Death Metal Zombies

Director - Todd Jason Cook (Evil Night, Demon Dolls)
Starring - Lisa Cook (The Dummy, Lisa's Nightmares), Bill DeWild (Rock Star, Zombiefied)
and Todd Jason Cook
Release Date - 1995
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The loudest, weirdest film ever made!"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

 

      When I was in late elementary school I started to find myself becoming obsessed with horror.  Goosebumps started the trend and before long Stephen King, cryptozoology, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? sold me on the genre.  When I hit high school I started collecting horror.  It was mostly on VHS then but I would still buy DVDs when I could.  I couldn't get enough.  This obsession took me to horror sites and forums where I would learn about more obscure titles.  This was the first time I had heard about Todd Jason Cook's 1995 S.O.V. classic Death Metal Zombies.  I was looking for a copy of Hard Rock Zombies on DVD or VHS and someone told me to check this out.  I didn't and over time I forgot about it.  Sometime last year I saw a DVD copy of the film pop up in a horror group on Facebook for sale so I jumped on it.  I was in a metal horror mood and decided it was time to finally check it out. 

     The film follows a metal head who wins a cassette tape from his favorite band.  However, this is not any normal cassette tape.  Instead, it is a magical tape that turns those that listen to it into mindless flesh eating zombies that do the bidding of the death metal band.  Now, his girlfriend must save their souls before the lead singer of the band, Shengar, uses them as pawns to take over.

     I knew this was a no budget shot on video horror flick from the mid-90s.  I wasn't expecting the best movie ever but I was hoping for something fun which is what I got.  The film is far from perfect but it does entertain.  The acting in this one is rough.  A decent amount of the cast has some acting experience but they are all no budget flicks where they are unable to really learn the craft.  They are fully dedicated to their roles but their performances do fall flat.  The story for this one is pretty fucking metal and 90s rich.  I was born on the tail end of the 80s so I grew up in the 90s and this film brought back so many memories.  The metal heads collecting rare, one of a kind cassettes and the whole death metal angle was great especially for the mid 90s.  I loved the zombie angle was well.  My only real problem with the story is the pacing in the film.  We get some very slow scenes that will put you to sleep.  Finally, this one has some gore.  The effects do reflect the films budget but I did enjoy the gore.  The zombies are not very convincing with their make up and no effects but the guts do work in the film's favor.  Overall, Death Metal Zombies is backyard fun.  The no budget and amateur cast makes this simple story work.  I highly recommend this one to fans of no budget or S.O.V. cinema.  Check it out.