Zombies of Mass Destruction

A low-budget horror movie about a zombie invasion of a cute little seaside town in the Pacific Northwest, Zombies of Mass Destruction combines gruesome but comic gore with liberal-oriented social satire that targets religious hysteria, anti-Muslim paranoia, and patriotic rhetoric in the post-9/11 world. When the undead begin appearing in the community for no apparent reason, the conservative townsfolk suspect Islamic terrorists. Before long, Frida (Janette Armand), an Iranian-American Princeton dropout who's returned to take over the family business (and who's repeatedly assumed to be Iraqi), becomes a suspect. While Frida attempts to flee from a neighbor who's turned his basement into a detention and torture center to secure a confession, another part of town finds Tom and Lance (Doug Fahl and Cooper Hopkins)—a gay couple from New York who plan to reveal their relationship to Tom's mother—under attack by the living (including a crazed evangelical pastor), as well as the flesh-eaters. The performances are fine throughout, and the special effects are quite accomplished, but director Kevin Hamedani sidesteps the opportunity for scathing sarcasm here, instead delivering a bloody farce. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a “making of” featurette. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven horror film.] (S. Axmaker)