I'm a secret Billy Zane fan. I don't announce it outloud or too often, but I've been a fan ever since I saw 'The Phantom'. Granted, it wasn't a great movie, but he did the best he could with what he had. Not too mention, his role in 'Zoolander' was awesome. Anyway, I recently came across this little zombie comedy called 'The Mad'. It sounded vaguely interesting in concept, but then I saw that Mr. Zane was the star of it and I threw it into the top of my queue. Last night, despite feeling like garbage, I had the pleasure of watching this little indie gem from 2007. I don't know how this didn't get a little more press. There are a lot of other movies that came out around this time that were similar and not as good. I guess it's just the way things go. Anyway, it is not a new concept that is used in this movie. Some of it is done in a new way, but the overall idea is a rehash of other concepts. 'The Mad' has a very nice feel to it. While I was watching it, I found myself just smiling at the little situations going on. I think that's what put this movie ahead of other similar movies, Billy Zane's charisma.The plot, according to Netflix.com: "On an outing to the country, a doctor and his daughter stop in a town known for its organic beef. But the travelers run up against a mutated virus that turns people into the undead and hamburger patties into ravenous killers." That pretty much sums it up. The only thing that's a bit inaccurate is that it's not just the hamburger patties, but slices of beef in general that's what makes this movie a bit different than the others. I mean, how often have you seen a prime cut of beef slid of a mans leg and attack him? I'm guessing.... never. Now, before you jump to an conclusions, the cows themselves don't attack people (that would have been pretty keen though!) it's more about their tainted meat. Literally.
This movie shines as a labor of love of everyone involved. It doesn't seem like anyone in this movie wasn't having fun. They also took the material just seriously enough to make the concept believable and that just makes it that much funnier. It's not a fall down kind of a funny, but the kind that makes you want to rewatch what you've just seen. The effects are good, the actors are good and the direction is good. I'm a bit zombie lover, it's my bread and butter of horror. These days, every Tom, Dick and Harry make their own zombie movies. You can't throw a rock anywhere without hitting a low budget zombie flick. Sadly, the majority of them kind of suck. That's what made it so much more enjoyable when I stumbled across this one. A diamond in the rough.
In conclusion, despite all of the good points about this movie.... I still only found it to be 3 out of 5 stars. It is just a little slice of simple comedy/horror fun. It won't change the face of the genre or tread any new ground. It just is what it is and did what it set out to accomplish.... to entertain. I obviously enjoyed this movie and I absolutely recommend that you watch this. Anyone who enjoys any of the things I've written about this movie, throw it in the Netflix queue now as I returned my copy today. That means it'll be ready to rent by tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, I'm having some beef tonight.... it's whats for dinner.
If you like this, you may also like: 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Black Sheep', 'Zombieland' and 'Dance of the Dead'
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