The tag line for Todd Jason Falcon Cook’s ZOMBIEFIED (on DVD from Celebrity Home Entertainment) promises a lot: “Zombie Film, Slasher Film…The Infection Begins.” Immediately the mind starts to race and figure out how a movie could combine the best elements of FRIDAY THE 13TH and DAWN OF THE DEAD. While the movie is somewhat fun, it doesn’t quite live up to that premise.

Houston concertgoers are treated to much more than the latest cool punk-metal band working the audience into a sweaty frenzy: They are exposed to a CD that causes an undead breakout. Even given the low-budget special FX—and we are talking very low-budget—it’s kind of fun to watch the audience being turned into zombies, either by the music or by other zombies. When lead singer Alana (Rebecca Torrellas) escapes, she is hunted by a mob of ghouls being controlled by a man in a Richard Nixon mask.

One major problem with the script is that the part about the serial killer is never properly explained (although there is an attempt to do so in a deleted scene included among the special features). So even though we may not fully understand why, it’s pretty easy to see what’s going on: Zombies are overrunning Houston, and only two people know how to combat the epidemic.

While I‘m willing to suspend my disbelief for a lot of things, ZOMBIFIED contains so many gaps in logic that they pulled me out of the story. One thing the movie does have going for it is that it adheres to Joe Bob Briggs’ immortal credo that “anyone can die at any time.” There is a very high body count, many of which are shown in grisly close-up.

Also among the extras are a commentary track by Cook as well as outtakes and bloopers. The commentary added a lot to my enjoyment, as I always enjoy hearing about the artist’s process. Cook has also included several trailers to whet our appetites and information about the soundtrack, which is actually very good.

ZOMBIEFIED isn’t perfect by any means, but it is fun, and director/producer/writer/just about everything else Cook shows promise. The special FX are cheap but generally effective, his direction fairly strong. If he could spend more time on the script, making his story tighter, and get a few stronger actors for key roles, there’s no telling where he could go.

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