RetarDEAD

Genre - Horror/Comedy
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 100 minutes
Directed by Rick Popko & Dan West (who both directed the previous installment Monsturd)
Written by Rick Popko & Dan West (both of whom also wrote Monsturd)
Cast Includes about 95% of the same cast from Monsturd [even those that died, in Monsturd, return as different characters in this one] :-) Those characters remaining the same:
Hannah Stangel as the young girl who narrates portions of the story
Dan Burr as the evil Dr. Stern
Paul Weiner as the local town Sheriff
Dan West & Rick Popko - the directors - as the idiotic sheriff's deputies
Beth West as the FBI agent

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:

Evil has come to the Butte County Institute of Special Education, and its students will never be the same. After surviving a ferocious battle with his own monstrous creation, Dr. Stern returns to continue his horrible research, in this blood-drenched sequel to the cult hit "Monsturd"
Armed with a fatal hyper-intelligence serum, the mad doctor transforms a quiet community into an army of flesh-eating zombies.
It's a showdown of limb-chopping, head-bursting proportions as Stern's nemesis, FBI agent Susan Hannigan and the local Sheriff's department, take on the zombie plague in the ultimate battle royale.


Review:

For those of you who may not have read the Interview that I conducted with Director's Rick Popko & Dan West - http://www.horrordecor.net/scarsinterviews.htm#monsturd - RetarDEAD took 5 years to make. (3 years to shoot and 2 years to edit) The movie was completely self-financed, and has over 200 people in it! This movie may be low-budget, but it is still a lot of fun!

The movie opens a'la Grindhouse with Herschell Gordon Lewis (the "godfather of gore" himself) explaining the hysterical 'theatre regulations'. The movie even has that 1970's feel to it with that scratchy, skipping, grainy look.
We are then treated to a couple of Coming Attractions:
Frankenstein and the Bloody Beast of Ghastly Terror and Dracula vs. Jack the Ripper
These trailers are hilarious in themselves - add to the fact the absolutely horrible dubbing, and I was laughing out loud! Immediately, I knew that I was in for a good time. :-)

RetarDEAD starts off the exact same way that Monsturd did, with the young girl waking up in the middle of the night, after a nightmare. Her father (played by Paul Weiner, who also plays the Sheriff) immediately comes in to check on her. The girl tells her father that she had another nightmare. The father then replies, "I thought that the 'poopy man' was dead." If you have not yet seen Monsturd, then you will not get the joke. Too Funny! [While you do not need to see Monsturd first, I would suggest it] The young girl then explains to her father that Dr. Stern survived his encounter with the "poop man". . .

Meanwhile, there is some odd side-story-line having to do with a masturbating perpetrator known as the "weenie wagger" aka Herbert the Pervert. [*Note: This movie is not for children, so watch this one after their bedtime, like I did. As you can already tell, it has sexual humor, a lot of language, and graphic violence] One of my favorite lines about this character was when (I think) Deputy Dan informed Deputy Rick that the perp left some pecker-snot on a window. hahahaha :-)

Once again, my favorite part of this movie is Rick & Dan's portrayal of the town's deputies.
To show you just how idiotic these characters are, there is a scene where we learn about a prior bust of an LSD Ring, in an Elementary School! Later on in the movie, Deputy Rick, comes out complaining that his stamps are not sticking to his envelope. The Sheriff asks where he got the stamps, and Rick replies "out of the evidence locker" You guessed it - the stamps were the LSD from the drug bust! HA! :-)

I also love how these guys (the real Rick & Dan) pay tribute to other films that they love. After Deputies Rick & Dan catch "the weenie wagger" a scene of intense police brutality ensues, after which Deputy Dan asks Deputy Rick - "you about done there, L.A. Confidential?" In the interrogation scene, Deputy Dan also calls Deputy Rick 'Bad Lieutenant' There is also a scene with a graphic gunshot to the head, that takes place in a vehicle, and Deputy Dan comments that "he feels like he is trapped in a Quentin Tarantino movie." There is also a vomit scene reminiscent of that Monty Python movie - was it The Life of Brian maybe? I forget.

I also love the way that Rick & Dan go through exactly what they ask their actor's too, and the fact they they stick with "practical" F/X, rather than using CGI - very cool! [there is a fantastic scene where a head is ripped off of the body, with the spine still attached!]
Also, keep an eye out for original props that were used in Monsturd. [such as Dr. Stern's gun and Donnie the Doper] :-)

Some other things that I wanted to mention - Mark Pirro returns as the sketch artist from Monsturd, in which he had a hilarious scene. In this one, he is just as funny, and you are just waiting for the punchline - "Did he look like this?" [He has the uncanny ability to portray the villain with dead-on accuracy, even though there is no way that he could know!] :-)

David F. Friedman (producer of Two Thousand Maniacs and Blood Feast) makes a cameo appearance, as does Jello Biafra (the former Dead Kennedy front-man) as the town's Mayor, giving a completely ridiculous speech.
The Living Dead Girlz (an actual zombie dance troupe) also make an appearance, in what I felt was just a little bit too much.

All in all, another enjoyable movie by Popko & West! The pay-off at the end of this one is absolutely hysterical! This is one of those movies where you will want to watch it again, with friends! I am looking forward to seeing their next film! [which, according to my interview may just be a screwball slapstick comedy!] :-)



One more thing, and this is Awesome! RetarDEAD actually comes with an 80-minute CD of the soundtrack to the film (which again, includes a hilarious end-credits song) It even includes the end-credits song to Monsturd. The DVD also includes absolutely hysterical deleted scenes and outtakes (there is an on-going gag about the size of the Sheriff's penis that is just too funny!) There is also a Make-Up Effects special feature, though there is No Commentary!! :-(
Maybe one day. . .

Be sure to visit Rick & Dan's webpage - http://www.4321films.com/ - for more information on their films.

Jason