By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
The production team behind the first Zombie Cats from Mars movie wants to make a sequel. They are hoping the faithful will support the crowdfunding effort, and the curious to check out the film currently available on Amazon Prime Video.
This work is a tongue-in-cheek budget film that’s clearly a labour of love, as they learn for themselves in what makes a B-Movie memorable. With such a name like Zombie Cats, my curiosity was immediately peaked! In the past, works like Lesbian Vampire Killers, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and Amazon Women on the Moon also tickled my fancy. They had bigger budgets and looked good. ZCfM has the production budget of a student film and it shows. This detail is not a bad thing as any new up-and-coming talents need to start somewhere. Who knows, one of them might become the next Sam Raimi. For instance, director Montetré certainly has an impressive filmography on the IMDB which is worth investigating.
Puppet claws and stuffed dolls act as obvious stand-ins to sell the illusion when the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes — er, cats come. When the overlords from Mars are back on Earth to enact revenge, they are not simply out to turn Earth into one huge litter box. They are out to subjugate. It’s the humans who get zombified, and it’s up to Billy (Bransen Sands Koehler) to convince his hometown on what’s happening.
I simply love the concept of felines wanting to reclaim their world. The backstory explaining how the cats arrived at this red planet is science fiction. For some odd reason, I’m reminded of the episode, “Pyramids of Mars” from Doctor Who. Had this work offered a deeper Egyptian connection, the Egyptologist in me would be sated. In this ancient world, cats were highly revered. They were guardians of the dead. Those who were embalmed and buried with their masters are said to help assist them in the afterlife.
When considering how Billy woke up to see his family again, I could not help but wonder if he passed on, and the kitty overlord has plans for him. This surreal note cannot go completely unexplored.
The second movie is technically a prequel which looks like it will explain how the chaos started. Just when I hoped to see a sequel to down the route of Donnie Dorko, I can only hope this work becomes a trilogy. The link to this crowdfunding campaign is here.
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