| “How do you lead an alternative lifestyle... When everybody's dead?” So, do you like post-apocalyptic movies? With zombies, both the Romero-type, the shamblers and the Zack Snyder “hyper zombies”? And martial arts thrown in along with a zombie killer whose weapon of choice seems to be a bunch of nine inch long nails (apologies to Trent Reznor)? Toss in a kinky couple with a penchant for letting the husband watch his wife get it on with every “human” male they can kidnap as well as a strange sister with her own physical “secret”. Add some necrophilia, a dash of pedophilia, lots of blood, entrails, sex and an evil kid and you have director Scott Phillip’s latest addition to the zombie film craze. The Stink of Flesh, which was filmed in 12 days around Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a budget of around $3,000, stars Kurly Tlapoyawa as Matool, the nail-driving, martial arts-kicking zombie killer who is kidnapped by Nathan (Ross Kelly) to be a new plaything for his nympho wife, Dexy (Diva). This bizarre household, out in the middle of the desert, also consists of Dexy’s strange sister, Sassy (Kristin Hansen, niece of Gunnar) and Sassy’s Siamese twin Dorothy or “Dottie” and The Spooky Kid (Bryan Gallegos) who is rescued from a pedophile, Mr. Rainville (Bob Vardeman), during one of many zombie attacks. Into this group, some soldiers also arrive bearing a zombie-bitten comrade and it’s just sex and zombies and blood for nearly the entire 85 minutes of this fun film. There are so many references and homage’s to other horror films that just looking for them is almost as fun as the movie itself. Take our hero’s name, for instance. How many people know what film “Matool” is referencing? And Sassy’s little secret, Dottie? Another classic horror film reference. The zombies look great; they are the classic Romero blue-gray with bloody wounds and they inflict some pretty graphic damage on those they can get a hold on. And then there are the “hyper zombies” who, while looking just like the other zombies, move much faster and make mincemeat of most of the Army patrol, with the exception of Mandel (William Garberini), Vega (Devin O’Leary) and the doomed Sepulveda (Andrew Vellenoweth). And finally, we have hubby Nathan’s little secret, kept locked in a shed; the lovely if decomposing Zombie Girl (Stephanie Leighs) who still manages to get Nathan’s ya-yas out when he gets tired of watching Dexy keeping the troops happy. Shot with a Canon XL-1 digital camera, the film looks better than I expected and the score had a nice Southwest/country feel to it. The cinematography by Richard Griffin is marvelous for such a low-budget indie and the SFX are there in all their glorious gruesomeness. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from such a “home-made” little movie but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and inventiveness of Phillips’ film. The only downsides would be that the acting wasn’t of the highest caliber and the ending was a bit of a letdown although it did seem to be leaving room for a sequel.  |        |
