Chillerama Movie Review
Chillerama Movie Review
Directed by Joe Lynch, Adam Green, Tim Sullivan, and Adam Rifkin. Starring Ray Wise, Eric Roberts, Lin Shaye, Kane Hodder, Kristina Klebe, Gabby West, and Joel David Moore.
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There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned horror anthology at the drive-in. Netflix is the new drive-in, and web-series are our contemporary anthologies. But Chillerama is hoping to lure you back to the big screen with big screams and even bigger laughs.
Size does matter, especially when Wadzilla is in your neighborhood (or your pants). Presented in the style of a 1950s cautionary sci-fi b-horror flick, the "wadzilla" is a giant jizz-monster that's growing exponentially gargantuan and is out to sperminate and terminate the world.
Our hapless hero and possessor of the great balls of fire is played by the director of this seedy segment, Adam Rifkin (Homo Erectus). Rifkin is mild-mannered Miles Munson, a shy guy who just wants to enjoy date night with his beautiful lady but his accidentally scientifically enhanced manhood keeps coming between them.
Wadzilla is the real deal — no CGI here — sired by The Chiodo Bros. (Killer Klowns From Outer Space) rather adorable stop-motion animation, the "wadzilla" packs the best bang for your box-office buck since Woody Allen wore the white bodysuit in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask. Character actor Ray Wise (Swamp Thing, Twin Peaks, Reaper) plays a typical atomic-era doctor, smoking like a Turk from behind a clunky wooden desk, pontificating as his reeling patient gets bad diagnosis after bad diagnosis. Wadzilla is a lovingly-handled spoof comedy along the lines of Larry Blamire's feature The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra — so if you liked that, but you were hoping for more T&A (and S), you'll love this.
Wadzilla is the first of a few main entries — each one taking a different tack; Adam Green's The Diary of Anne Frankenstein is akin to Young Frankenstein, while Tim Sullivan's I Was A Teenage Werebear is a nod to the Frankie and Annette era, and Joe Lynch's Zom-B-Movie is like Terror in the Aisles meets Humanoids from the Deep — but Chillerama also has an interstitial story which follows a few select car-bound movie-watchers as well as the young lady who runs the concession stand, and the projectionist in the booth.
While I can't say I liked all of Chillerama (much of the humor is far too scatological and juvenile for my taste, plus all of the segments run too long), the fact that's it's an anthology assures there is at least a little something for every horror fan.
Chillerama is not yet available to be seen publically. The plan is a road trip, followed by on-demand and DVD. This review is based on a San Diego Comic-Con 2011 screening of a film which may or may not be final cut.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson