The first time I heard about Chillerama I knew I had to see it. I was familiar with the four directors involved and being a fan of anthology horror films, it was refreshing to see another one come along that might actually be good. I had seen Adam Green's Hatchet and Frozen, Tim Sullivan's 2001 Maniacs and Adam Rifkin's Detroit Rock City and liked them all a lot so I had faith. Just released on DVD and Blu Ray this week from Image Entertainment, I was finally able to see it and definitely was not disappointed.
Chillerama begins at a drive-in theater that is about to close down. The owner (Richard Riehle from Hatchet and Office Space) is going to play a few never before seen, "lost" horror films to make it a special last night. The first film is about a giant sperm destroying New York called Wadzilla. The second film is called I Was a Teenage Werebear and concerns a sexually confused high school student (Sean Paul Lockhart) who gets bitten by bad boy Talon (Anton Troy) and becomes his inner beast when he gets aroused. The third film is called Diary of Anne Frankenstein and stars Avatar's Joel David Moore as Hitler and Kane Hodder as the Jewish monster Meshugannah. Between the films we see a zombie epidemic break out at the drive-in.
Chillerama is probably the best horror anthology film to come along in the last 25 years. Not only does it have buckets of blood and gore but it will also have you rolling on the floor laughing. The stories all take classic monsters (Godzilla, Frankenstein, the Wolfman and Zombies) and put a fresh twist to them, usually rooted in dirty humor. I can't pick a favorite segment because they were all great, but Adam Rifkin gets bonus points for not only directing Wadzilla but for also starring in it (as the lead character who "spews" forth the monster). Each film has it's own special qualities though. Tim Sullivan's I Was a Teenage Werebear wins in the "message" category, using the classic werewolf story as a metaphor for coming of age and dealing with your true feelings. It also had some nice catchy (and hilariously inappropriate) songs and lots of silly, over-the-top gore. Adam Green's The Diary of Anne Frankenstein wins as the funniest segment with a mixture of a poor use of the German language, a Jewish, dancing Frankenstein and a noticeable continuity error with a particular stuntman. Joe Lynch's wraparound segments titled Zom-B Movie ties everything together nicely with a bunch of horny zombies, neon blue zombie jizz and the perfect setting for all the madness. Image Entertainment should be praised for not only releasing this great anthology but also for its many extras included. We get behind the scenes footage of the films along with deleted scenes, director's commentary and interviews. I read some talk about there being future installments of Chillerama using different directors and if they are anything like this, I am all for it!
RATING: 10/10
Visit the official Chillerama website to order the DVD or Blu Ray HERE
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