Last night I had the thrill of attending the premiere of Twin Cities filmmaker Christopher Mihm's Attack of the Moon Zombies (AotMZ, hereafter) locally-made film. It's a throwback to the classic sci-fi flicks of the 50s and 60s and employs all the trappings of the era (glorious B/W, over-dramatized musical score, lovingly dopey visual effects and monsters, and of course--gloriously hamfisted acting!
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| The Heights' organist: pre-show entertainment! |
I'll be honest-- I envy this guy! Every year he releases a new film he made with his friends, family, local thespians, and cinemaniacs and holds a "WORLD PREMIERE" at the historic Heights Theater in NE Minneapolis. The Heights is an old-fashioned (and well cared for) movie house with stage curtain and house organ intact (we were treated to a 30 minute performance prior to the show last night).
Laughing at--and with--films from another era
The film itself was preceded by old news reels, previews from horrendous/classic sci-fi films, and one of his older films. I won't go into a full review here (or spoil), but the plot centers around a claustrophobic moonbase "in the future" staffed by unwitting scientists who become "moon zombie" prey after discovering an alien plant hidden in a lunar cave (think John Carpenter's The Thing, but the moon stands in for Antarctica).The brussel-sprout-headed undead aliens are the true stars of the film, lumbering towards our cowering heroes in spectacular Plan 9 From Outer Space fashion. The film uses well-worn movie cliches (i.e., camera freely gliding over a slow moving hand about to reveal a corpse-under-the-sheet surprise) to great effect. Short of some stilted dialogue in the beginning, the result is a hilarious and well-orchestrated send-up of sci-fi films and their audiences. It's as if you're participating in a live episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. AotMZ, much like Mihm's other films, are a love-letter to cinematic cheddar played to the hilt.
Rubber and latex BEMs, deadly radiation, and silly subplots about marriage proposals, round out the the film's retro sci-fi caricature. Sprinkled throughout were nuggets of pop culture in-jokes (sci-fi and music mostly) that kept our little group laughing after the credits.
AotMZ boasts an impressive cast of thespians--most notably Mike Cook and Sid Korpi in standout performances as an avuncular senior scientist and a hard-nosed-moon-base-administrator-with-a-golden heart, respectively. Douglas Sidney and Shannon McDonough seem to relish their purposefully 2D portrayals as love interests/leads. Sidney punctuates every scene he's in with silent goony-faced expressions and McDonough is a twirling, sobbing, wreck of a woman straight out of a 50s soap opera acting class.
'Moon Zombies, a delicious treat
Seeing the film with his actors, crew, and loved ones must be a huge high for Mihm--as everyone bursts out into laughter, groans, and applauds along with the on-screen action. After we've all taken in the hilarity, he offers DVDs of the flick (all of them actually) for a few bucks along with posters, t-shirts, patches, and more. The literal icing on the cake: a a moon + zombie cake, cupcakes, and cookies. Filmmaker, cast, crew, and co-conspirators alike were of course on hand to meet the audience, sign autographs, and ladle thanks on fans for supporting what I'm glad is now a Twin Cities tradition. In an age of over-produced, financially fire-hosed movies, it's an absolute delight to not only see independent/locally supported films, but also participate in an event that celebrates imagination, science fiction, and an unabashed love of the movie-going experience. I look forward to exploring new corners of the Mihm-verse next year!
Learn more:
Saint Euphoria Films (Mihm's production company)
Attack of the Moon Zombies info
Keep up with the Mihm-verse on Facebook
Sounds cool! The trailer makes it look like cheesy fun.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was! I'm not sure how he holds down a day job and does it, but it's impressive.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very, very much for this truly thoughtful, intelligent dissection of this long-lost genre. (Thanks, too, for thinking I did a standout job as Administrator Ripley! Where do I mail that bribe check again?) We in the Mihmiverse have become like a sweet, dysfunctional family and I know his actors would almost unanimously do anything to see this Mihm-guy break through the movie-maker's glass ceiling into worldwide B-movie recognition—and wealth beyond imagining, natch. Blog articles such as yours will go a long way toward achieving that. Thanks again, sir!
ReplyDeleteI love this Movie, Even if I wasn't in it
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@Sid, thanks for stopping by! It was a real treat to be a part of the crowd on premiere night. Here's to continued success and more great flicks from Mihm and company--and I hope to see you in more of them!
ReplyDeleteI wish we'd been introduced at the premiere. I really love meeting people who share my enthusiasm for these retro celluloid gems. As for the future, I'm not giving away too much to say Christopher R. Mihm is intending to make a ghost story along the stylistic lines of director William Castle (of "House on Haunted Hill" and "The Tingler" fame). I know I'll be in it because it'll be filmed in MY house! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! Too bad I couldn't be there :-( Would you like to make your next film in the scary Alps? :-) Angie
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