In Zombies of Mass Destruction, the picturesque island town of Port Gamble is overrun by a zombie virus supposedly unleashed by terrorists. Directed by Kevin Hamedani the film is based on Kevin Grevioux’s Red 5 comic book entitled ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction which follows the story of a group of soldiers in the Middle East who stumble upon a zombie army which resulted from a government experiment gone awry.
The film adaptation, however, revolves around Frida Abbas, an American Iranian girl and Tom Hunt who is home for the holiday break to “come out” to his mom with the support of his boyfriend, Lance. Frida, Tom, and Lance eventually meet up with the town’s other survivors and try to attempt to keep the horde of zombies at bay as the group’s inner turmoil comes to a fever pitch. Even though the actual plot of the comics and film vary, the overall feel and themes remain the same.
The film also features several nods to the horror genre. There’s one particular dinner scene where Tom comes out to his mom that is totally channeling the moment in Dead-Alive (Braindead in the U.K.) where Lionel’s mother eats her own ear after it falls in her pudding. Quotes like “Oh, that’s MY blood!,” “Brian, you know I’m a vampire man,” and I won’t even ruin an excruciating horribly delivered exchange of puns between Frida and her boyfriend, made me laugh out loud. We may have another cult zombie film on our hands.
A politically charged horror comedy, ZMD tackles topics such as homophobia, racism, stereotypes, and how the American news system and religious fanaticism can perpetuate hysteria, paranoia, and violence. Like many of the “smarter” zombie movies and TV series coming out lately Zombies of Mass Destruction shows how humans can be just as bad, if not worse than the horde of flesh eating zombies. They are brain-dead and soulless, what’s your excuse?
OFFICIAL TRAILER
