Hard Rock Zombies
| Hard Rock Zombies | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Krishna Shah |
| Written by | David Allen Ball Krishna Shah |
| Screenplay by | Barry Shipman Ed Earl Repp |
| Produced by | Steve Golin Shashi Patel Krishna Shah Sigurjón Sighvatsson |
| Starring | E.J. Curse Geno Andrews Sam Mann Mick McMains Lisa Toothman Jennifer Coe Ted Wells Jack Bliesener |
| Cinematography | Tom Richmond |
| Edited by | Amit Bose |
| Music by | Paul Sabu |
Production company | Patel/Shah Film Company |
| Distributed by | Cannon Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Hard Rock Zombiesis a 1985 Americancomedy horrorfilm directed and co-written byKrishna Shah,and starring E.J. Curse, Geno Andrews, Sam Mann, Mick McMains, Lisa Toothman, Jennifer Coe, Ted Wells, and Jack Bliesener. The film was released byCannon Film Distributorson September 1985.[1][2][3][4]
In the film, the members of aheavy metalband are murdered by a music-hatingNazicult. They are then accidentally brought back to life aszombies,through song lyrics copied from a medievalgrimoire.While the band attempts to perform music again, their song creates more zombies.
Plot[edit]
Holy Moses, a rock band lead by lead singer andbassistJessie, is informed by their manager Ron that they will be performing at a small conservative Californian town in an effort to impress Don Matson, a famous record company executive whom Ron hopes will give the band a record deal. Before leaving, however, Jessie encounters a girl named Cassie, who tells him to stay away from the town.
The next day, whilst driving to the town, Ron and Holy Moses meet a young woman named Elsa, who convinces them to stay over at her family's mansion for the weekend. Whilst exploring the town, however, the band finds the locals to be unusually bigoted against them, warning them not to perform tomorrow. The town sheriff even throws them in jail for seemingly no reason, but Cassie quickly shows up and saves the band by giving them bail money. Later, Ron is brought to an emergency town council meeting which ultimately introduces a new law banning rock 'n' roll music in town. Cassie's father then grabs a shotgun, planning to do away with the band.
Back at Elsa's mansion, Jessie practices a song he has been writing based on an ancient Latin text that was supposedly used to ressurect the dead. He discovers that the magic actually works when he inadvertedly brings a dead tarantula back to life by playing the song. Meanwhile, the other band members are brutally murdered by Elsa and her mother Eva, who is actually awerewolf.Cassie rushes to Eva's mansion to warn Jessie about her father, only for Eva's groundskeeper Olaf to appear and start chasing them. Jessie gives Cassie a tape recording of the song and tells her to play it in case he gets caught, right before Olaf catches up to him and kills him with aweedwhacker.
The next morning, after the band's funeral, a now jobless Ron dines with Elsa and her family. Elsa's father suddenly reveals himself to beAdolf Hitler(in turn revealing that Eva is actuallyEva Braun), who apparently faked his death and is planning to establish aFourth Reich.Meanwhile, Cassie fulfils her promise to Jessie and plays the tape, causing Holy Moses to be ressurected aszombies.The band quickly gets revenge on their killers, killing Elsa, Eva, Olaf, Hitler and the rest of the family. Ron, having witnessed the deaths, rushes to the town hall and tries to tell everyone about what he saw. When the townsfolk go to the mansion to investigate, Hitler and the rest of the family come back as zombies and begin their own killing spree, turning many civilians into zombies, including the sheriff and Cassie's father.
Cassie escapes to a local theatre, where Holy Moses are set to perform their scheduled gig. The band arrives, as does Don Matson, who is completely unaware of the zombie epedemic in town. He watches their performance and is highly impressed, but the zombies then arrive right as the gig comes to an end, forcing Cassie to flee. Matson is attacked and turned into a zombie as the band leaves and returns to their graves. Meanwhile, the surviving townsfolk gather in a safezone, and one survivor gets the idea to sacrififce a virgin to be used a sex slave for the zombies, believing it will convince them to leave town. The townsfolk choose Cassie as their sacrifice and prepare to tie her to a tree and leave her for dead. Ron tries desperately to convince the band to come back out of their graves in order to save her. His pleading works, and the band performs a song that successfully distracts the zombies long enough for Ron to save Cassie. The band then lures the zombies into a secret underground chamber that Hitler had showed to Ron earlier. Ron activates the chamber's highly-advanced poison gases, causing all the zombies to suffocate to death, including the bandmembers. Ron decides to leave town, and as Cassie stays behind to mourn the loss of Jessie, Jessie's hand bursts out of his grave. Cassie caresses Jessie's hand and tells him she will love him forever.
Cast[edit]
- E.J. Curse as Jessie
- Geno Andrews as Tommy
- Sam Mann as Chuck
- Mick McMains as Robby
- Lisa Toothman as Elsa
- Jennifer Coe as Cassie
- Ted Wells as Ron
- Jack Bliesener asAdolf Hitler
- Richard Vidan as Sheriff Dillon
- Phil Fondacaroas Mickey
- Crystal Shaw Martell as Mrs. Buff
- Vincent De Stefano as Olaf
- Gary Friedkin as Buckey
- Christopher Perkins as Christian
- Michael David Simms as Don Matson
- Nadia as Eva
- Susan Prevatte as Wolf Lady
- Emmanuel Shipov as Grandfather
- Stacy Stockman as Lu-Ann
- David O'Hara as Ed
- Jonathan King as Red
- Donald Moran as Ted
- David Schroeder as Cassie's Father
- John Drake as Old Man / Ancient Man
- Maria Porter as Maria
- John Fleckas Arnold
Production[edit]
The film was made in 1983 at the same time asAmerican Drive-Inand featured as thedrive-in moviewithin that film.[4]
Release[edit]
Hard Rock Zombieswas released in 1985.
Home media[edit]
On April 26, 2022, the movie was released on Blu-Ray for the first time byVinegar Syndromeas part of a two-disk set withSlaughterhouse Rock.[5]
References[edit]
- ^"Hard Rock Zombies (1985)".Rotten Tomatoes.Retrieved4 April2018.
- ^"Hard Rock Zombies".AllMovie.Retrieved4 April2018.
- ^"Hard Rock Zombies".TCM.com.Retrieved4 April2018.
- ^abLor. (January 13, 1988). "Film Reviews: Hard Rock Zombies".Variety.p. 18.
- ^"Hard Rock Zombies / Slaughterhouse Rock Blu-ray".Blu-ray.com.
