Cooties
(2015/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: C+
Directed
by Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott, Cooties
(2015) is a fun horror/comedy that spins the zombie genre on its head
using the fictional virus of cooties as the cause of the outbreak.
Starring Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson, the film centers on a group of
Elementary-school teachers that come under attack from children who
have been turned into vicious monsters by contaminated chicken
nuggets. Wood plays an aspiring writer who has just moved back from
New York to live with his Mother and help teach a creative writing
class in his former elementary school. Upon arrival, he quickly
notices that all the kids are foul mouthed little brats that belittle
him in class. Wilson and Alison Pill (Scott
Pilgrim)
also play teachers at the camp. Slowly the cooties spreads through
the playground in an impressive sequence that is both creepy and
effective. Banding together in a tight group, the surviving teachers
must escape the school full of possessed children and come out on the
other end alive and uninfected.
The
film is shockingly gory at moments, despite its black comedy-esque
tone that carries throughout. Some of the jokes work and some of
them don't but all in all the film is shot well and at times reminds
me of another film where Elijah Wood stopped a deadly plague of
non-humans in a school, Robert Rodriguez's The
Faculty.
The
film has a short run time of 88 minutes and moves along at a pretty
quick pace and is shot and edited very well. The biggest problem the
film has is its familiar and short screenplay. The traditional
zombie film tropes have been inserted along with some social
commentary on how children view adults and character stereotypes that
are one note.
Alison
Pill is a great up and coming actress that I would like to see in
more films. She plays an air-headed blonde in this film which is a
far cry from other roles that I have seen her in. Rainn Wilson has
moments where he gets a little carried away and, in my opinion, does
a Will Ferrell impression that I didn't really buy. He does have a
funny exchange with Elijah Wood where he references Lord
of the Rings
that I did get a kick out of though.
Presented
in 1080p digital High Definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of
2.39:1 and a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track, the film is
pretty stunning on Blu-ray. Also included is a digital copy of the
film for your tablet or smart phone, plus extras that include:
• The
Cootieary (Cast and Crew Commentary)
• Circle,
Circle, Dot, Dot. . .Catching Cooties
•
Deleted/Alternate/Extended
Scenes
• Gag
Reel
• Alternate
Ending with Optional Commentary
• Talking
Cooties
While
not a classic by any stretch, Cooties
is a fun watch for zombie fans, especially if you have a sick &
twisted sense of humor.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
