Bad Acid
Director – Bill Zebub (Dickshark, Nightmare on Elmo’s St.)
Starring – Bill Zebub, Peter Steele (Oz), and Freddie Dingo (Jesus Christ: Serial Rapist, The Crucifier)
Release Date – 2005
Rating – 1.5/5
Tagline – “It’s worth the trip”
When it comes to indie filmmaking there are very few directors that spark controversy like Bill Zebub. Zebub is known for his offensive films that push the boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not. Which is to be expected from the man who made films like Jesus Christ: Serial Rapist and Metal Retardation. I’ve seen a handful of Zebub’s films at this point and it has been a hit or miss experience. His filmIndie Director is easily one of my favorite indie films to date. The film is very raw and real while showing the viewer how difficult it is to make an indie film. The next film I saw was Dolla Morte and was a pretty fun experience. Definitely unique in indie horror. However, one of his newest films, Dickshark, was not a fun watch. In fact, it was almost painful.
Recently, MVD released the Lost Films of Bill Zebub. It looked interesting so I reached out to them for review copies. They were kind enough to send it my way. The first film in the set is the 2005 comedy Bad Acid. Thanks guys for letting me check it out!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows Bill (Zebub) who is drug addicted. He is a known radio DJ and is moving up in the time slots at work due to his popularity. However, drugs keep getting the best of him resulting in him tripping at the worst times. Like when he has to be on the hair or at parties. When a woman at work tries to steal his interview with Peter Steele things get serious and Bill has to try and sober up in order to keep his job and the interview.**Spoiler Alert**
You never know what to expect from one Zebub movie to the next. Dickshark was a more traditional film while Indie Dirctor and Dolla Mortewere very unique compared to other indie releases. Bad Acid fit more into the latter but it was completely void of any coherent story and even lacks the absurd and offensive humor that makes his films so much fun.
The acting in this on is well…it’s bad. Very bad. Even the cameo from Peter Steele feels awkward and out of place. I feel like the cast, Zebub included, lacked direction. They have no idea where to go with their characters and that is painfully clear.
The story for this one feels like it was tossed around a previously recorded interview with Peter Steele. The film following a radio DJ who is more concerned with drugs than his job is hardly that entertaining. In fact, it was downright boring. The “trippy” scenes were hard to follow and added nothing to the film. Zebub’s now iconic humor misses its mark almost every time. Even his offensive humor that finds him in controversy feels out of place in this one.
Finally, the film has no kills but does have tons of visual effects that are not that impressive or betters the film. They are mostly added to make the film feel like a bad trip which it fails to do. Overall, Bad Acid is the bottom of Zebub’s filmography. The acting is not there and the story is nowhere to be seen. I can not recommend this one.
Stereotypes Don’t Just Disappear Into Thin Air
Director – Bill Zebub (Zombiechrist, Rap Sucks)
Starring – Bill Zebub, Craig Pillard (Dirtbags: Armpits of Metal, Dolla Morte), and Rocco Martone (Jesus, The Total Douchebag)
Release Date – 2005
Rating – 2/5
Tagline – “Comedy is a social mirror. This is a circus mirror”
My Bill Zebub triple feature continues as I check out the set The Lost Films of Bill Zebub which was sent my way from my friends over at MVD. As I stated previously, I had seen a few films from Zebub and most of them were fun in their own way. However, when I started the set I was greeted with Bad Acid which was far from the best. In fact, it was almost unwatchable.
The next film in the set, Stereotypes Don’t Just Disappear Into Thin Air, was one I had heard a lot about. Most of which was not good. Most people accuse Zebub of being racist, homophobic, and the like due to this film. Those that skip the warning at the beginning and jump straight into the movie may miss the point of it. Sure, it is still offensive and racist to a degree but it was made that way. Zebub wanted to make the most offensive, vulgar, and degrading film he could just to see how people react. He succeeded.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows white supremacist Freddie Dingo (Zebub) who celebrates his birthday with some friends who have hired a stripper. He falls in love with the stripper and discovers that she also highlights as an escort or prostitute when the money is right. His adventures with her and his Jewish friend takes him through several encounters with the local authorities (Nazis) and the discovery that his girlfriend, now his ex, is also trans-gendered.**Spoiler Alert**
I had always heard that this film was a rough watch and even harder to follow but I can see what Zebub was doing. I can’t stress enough that I do no agree with it but I can see what he was going for. PC culture is ruining social media and the younger generations. Sure, we do need to be tolerant of others but we don’t have to be so damn soft skinned. Toughen up and learn that words are just words. If you say something racist then you are being an asshole but if someone says they are republican or democrat then shut up and don’t whine because they disagree with you. We are all different and see the world in different ways. Some people like the color pink and others like green. That does not give these people the right to fight with one another because they have different views. Shut the fuck up and grow up.
The acting in this one is horrible which is something I have started to expect from Zebub and company. The dialogue, some of the time, is pretty funny and entertaining. It pokes fun at racism and stereotypes. At these times it is very well written and sharp. Sadly, the delivery of the lines and the acting comes off as forced and very inexperienced. With Zebub as the exception, none of the cast tries to create a character.
The story for this one is lacking a coherent story line. Instead, we get scenes pieced together to offend. We get the degradation of trans-gendered people, the police force compared to Nazi soldiers, and the “n-word” more times than a Tarantino film. The film, as you have probably gathered, is not to tell a story but to quickly offend the viewer and never give up.
Finally, those of you looking for blood and gore will not find it here. Instead, you will find some of the most raunchiest jokes to ever grace indie cinema. Some of them find their marks and others are just so shocking you can’t help but laugh. Sadly, a majority are not that funny. Overall, Stereotypes Don’t Just Disappear Into Thin Air is a step up from Bad Acid in terms of being watchable but it is still far from perfect and has no re-watch value. In fact, once the shock wears off the film is pretty much worthless.
Spooked
Director – Bill Zebub (Night of the Pumpkin, Holocaust Cannibal)
Starring – Bill Zebub
Release Date – 2007
Rating – 2/5
Tagline – “Seeing is disbelieving”
Looks like this is going to wrap up my Bill Zebub triple feature. After I received The Lost Films of Bill Zebub I knew I was going to see some raunchy, sexy, and offensive films but I had no idea to what degree it would be. Bad Acid is just a film pieced together around a previously recorded interview with a drunk/high Peter Steele. The film’s story feels rushed and tossed together each day as filming took place.
The second film, Stereotypes Don’t Just Disappear Into Thin Air, had some funny moments but still failed to offer up a film with a story that you could follow. This was not leaving much hope for the set and as I went into Spooked I didn’t have high hopes. This one ended up being the perfect companion piece to Stereotypes.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a racist young man with a strong willed wife who is pushing him to better himself. He is unemployed and a friend stuck out his neck to get him a job at his place of employment. He fails at the interview and is forced to work at a warehouse with another racist man who finds all minorities to be inferior. However, when he dies while drinking on the railroad tracks he finds himself reincarnated as an African American and has to deal with others being negative and racist towards him.**Spoiler Alert**
Spooked tossed me for a loop. Not with it’s profound story and amazing plot twist but with it’s title. I assumed that it was going to be Zebub’s take on the supernatural films of recent years but I was way off. In fact, the film was titled after a long forgotten racist term for African Americans. The film was offensive and actually offered up a somewhat linear story for the viewer to follow.
The acting in this one is, you guessed it, fucking horrible once again. Zebub is one of two cast members that tries to step out of their own heads and give the viewer some sort of character to follow. The dialogue is just said with no conviction and no emotions are shown at all. The story for this one is simple and coherent though it is very, very offensive.
The story is brilliant if you sit and think about it and could have easily been turned into one of those touching films that shows you how much a person can grow mentally and emotionally if loved enough but that isn’t Zebub’s style. Instead, it offends and is completely tasteless. When Zebub is resurrected as a black man we could have seen the movie follow him and he learns to love everyone equally. We don’t. Instead we get more racist rants and stereotypes being mocked.
Finally, those of you looking for blood and gore will not find it here. There is a few death scenes but nothing worth remembering or entertaining. The effects we get, practical and visual, are all cheap and almost laughable. Overall, Spooked is another miss from the king of sleaze and controversy. The film warranted a few laughs from me but that was as far as it went. Skip it.
