Directed by Mike (Boys vs Girls/The Bird Men) Stasko, who cowrote with Alex Forman and Jakob Skyrzypa, Vampire Zombies ... From Space! is a 2024, Canadian black-and-white 1950s homage with contemporary contrivances. In other words, it's an Ed Woodian/Plan 9 from Outer Space inspiration, which summons the likes of Larry Blamire's The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, Christopher R. Mihm's The Giant Spider, Matthew Kohnen's Wasting Away (aka Ahh! Zombies!!), Marius Penczner's I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I. and Paul Bunnell's The Ghastly Love of Johnny X.
The premise unfurls as thus: Dracula, played by the Lugosi-esque Craig (Depraved Mind/The Eternal Present) Gloster, is an extraterrestrial who, with his brilliant yet reluctant son, Dylan, played by the Belushi-ish Robert Kemeny, leads a wobbly-flying-saucer-based invasion upon Earth (1957), commencing in the tiny town of Marlow. It's Dracula's intent to transform humanity into zombie vampires, with the plague spreading until complete, chaotic conquest is attained (yeah, rather Plan 9-prone).
A heroic ensemble forms to battle the daunting incursion, which includes Rashaun Baldeo's Officer James Wallace (a conscientious, precinct transfer); Andrew Bee's Chief Ed Clarke (a diligent, in-charge drunk), Simon (Saw IV) Reynold's Colonel Harlan Talbit (a gung-ho strategist), Jessica's Antovski's Mary MacDowell (a young lady whose mother was slain by Drac and whose father has become a vampire zombie) and Oliver (Helltown) Georgiou's Wayne (the town's Fonzie-ish nonconformist and the tale's principal protagonist).
To complement their valiant crusade, the movie offers nifty tie-ins that crossover-genre fans will appreciate, such as a vampire council comprised of Gary Oldman's Dracula (Martin Ouellette), Max Shreck's Count Orlok (David Liebe Hart) and an Elvira surrogate (Judith O'Dea of Night of the Living Dead). To spice up the scary shenanigans even further, there's Drac's mini, winged saucer, propelled by a conspicuous wire, and Drac as a daylight-swarming bat, a prop that's also propelled by a conspicuous wire, as it swoops in on its victims like a Beulah "control device" from It Conquered the World.
As with such oldies-but-goodies like I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Blood Feast, At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul and Night of the Living Dead, Vampire Zombies clings to a familiar storytelling style, while inserting contemporary gushes of gore. However, it also uses "potty" humor to secure a steady stream of laughs. (Lloyd Kaufman's lewd cameo abets this, as well as Mark Lefebrve's oblivious-to-connotation Mayor John Douglas). The result isn't quite Porky's, but it leans that way: a kind of hip yet vulgar, comedy variant with a pro-nicotine vibe, filtered through Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, Invisible Invaders, Invasion of the Saucer Men and Teenagers from Outer Space ... perhaps. And perhaps, in this respect, it deserves tantamount alignment with the gruesome yet cheeky Mars Attacks, whether the original, bubblegum card series, Tim Burton's star-laden adaptation or the comic books that ensued.
Here's the bottom line: Vampire Zombies is built on a variety of things, even as it stays its own thing. It's quick, cruel and cool, concocted by those who know their psychotronic stuff. It's worth viewing for anyone who recognizes and respects any of the above referenced movies and can be accessed via YouTube (through Creepy Popcorn), Tubi, MUBI, Roku, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Screambox. Give it a spin on the source of your choice.
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