Zombie! Vs. Mardi Gras (1999): Geauxzombie!

Hello, folks, and welcome to Mardi Gras at The Lightning Bug’s Lair. As many long time readers will know, I’m a big fan of New Orleans. I travel there whenever I can, but I’ve never gotten down there during Mardi Gras. I’ll admit that’s partially because the throngs of people sound fun on paper, but in practice, I think I would be most annoyed. Still the idea of Mardi Gras is quite intriguing even to a heathen such as myself. What sounds more fun than a last day to let it all hang out and take everything to excess before a season of abstention? So in order to celebrate the holiday I want to share with you folks probably the most classily bad cult flick to come out of The Big Easy. There’s been some doozies too. I know because I’ve covered a good many of them including Mardi Gras Massacre, Angel Heart, and Cat People. This one by far takes the cake, the King cake that is.

Back in 1999, friends Karl DeMolay, Will Frank, and Mike Lyddon, set out to make a motion picture, and with their investment of less than $5000, what they got was Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras. The movie’s plot, if you would be as kind as to call it that, concerns a paraplegic occultist named McGuffin (Matt James) who enlists the help of a Sumerian goddess to take his revenge on Mardi Gras revelers. A string of Goddard style art house shots of random things, poorly made-up zombies, and many bare breasted girls trying to get some beads ensues. Finally, Galilee (Keith Bien) and a fat Ninja (Jason Deas) somehow time travel to New Orleans to put a stop to McGuffin’s plot. Or something, it’s unclear and doesn’t really matter.

If you’re a fan of classic film structure, great cinematography, and Oscar worthy acting, then I have no idea why you’re still reading this review. Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras is trash on the highest order, but it is some damn entertaining trash. This is not the kind of film you want to sit down and watch with a serious need to find greater meaning and understanding though it. You will find plenty of reasons to laugh. Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras comes across like an art film that’s been invaded by a dime store Val Lewton who has ideas based on snippets of an unmade Bill & Ted sequel.

I really don’t have much else to say about this film. There’s nothing to recommend of the acting or film making so I won‘t even try. Yet if you can’t make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, then invite a few friends over, watch Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras, drink lots of Hurricanes and eat King Cake until someone chokes on the baby, and you’ll be sayin’ “Who Dat?” for more than one reason. Happy Mardi Gras, everyone, and laissez les bon temps rouler!(A good way to let the good times roll is to roll on over and download the latest episode of Sinful Cinema!)

Bugg Rating

Unfortunately, there's no trailer or anything of this flick out there. So instead I'll share with you one of my favorite spooky New Orleans songs. Here, from his Gris Gris album, is Dr. John with I Walk on Gilded Splinters.