Vampire Zombies…From Space! (2024) 'WIFF' Movie Review: A Genuinely Funny Tribute to B-Movies of Days Past

Going to see a parody of classic science fiction and horror movies is always a dicey situation, especially if you’re already a fan of the films they target. Besides hoping that it’s actually funny, you’re also worried that they’ll just take a stance of sneering contempt towards their source material, as is all too often the case. Even a respectful homage is no guarantee of quality, either. An affectionate tribute can too easily become an exercise in virtue-signaling, a lackluster effort at trying to prove they’re part of the fan club, and an excuse to copy what’s already been done to death. I’ll be a happy man if I never see another reenactment of Psycho’s shower scene again.

What makes Michael Stasko’s “Vampire Zombies…From Space!” such a pleasant surprise is it’s not only the rare parody that’s actually funny but the even rarer one that takes chances at being original. Sure, it’s obviously inspired by Mel Brooks, Joe Dante, and the early films of Peter Jackson, but it’s also very much its own beast and tries to generate its own comic style and sensibility. And yes, it pays tribute to the science fiction and horror films of the Thirties and Fifties, but it doesn’t merely try to recreate older scenes for familiarity’s sake and doesn’t go for the obvious or overdone. We’ve all seen plenty of homages to the opening scene of “Touch of Evil,” but has anyone else ever tried to spoof that film’s acid attack scene?

Vampire Zombies…From Space! (2024) — A still from “Vampire Zombies…From Space!” (2024)

Of course, “Vampire Zombies” isn’t a comedic masterpiece like “Young Frankenstein,” and it doesn’t try to be. The hit-to-miss joke ratio is about three to one, the pacing is sometimes off, and the inexperience of some of the cast members is all too obvious. And yet, it’s quite irresistible just the same. Beyond the “can-do” spirit of the whole production, there’s genuine wit in the script Stasko co-wrote with original story writers Jacob Skrzypa and Alex Forman, which wisely never condescends to either the movies it spoofs or the time period it’s set in. Craig Gloster is marvelously dry as the funniest Dracula since George Hamilton or maybe even Udo Kier, although my favorite performance is by Nicholas Shields as the local pathologist.

Imagine if Dwight Frye had been handed the sort of role usually given to George Zucco or Lionel Atwill, and you’ll have a good idea of what his character is like. It’s also a lot of fun for the classic horror fan to spot “Night of the Living Dead” star Judith O’Dea in a cameo as a Vampira-like character, and for the trash film aficionado to catch Lloyd Kaufman in a bit part (In the name of good taste, I can’t say anything more about the latter. All I’ll say is that his role is every bit as classy as you’d expect from the Troma head honcho).

Another plus is Ken Amlin’s black-and-white cinematography, which like the rest of the film pays homage in an unexpected way. Instead of trying to imitate the look of 30s horror the way Mel Brooks did for “Young Frankenstein,” or that of 50s science fiction films as does Larry Blamire’s equally amusing “Lost Skeleton of Cadavra,” it instead takes inspiration from Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” (naturally) and the Joel Coen’s “The Man Who Wasn’t There.”

It may be faint praise to call it great-looking for a low-budget spoof, but the glossy, high-contrast sheen of the film is essential to the humor. This isn’t supposed to be a long-lost rediscovered film from another era the way Blamire’s film is; it’s what would happen if Ed Wood were alive and well and making a movie with today’s digital resources. It properly looks like a sleek, newly-restored 1958 Buick Special instead of a beat-up old Edsel.

Bringing up the name of Ed Wood also brings up why the film works the way it does, namely a genuine love for the subjects of its spoofery, and a lack of contempt or arrogance towards them. The makers of “Vampire Zombies” obviously learned an important lesson from Burton’s Wood biopic, of respecting the filmmaker even when it’s hard to respect the end product.

Unlike many similar films, this was made by people who’ve obviously seen the movies it parodies, and it doesn’t engage in mean-spirited mockery. They don’t just name-drop Ed Wood; the entire plot is like a Mad magazine satire of “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” dependent on at least a passing knowledge of the movie to fully get the joke. This refreshing lack of a cruel streak extends to the rest of the film’s humor; there’s plenty of comic gore in the film, but thankfully we’re never grossed out by it and just laugh along with everyone else.

One thing I haven’t discussed yet is the film’s plot. But seriously, when you read a title like “Vampire Zombies… From Space!” do you really need such a description to know if it’s a movie you might be interested in seeing? Just watch and enjoy. And make sure you have a bottle of hand sanitizer ready should you ever plan on meeting Lloyd Kaufman.