Zombies of Mass Destruction/ Date Night/ American Buffalo/ Terror in the Aisles

197. Zombies of Mass Destruction
198. Date Night
199. American Buffalo
200. Terror in the Aisles


Zombies of Mass Destruction is yet another After Dark Horrorfest movie.

This one takes place in the small island town of Port Gamble. Townsfolk have begun turning into zombies. This movie tells the stories of Frida, an Iranian-American girl whom one misguided person believes is responsible for the outbreak and Tom and Lance, a gay couple on the island so Tom can come out to his mom. Will they survive the zombie outbreak?

Not particularly a good movie here. For a movie advertising itself as a zombie comedy, it sure skimps on laughs. They're plenty political though, trying to be clever and satirical. The story is that of your typical zombie movie. Zombie bites someone, someone turns into zombie. Rinse, lather, repeat. As for the cast, the opening credits don't even bother listing them, so that shows the name recognition you're gonna get here. I looked them up for you. Your leads are Janette Armand, Doug Fahl and Cooper Hopkins. All 3 are decent enough, I must say. None were terrible. In the plus column, for a movie made for a million bucks, it looks really well done. The effects were decent and the gore was good.

Overall, Zombies of Mass Destruction has a few things going for it but isn't really worth watching. Skip it.


Date Night is the latest comedy from Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy.

Tina Fey and Steve Carrell star as Phil and Claire, a married couple who have fallen into a rut. Sex is a production that's tough to get motivated for. Even their weekly date night is nothing but a stale routine that sees them attending the same restaurant and ordering the same food. One evening, they decide to switch things up and take a drive to the city. They want to dine at Claw, an upscale seafood restaurant. Not having reservations, they're banished to the bar area in hope that something will open up for them. When they notice a party not answering the call that their table is ready, Phil jumps on the opportunity and steals their reservation. They quickly realize that that might not have been the best idea Phil has ever had. A case of mistaken identity quickly turns into something that they'd have never expected. How will two average folks survive their night in an action movie?

This movie was a blast. I had a great time watching it. The story has been done before, what with innocent folks getting caught up in situations that they can't possibly understand. The cast just knocks it out of the ballpark though. Carrell and Fey are excellent as the leads. To me, Carrell is essentially playing a slightly more intelligent version of his Michael Scott character on The Office. I'm not typically fond of older women but Tina Fey is a stone cold fox. She's got something about her that just hits me in all the right places. The supporting cast is huge with lots of familiar faces popping up. You've got Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Leighton Meester and a few surprises along the way.

Overall, Date Night was a really enjoyable movie. I definitely recommend checking it out.


American Buffalo is based on the play of the same name by David Mamet.

This one tells the story of Teach, Don and Bobby. Don owns a junk shop. Recently, he sold an american buffalo nickel to a customer for what he felt was a good deal for him. As it turns out, the coin was worth much more than what he was given for it. Being slightly less scrupulous than an average person, Don decides that he's going to get that nickel back, one way or another.

First of all, if you're not a fan of movies where absolutely nothing happens, stay far away from this one. For the movie's near 90 minute run-time, the only thing that happens is talking. It is a very minimalist production. Everything takes place inside and just outside of the store and over the course of one day. The cast is Dennis Hoffman, Dennis Franz and Sean Nelson. Other characters are discussed but none appear on screen. On the surface, this might seem like than interesting but it actually kept my interest the whole time. Had I known then what I know now, I might not have even watched it, to be honest. It's definitely a challenging movie. What helped me get through it was the cast. Hoffman, Franz and Nelson turn in some great performances. Hoffman's Teach is batshit crazy, filling the screen with his neuroses.

Overall, this movie is definitely not for everyone. If the words I've written above make you feel like checking it out, go for it.


Terror in the Aisles is a 1984 horror clip film.

Terror in the Aisles is a rare one, that's for sure. A theatrically released movie consisting of pretty much nothing but movie clips. Over 75 movies make appearances over the course of the 84 minute run-time. I remember being amazed by this one when I first saw it as it felt like the movie version of a mix tape, with all the best scenes from great movies.

Hosted by Donald Pleasance and Nancy Allen, this movie shows clips from Halloween, Jaws, Psycho, The Birds, Friday the 13th and lots more. The segments are divided into groups covering such ground as the link between sex and horror, the occult and terrifying villains. All are as interesting as clips can be, at any rate. Revisiting this reminded me of how many of these movies I'd been curious to see but never got around to. I'll have to remedy that now.

As of this writing, this movie hasn't received an official dvd release. I suspect that it might not ever see the light of day due to rights of all the films involved. So, if you want to see this, you'll have to do as I did and seek out an alternative method.