenge is a Dish
Best Served Fried."
That's right: This isn't just any old movie about chicken zombies. It's a musical about chicken
zombies.
So Arbie goes to work with an assortment of characters, including the gay Hispanic Paco Bell, the
inbred redneck Carl Jr., the frustrated (angry?) black store manager, Denny, and the insidious
General Lee Roy. Of course you've noticed the trend by now.The film
lays it on thick with heavy-handed, anvil-to-the-head kind of gags: Fat
people! Muslims! Ron Jeremy! Ha ha!
No, subtlety isn't Troma's strong suit.
Which is why it was a nice surprise to find a few clever gags in the
mix. There is a moment when a protester shows the public posters
of chickens Photoshopped into the infamous images from Abu
Ghraib. There's another moment where Micki gives a passionate
anti-big business speech, which the protesters cap off with a big
gulp of Starbucks-esque coffee.
And there are some classic lines like these:
lays it on thick with heavy-handed, anvil-to-the-head kind of gags: Fat
people! Muslims! Ron Jeremy! Ha ha!
No, subtlety isn't Troma's strong suit.
Which is why it was a nice surprise to find a few clever gags in the
mix. There is a moment when a protester shows the public posters
of chickens Photoshopped into the infamous images from Abu
Ghraib. There's another moment where Micki gives a passionate
anti-big business speech, which the protesters cap off with a big
gulp of Starbucks-esque coffee.
And there are some classic lines like these:
| Some advice: Do NOT eat this while watching Poultrygeist. |
| Go ahead and laugh at Mr. Jeremy. He's probably had sex with more women than you've ever met. |
So subtlety isn't Troma's strong suit. Know what is?
GORE. For my money, no big budget mainstream horror
film has offered up anything as nauseating as any given
15 minutes of a Troma film. Whether it's an assortment of
things going in or out of someone's backside or pulsing
puss-filled toxic chicken, no one does gore like the folks at
Troma.
If you can sit through this film eating a bucket of KFC, you
have a much stronger stomach than I.
As you might imagine, building a chicken joint on an
ancient burial ground has certain non-legal
consequences. And when General Lee Roy orders the
cursed chicken and throbbing, pulsing eggs to be served
to the public... well, you can probably guess how that turns
out, too.
GORE. For my money, no big budget mainstream horror
film has offered up anything as nauseating as any given
15 minutes of a Troma film. Whether it's an assortment of
things going in or out of someone's backside or pulsing
puss-filled toxic chicken, no one does gore like the folks at
Troma.
If you can sit through this film eating a bucket of KFC, you
have a much stronger stomach than I.
As you might imagine, building a chicken joint on an
ancient burial ground has certain non-legal
consequences. And when General Lee Roy orders the
cursed chicken and throbbing, pulsing eggs to be served
to the public... well, you can probably guess how that turns
out, too.
"The chicken has declared jihad on us all!"
"I'll believe in the supernatural when I see it, talking sandwich."
"Oh, it's just as my old grandpapa used to say: Hey, junior, get over here with them matches!
This cross ain't gonna burn itself!"
Then again, the film does feature a guy having sex with an uncooked roaster chicken.
That's right: A vicious horde of chicken zombies. And as you might imagine, a fast food
restaurant is a terrible place to be during a zombie outbreak.
It's gonna be hard to top this movie.
restaurant is a terrible place to be during a zombie outbreak.
It's gonna be hard to top this movie.
| This is not a scene from Poultrygeist, but it should have been. |
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| Not good for business. |
| '10 Binnie Winner! |