Starring: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad, Leigh Whannell, Jorge Garcia, Ian Brennan, Morgan Lily, Armani Jackson, Cooper Roth
Directed By: Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion
I remember first hearing about Cooties when it made a strong showing at Sundance a few years back. It sat in limbo, and finally came out on VOD. I think it could have had a shot in wide release, if it was just marketed properly. It’s a little like Shaun Of The Dead. It’s just a silly zombie comedy, with some really entertaining moments, and lots of gore.
For those looking for a good horror flick this October, Cooties is gory without ever being scary. This is a horror comedy, for sure, in the vein of the aforementioned Shaun, and films like Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Yes, it is gory. Very gory. A girl plays jump rope with intestines in one scene, just to give you an idea. But, the plot… kids become zombies after eating tainted chicken nuggets… is a comedy, and the characters are all comedy gold.
Even though Wood is the star, Rainn Wilson owns this movie. Even Leigh Whannell, who plays someone who must be a second cousin to Brick from Anchorman, steals the show over Elijah Wood. Wood is the straight man in a cast of loonies, and everyone always remembers the loonies.
It’s not a perfect film, by any means. It often doesn’t really make sense, or wants us to take a giant leap of faith sometimes, but it’s a pretty consistently entertaining film with just a few bumps in the under 90 minute runtime.
Currently available through VOD (and I suppose maybe one or two theatres?), Cooties is definitely worth watching this Halloween.
FINAL GRADE: B+