Grease of the Undead
Zombie Prom Mashes Genres
Movie audiences are picky. Some love B-movies. Others go for horror. Then there are those that like a good musical. Finding an audience that falls into that rare subset that appreciates all three may be difficult -- even nearly impossible. But for someone who does enjoy a B-movie horror musical, there may not be a more perfect short film than Vince Marcello's Zombie Prom.
Written by: Vince Marcello
Starring: RuPaul, David Engel, Darren Robertson, Candice Nicole, Katherine Von Till, April Malina, and Katy Mixon
Rated
Running time: 36 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 8 out of 10.
In homage to the 1950s, Zombie Prom embraces everything about the atomic age. From the "duck and cover" drills to protect children from nuclear war to the promise of a better tomorrow through atomic power, this film encapsulates a generation and compresses it into a half hour musical tribute.
Darren Robertson plays Jonny (without the H), a new student at Enrico Fermi High School. The prinicpal Miss Strict (RuPaul) immediately singles out Jonny as a trouble-maker, and he gets branded with that teen rebel label that makes him a god among the students. During a "duck and cover" drill, he literally bumps into Toffee (Candice Nicole), the perfect girl next door.
As the weeks pass by, their love grows, but it's doomed because her parents will never accept Jonny. In a fit of teen angst, Jonny commits suicide by jumping into the nuclear reactor near the school. He dies, but comes back as a teenage nuclear zombie!
It's well-known that I love science fiction and horror. But I also have a thing for musicals like Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, and Chicago. Watching Zombie Prom reminded me of the first time that I saw the '50s musical Grease, but it has a decidedly different slant. It takes its art direction from the classic horror comics of the decade, using some terrific artwork for transitional scenes and comic book-style text boxes for on-screen cues like "Three Weeks Later."
The musical numbers are wonderful. Whether singing the praises of another day at Enrico Fermi High or finding that rare rhyme for the word "hypotenuse," the music is utterly enjoyable. Likewise, the choreography makes this film a full-fledged musical. Girls in poodle skirts twirl while mixing bowls in Home Ec class, and boys in greasy coveralls break into song in Auto Shop.
Zombie Prom is a fun, train wreck of a movie, combining the upbeat musical genre with the teen angst of a '50s pop ballad like "Leader of the Pack." Adding the '50s horror genre, especially with the classic horror comics artwork, is icing on the cake.
Because this is a short film, everything about Zombie Prom is condensed. The story seems rushed, as Jonny and Toffee fall in love over the course of a quick montage. Musical numbers seem to be shortened, as if only offering a quick sample of songs. Even the big dance numbers seem abbreviated. In truth, it's a shame this couldn't be a feature film. It's a good sign when the worst that can be said for a film is that it's not long enough.
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