Snuffin' Zombies (2008)

   
Written & Directed by: Karl Benacci

Starring:

Karl Benacci .... Frank Wilkens
Joseph Byrd .... Ralphie Stevens
Don Wilson .... Dudley
Robert Muye .... Bob
Christopher Mucci .... Mean Guy

Release Date: Direct-to-DVD: September 1, 2008
 
Rating:

 

A misfit goofball Frank Wilkens (Karl Benacci) doesn't take anything seriously and is out of a job with no girlfriend and he just spent the remainder of his inheritance on booze.
He's also taunted by his roomate Parker Stephens (Matthew Wilson) as well as a nearby resident he calls the Mean Guy (Christopher Mucci) wherever he goes.
He's broke to top it all off until a bartender Bob (Robert Muye) offers him some money to make snuff films for him in which he will offer him three million dollars.
So Frank gets his only friend who is mentally challenged Ralphie Stevens (Joseph Byrd) to shoot his snuff films in which he kills his former employer Dudley (Don Wilson) as well as a few others who picked on him but then they are suddenly resurrected and are hungry for revenge and human flesh in which Frank must survive this madness that he got himself into.

 

I tried so hard to get into this film and give the filmmaker credit for making a no budgeter but I had to tell ya that this movie sucked balls. It was made on a descent quality camera with nice takes but the audio sometimes cut out and the whole storyline and performances were incredibly poor. It looked like that someone was trying to get their friends to make a movie for the first time with a good camera and having an experienced crew member film it.
It tried too hard to be funny in almost a Pee Wee's Greatest Adventure kind of way with a mean guy taunting the lead character but using more vulgar and offensive language but the dark comedy used in it fell flat big time.
Some good shots surrounding both Frank Wilkens and Dudley while he sets him up in a gloomy looking storage area while Ralphie Stevens videotapes them which almost had that Blair Witch type of appeal on how this was done and leaves an impression that something bad is going to happen and when it does it falls flat in which Frank shoots Dudley looking extremely amateurish.
The gun used in the film was a cap gun and no loud shooting sounds as you hear the snap like a toy gun and that's it. The killings looked totally pretend too.
Also, the zombie's were not convincing and had cheap make up on them and were not menacing at all even if they tried hard to be that way. It was laughable but not in a good way. Plus there's a scene where too zombie's toss a football but this is no Shaun of the Dead folks. Not even close.
The story doesn't explain on how the dead come to life again only to see a person do a voodoo dance but even that looked like a person just goofing around.
Many amateurish shots on a zombie limping towards someone and trying to attack him in a washroom as amateurish isn't the word for this scene it's that awful.
There's a corny discussion between Frank answering his door with a jehovah's witness talking to him but a nice close up shot on Frank taking his gun out of the back of his jeans.
Some good camera shots each side with Frank pointing his gun and getting aggreassive towards a mean guy taunting him along with a good shot on him doing this and being believably annoying to him while using a bullhorn. However there's a moment when Frank shoots him which of course looked fake but a good shot on the mean guy falling back into a kids swimming pool which was a bit better than most of the death scene's in this cheap flick.
Bottom line is this movie was a waste of time and money (If much was out into this) filmed on a clear camera in which the crew seemed to have good experience with the direction on this but that's all. Not bloody like they tried to make it out to be. Just avoid this one as it's not even remembered at all.

The acting is terrible by all means especially with the creator of this film who is the star of it named Karl Benacci (Frank Wilkens) as he is over the top goofy and you can't take him seriously at all in which you wonder with his performance that he's better off doing a plain comedy like in a Pee Wee Herman flick. He seems to borrow his dark comedy off of Edwin Neal from TCM fame but not being too successful at it. He was terrible with his gun shootings towards the onscreen zombies.
Joseph Byrd
(Ralphie Stevens) as his sidekick videotaping the snuff movies is the worst actor by any means I almost felt like puking as he was terribly low on energy and not getting into character at all in which he was supposed to be playing a dweeby mentally challenged type in the film. It doesn't even show he's mentally challenged he was that boring. He just says his lines and that's it. Ho hum.
Don Wilson
(Dudley) is a bit better than the first two but his performance isn't award winning either. He can have the odd aggressive attitude which stands out okay and comes across nicely onto the camera with his behavior too.
Robert Muye
(Bob) is probably the best out of the whole cast as a slobby redneck beer guzzling bartender who brings his part to life in a fair fashion. He comes across as someone who isn't good to be around even if he tries to act reasonable by what he wants from someone. So I have to give this guy some good credit.
Christopher Mucci
(Mean Guy) is seen briefly in the film but has many scene's as the mean guy saying nasty words to the lead actor in which he seems to show a sense of timing with his comedic attitude even if he was annoying. But again he was meant to be that way so he shows some interesting characteristics.

There's a fake looking decapitated head a zombie is holding which looks like a dummy's head big time.

The music was wasn't there a whole lot but there's some odd synthesizer music which is easily forgettable with some techno sounds too. Most of the music was covered by alot of metal and house music songtracks. Some of it good and some not good.