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I’m a huge B-Movie fan and this a place for me and like-minded people to review and post thoughts on the B-Movies that we watch. If you’re a director, distributor, etc. of a B-Movie or the owner of a B-Movie company and you’d like to send me a screener copy of your stuff to review, you can contact me at desperado.newfie[at]gmail.com.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Attack of the Moon Zombies (2011)
REVIEW BY: Jeffrey Long
Runtime: 100 mins
Format: DVD
Plot: A mysterious plant found on the surface of the moon wreaks havoc on the Jackson Lunar Base when its spores change the base’s crew into leafy, undead creatures!
Review: Attack of the Moon Zombies was the Christopher R. Mihm movie that initially grabbed my interest and, by doing some light research into it, alerted me to the entire Mihmiverse Collection. I stumbled upon a thumbnail picture from this movie while looking through Google Pictures for some other B-Movie to use in my review of that one, and as soon as I saw the weirdly cheesy-looking plant-headed Moon Zombie picture I knew I had to find out what movie that was from and thus started my adventure into the Mihmiverse realm. However, once I ordered all the movies, even though this is the one that I was most interested in checking out, I decided to watch them all in release order so that’s why it’s taken me so long to get to my most anticipated one, first sitting through, and enjoying on various levels, The Monster of Phantom Lake, It Came From Another World!, Cave Women on Mars, Terror From Beneath The Earth, and Destination: Outer Space.
And I’m glad I did, because while (for the most part) the movies are stand-alone and you can watch them in any order that you choose, you get so much more out of them by watching them in release order. I say release order because in terms of chronology they jump around back and forth quite a bit, such as the case with this one, taking place in the future (as it may have been envisioned back in the 1950s – the gimmick of all these movies is that, while made now-ish, they’re made with the intent of having them act as if they were made in the black and white 1950s era of B-Movie filmmaking), this one taking place roughly around the timeframe of Cave Women on Mars and Destination: Outer Space, give or take a couple years.
10/10 rooms in the Psych Ward
Learn what’s happening in the Mihmiverse, namely, the filming of his latest B-movie, “The Giant Spider.”
Order your tickets TODAY!!
PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 22, 2012 –
In a singular event designed to re-create the once-thought-extinct cinematic experience of the 1950s, Christopher R. Mihm’s latest B&W 1950s-drive-in-style B-movie, “House of Ghosts” will premiere at the historic Heights Theatre on May 23, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. This film and the sure-to-be-remembered event itself are homages to the films of William Castle (“The Tingler,” “House on Haunted Hill”).
For only $10 (each), you can be guaranteed to be one of the first to see what is being billed as the spookiest Mihmiverse film yet!
Premiere attendees will enjoy a program complete with hand-picked, era-appropriate newsreels, classic trailers, appearances by most (if not all) of the cast and crew, free cake, autographs and photos with a ghost or two from the film (don’t forget to bring your camera), a merchandise raffle and organ music from the “WCCO Mighty Wurlitzer!” AND, with this being a tribute to the films of William Castle, you can expect some “otherworldly” shenanigans that will ONLY happen at this event! DVDs, posters and other merchandise will also be on sale!
Advance ticket holders will receive an individually numbered collector’s ticket (while supplies last) and, as in years past, an exclusive collector’s item (TBD)!
For more information and to order your advance tickets, visit the events section of the merchandise page at http://www.sainteuphoria.com! Last year’s “Attack of the Moon Zombies” premiere completely sold out and, with interest in “House of Ghosts” EXTREMELY HIGH, we expect this event to sell out as well. The premiere is open to the public, so the ONLY WAY to ensure admittance is to purchase an advance ticket RIGHT NOW!
ALSO, the official poster for “House of Ghosts” has arrived! Pictured here, the poster was designed by writer/director Christopher R. Mihm and is instantly reminiscent of classic haunted house films like “Terror in the Haunted House,” “The Amityville Horror” and, appropriately, William Castle’s original “House on Haunted Hill.”
We’re told the poster will be available for purchase soon. Stay tuned…
The friends and fans of the Mihmiverse (i.e. the movies of filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm) are legion, and they’re stepping up once again to see that this man’s movies get the recognition they amply deserve. Yesterday, I entered “Attack of the Moon Zombies” in SIX film festivals across the country, including: the Spooky Movie International Horror Film Festival; the Syracuse Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival; the Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival; the Chicago Horror Film Festival; the Eerie Horror Film Festival; and the Drive-In Film Festival. Folks have been generously donating toward the costs of the entry fees (now well over $300 accrued by little old totally broke me). Should any of you readers like to support our efforts to get “Attack of the Moon Zombies” screened nationally and have it garner some hard-earned awards in the process, contact me through my website <www.goodgriefpetloss.com> and I’ll tell you how. As little as $5 or $10 would really help out. I’ll stop the fund-raising attempts well before I reach the point of my making any personal profit. 🙂
Another way to support these independent films is to come to the exclusive screenings. One is coming up June 11 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, organized by super fan Bob Arndt—a fabulous Mihm double feature with “Terror from Beneath the Earth” AND “Attack of the Moon Zombies,” introduced by horror host extraordinaire Doctor Ivan Cryptosis. Another is the July 14 screening in the Twin Cities—the New Hope Cinema Grill, 7 p.m. For $15, you’ll see the greatest B-movie ever made AND enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet of salad, pizza and soda (and there’s even a full bar available). More info, advance tickets, “Attack of the Moon Zombies” DVDs ($10), and other great merchandise and collectibles can be ordered at <www.sainteuphoria.com>. Help Christopher Mihm recoup the $3K he spent making this masterpiece! Maybe if he gets rich and famous, he’ll pay his actors someday! 🙂 —Sid (Administrator Ripley)
“Attack of the Moon Zombies” (2011) By Jason Coffman In 2006, Wisconsin-based filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm released his first feature film “The Monster of Phantom Lake.” A loving tribute to the 1950s creature features Mihm grew up watching with his father, Mihm’s first film established the blueprint for his subsequent oeuvre: low-budget black & white features shot on the cheap that aim not to ironically appropriate the look and feel of 1950s genre cinema, but to actually replicate that look and feel as an end in itself. Each of Mihm’s films— with titles such as “Cave Women on Mars” and “Terror from Beneath the Earth”— build on and add to an overarching mythology and world that has been earning his work a cult following of like-minded fans who grew up on and love the same b-movies that inspired him. Mihm’s latest film, “Attack of the Moon Zombies,” is no exception and may also be his most technically accomplished film yet. In the not-too-distant future on the Jackson Lunar Base, Dr. Vincent Edwards (Mike Cook) is on the eve of retirement. While training his young replacement, Glen Hayes (Michael Kaiser), the two men find a long-dormant plant hidden in a cave on the lunar surface. They return it to the laboratory of the Base Botanist Dr. Hackett (Shannon McDonough) and report the find to Base Administrator Ripley (Sid Korpi). Once removed from the lunar surface and its deadly radiation, the plant springs to life and the scientists learn the hard way that the plant’s spores cause paralysis and death in short order, followed by reanimation as a plant-like zombie! Soon the Moon Zombies have overrun the Base, constantly thwarting Dr. Collins’ (Douglas Sidney) attempts to propose to Dr. Hackett and resulting in the shutdown of radiation shields over two-thirds of the base. A small group of survivors must figure out a way to reach the shield controls and wipe out the Moon Zombies in time for the next supply ship to arrive and take them home. Too bad the base is absolutely crawling with monsters and time is running out— can our heroes save themselves and end the Moon Zombie threat? Shot in “era-appropriate black & white” on digital video, “Attack of the Moon Zombies” looks a bit sharper than Mihm’s other films, but that may be because it’s almost entirely shot on sterile interior sets. The Lunar Base is all white walls, plastic lawn chairs and automatic sliding doors, probably making lighting a bit easier and more consistent than in the outdoor locations that make up much of Mihm’s previous films. The cast is mostly made up of alumni from Mihm’s previous films (and includes his wife Stephanie), and the lo-fi sets, costumes and monster make-up all add to the film’s considerable charm. The Moon Zombies themselves are perfectly realized, looking exactly as cheap as they should (they appear to be masks and gloves) without being too goofy to generate some genuine tension. Mihm absolutely nails the tone and dialogue of his 50’s inspirations, and the game cast does a great job across the board. Aside from the crisp DV picture, the only tip-offs that the film isn’t from the same decade as “It Conquered the World” are the sly pop culture references (be sure to note all the characters’ names!) and the use of some simple CG animation early in the film instead of cardboard-tube space ships and Christmas-light stars. While “Attack of the Moon Zombies” may be most fun for “Mihmiverse” converts— it really does pay to watch all the films and pay careful attention— any fan of classic sci-fi and horror films will find a lot to like, and this is a great introduction to Mihm’s work. Learn more about “Attack of the Moon Zombies” and Christopher R. Mihm’s other films at his official website: www.sainteuphoria.com.
Jason Coffman is a film writer living in Chicago. He writes reviews for Film Monthly and “The Crown International Files” for Criticplanet.org as well as contributing to Fine Print Magazine (www.fineprintmag.net).