The Stink of Flesh (2005)

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Just a few years ago, before the most recent rise of the vampires, it was all about the Living Dead. Not unlike the mainstream, the world of Zombie B-cinema also experienced a rise in popularity. But recently, I saw a zombie flick that wasn't just a good zombie flick, or even a good low-budget zombie flick. By God, The Stink Of Flesh is just an all around good movie.Brought to you by New Mexico's king of B-cinema... oops, I mean Z-cinema, Scott Phillips. This guy brings something a little different to the table, a little something called originality. And when I say original, I mean, you won't find anything quite like this. The Stink Of Flesh starts out regular enough, with a fellow named Matool, who, in a world filled with the living-dead, thinks it's cool to fight these things and kill them with a hammer (and nails), as opposed to shooting them in the head, like everybody else. After almost getting killed, Matool is kidnapped by Nathan, and his girlfriend, Dexy. Matool isn't too fond of this kind of treatment, but their house is about as zombie-proof as it gets, and the only thing he's being forced to do is participate in their harmless, yet peculiar sex games. I'm sure Matool would have appreciated a warning that Dexy's sisters is apart of the game, but really, what's the fun in that? I'm just gonna assume Sassy and Dorothy was some kind of homage to Basket Case... which is always a welcomed quality for a Horror movie. Anyway, the zombies are present, in fact, they're everywhere, and there are gruesome, gory killings, and there is quite an apocalyptic vibe, but this movie is just too busy being a dark-humored freak show to care. That basically sums up this movie. The Stink Of Flesh never stops being interesting, unlike the repetitive work of George A. Romero. The Stink Of Flesh really puts Land Of The Dead to shame, in every way. And did I mention that this movie stars LBP's Billy Garberina? You know you're in for a good time, now. That guy is hilarious, and if you agree, I would totally recommend Wet Heat. But for those of you who are burnt out, or just bored with the regular, everyday living dead nonsense that the mainstream throws at us, yet you feel you're still above stuff like Zombie Rampage, and Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker, this one might be just right. 10/10

o.k, o.k., O.K.! I would give this movie such higher ratings.... BUT I CANT! Yeah, yeah, yeah, the storyline sucks, the acting sucks (it does) and the makeup Really SUCKS! I mean BAD! But still hidden in the film are some easter eggs of a gem which I call some good zombie crap! The ideas are there, and it is comedic, but in general it needs a lot of work. Apart from it's worse then ever movie makeup,(and it is worse than your neighbor's kids on Halloween) it does make you watch to see the true wonder of where the hell the plot is going. But alas, I would say the best thing about this movie is............ the SOUNDTRACK! Hence I KEPT WATCHING! Let me just save you the trouble... TRUE HORROR FANS SEE THE FILM, THE REST OF YOU GO BUY THE SOUNDTRACK!

For a low budget film, this looks amazingly good. There is a script, some good gore effects, and a lot of evident hard work by the cast and crew. The acting is not terrible overall, and this film pays honorable tribute to the low budget zombie flick tradition.Problem comes from the cast and premise. If you must make a sort core zombie flick with frequent nudity, I would argue that having attractive actors in the naked roles is pretty much a requirement. It also would be a good idea to have your strongest actors take the most important roles. They may even teach that last point in real film schools...Instead, we get "Dexy" who not to belabor the point is not in the least attractive, resembling a younger Kathy Bates. If she was as good an actress as Ms Bates, all well and good, but she is really not talented. So to cast her in a key (arguably pivotal) role as the center of the action is unwise as she cannot bear the load of talent needed to transcend her blah appearance. There is too much residual disbelief involved for the audience to imagine a circle of desire and treachery with this uncharismatic and unappealing character as the center of it.The other liability is Kristin Hansen, who plays Sassy. She is such a poor actress that another main liability, the silly Siamese twin claymation face "Dotty", becomes even more tedious. The whole plot involving the soldier falling for Sassy is jaw-droppingly perverse, reminding me of that moment in "Night of the Zombies" when the commando puts on the tutu and pirouettes around the room into the hands of a mob of zombies. The difference is that the latter moment made me laugh because it was enjoyably dumb, while the current instance just made me roll my eyes in incredulity due to the crappy acting job of Ms Hansen.Anyway, these two mediocre actresses in key roles plus the Dotty subplot deflate the movie quite a bit. From the aspiring director in me, I wonder why the director didn't take the two cuter actresses appearing in bit roles and put them in the Dexy and Sassy role. The zombie girl is far more attractive, and the girl Matool rescues from the car is also cuter and can act substantially better than either Dexy or Hansen. So you want a cute woman for naked scenes, you have one, you want a better actress, check have one of those too. The casting of this film therefore makes even less sense objectively...Anyway, if you don't expect even adequate acting from horror movies, and don't mind seeing people who look like they are from the local Applebee's naked, you may be able to enjoy this movie more fully. Even if you are more quality minded, this is a decent viewing for zombie movie completists, as there are a few interesting ideas here and the director seems to have a lot of talent in every element of film production except casting.CMK

This is the sleaziest, strangest zombie film I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen plenty of zombie films! Like George Romero cross bred with Tennesee Williams and Sergio Leone. Really cheap and dirty and consistently inventive with some truly great electronic music by Chris Alexander and Carrie Eliza. Does anyone know if this is the SAME Chris Alexander who writes for Rue Morgue magazine? Unlike some people on this board who thought that "the kid" was stupid and unnecessary...haven't any of you seen Flesh for Frankenstein? And I love that the character is named MATOOL...that was the island in Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE!Anyway, I loved it...but it certainly isn't for all tastes.