The Resurrection Game (2001) Starring Ray Yeo, Kristin Pfeifer & Francis A. Veltri Written & Directed by Mike Watt

The first time I ever heard of Mike Watt, I think, was when I bought the steelbook special edition D.V.D. release of the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE from Dark Sky Films. In one of the bonus featurettes, we are taken on a magical video journey to Ohio's well-loved Cinema Wasteland horror con. This, mind you, was before I'd ever experienced the Wasteland convention for myself. Anyway, one of the con regulars interviewed in the featurette was Mike Watt. And, when he was talking, under his name, in bold white letters, it read "Director, THE RESURRECTION GAME."

I thought that sounded like a neato title, so I did an internet search for THE RESURRECTION GAME shortly thereafter. I found a decent amount of information about the movie, and I even found a novelization of the movie for sale at Amazon.com (penned, of course, by Watt himself). What I didn't find was anywhere to actually buy the damn film itself.

"Oh well," I shrugged, figuring the D.V.D. simply hadn't come out yet. "I'll check back in a couple months." I never really did, but every once in a while something would spark my memory, and I'd see what I could find. Little to nothing, that's what I usually came up with.

About a year or two ago I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry at a Starbucks outlet located inside the local Barnes & Noble. Yes, this is me name-dropping. Anyhoo, afterwards he gave me a copy of his then most recent book, Zombie C.S.U. When I started flipping through it that night, lo and behold, what did I find? Another review of THE RESURRECTION GAME (a review, by the way, that described the flick as "ultra-rare" ...well, no shit, Sherlock!). I also found mentions of the movie in horror film reference tomes like Zombiemania and Book Of The Dead and magazines like The Dark Side and Rue Morgue. "That damn Mike Watt movie," I said. "Who does this goddamn Mike Watt guy think he is anyway?"

As it turns out, he's a fairly accomplished journalist n' filmmaker, and co-founder of Pennsylvania-based Happy Cloud Pictures. He's also the husband of busty beauty and scream queen extraordinaire Amy Lynn Best. And, as it turned out, THE RESURRECTION GAME wasn't some new movie that was taking forever to get released. It was an old movie that was taking forever to get released. A product of the late 1990's, to be exact. Filmed on 16mm, by a gang of scrappy upstarts, THE RESURRECTION GAME was Watt's first feature-length project, and though it would take a decade before finally getting the official D.V.D. treatment, it would go on to make "Mike Watt" a name worth remembering.

How? Blame the grey market. A widely circulated, shoddy quality, workprint bootleg of THE RESURRECTION GAME made the rounds in the underground, even turning up as far as Asia. As for me, I've got no problem with bootlegs... for the most part. If it's an old movie that's still not available on D.V.D., and the kind of movie that probably never will be (think MUTANT HUNT or KILLER WORKOUT), then I say go ahead n' bootleg it if you want. Not my problem. Same thing if it's a big budget blockbuster studio movie made for a hundred million dollars that'll no doubt take in thrice that amount at the box office. But bootleggers who sell copies of low budget independent movies bother me. Indie filmmakers don't have the money to survive in this age of downloading and torrent files. Not only do you deprive them of the only income they may ever see from their tiny, obscure, handmade movie, but, unlike companies like Warner Bros. or Universal Studios, who can afford to shell out the big bucks to shut down sites like The Pirate Bay and sue all them bootleggers into last week, the independents generally just have to grin and bear it.

So, no thanks, I had no interest in downloading or forking over my cold, hard cashola to some deodorant-deficient bootlegger with a poorly burned D.V.D.-R copy that's more likely to give my D.V.D. player A.I.D.S. than actually work properly. I had faith in Mike Watt and his Happy Cloud Pictures brand. I'd seen a few of the company's post-RESURRECTION GAME productions, and I'd liked 'em quite a lot. Furthermore, I figured with all the buzz about the movie (with precious few exceptions, I'd heard nothing but positive things about THE RESURRECTION GAME), it would surely see release someday.

...

Right?

...

Right! 'Cause on April 30, 2010, THE RESURRECTION GAME finally (finally!) hit the legit D.V.D. market. The question now is simple: is this movie really worth that long-ass wait?

You bet your pooper it is!

Honestly, I really didn't think that this film could live up to my expectations of it. I expected to be disappointed, only to find out it was even better than I initially expected. Ostensibly, THE RESURRECTION GAME (which was originally titled "NECROMANIAC") is a zombie movie. But it's not really a zombie movie in the conventional sense. It has less in common with the traditional (read: derivative) zombie film narrative, and more in common with noir-hybrids like CAST A DEADLY SPELL and BLADE RUNNER. It also makes no bones about throwing in everything, including various makes n' models of the kitchen sink.

The picture takes place in a near-future America where the dead have risen from their graves, hankering for human flesh. Life goes on. Instead of society disintegrating and the world becoming overrun by ghouls, the zombies have become, conversely, little more than a daily irritant. This is a world where humanity has adapted to the wave of moaning, groaning, shambling, flesheating undead. It's a world where the paranormal is normal, the supernatural is natural, and the extraordinary is ordinary. Armageddon is an everyday occurrence, and people barely bat an eye. Zombies are treated more like rats or roaches than the harbingers of human extinction. And what do you do when you've got rats n' roaches? You call the exterminator of course!

That's where Sister Bliss and Simon MacForman come in. They're exterminators. Zombie exterminators. Independent zombie exterminators. That is, rather than work for the corrupt, corporate-funded, government-run, "public option" N.O.E. (National Organization of Extermination, natch), they work for themselves. They're the private option, as it were.

Sister Bliss is a crossbow-toting, trenchcoat-clad, dominatrix nun played by the hugely talented (and hugely endowed) Amy Lynn Best, who exudes a tough, take-no-prisoners demeanor that goes perfectly with her curvaceous, Bettie Page-esque good looks. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention Best's underplayed-yet-predatory feline sexuality, a subliminal, sensual quality she brings to all her performances. Anyway, aside from being a sight for sore eyes, Bliss is also the only member of the duo who seems to have got any of the smarts. Simon, her mullet-headed, dog collar-sporting, punk rock ghoulbuster companion, is tough-as-nails but dumb-as-a-rock. Played by fellow Happy Cloud co-founder Bill Homan, Simon is the comedic heart of THE RESURRECTION GAME. If he n' Bliss aren't bickering then they're blowing away rotters (or slicin' 'em up, armed as they are with a seemingly bottomless arsenal of swords, knives, n' similar sharp objects). Their on-screen chemistry is fantastic, and is one of the key pieces of the the production that keeps you coming back when the film's flaws threaten to turn you away.

While these two doofuses are out whackin' carnivorous corpses one day, they end up getting entangled in a complex conspiracy involving the government and two film noir character archetypes. He's an alcoholic, down-and-out private dick haunted by the loss of his beloved oh so many years ago. She's a damsel in distress whose been framed, fraaaaaamed. His name is Jim Campbell. Her name is Emily Zarkoff. Of course, there's no way this is ever going to end well.

Campbell's been hired by horror novelist Christopher Pope to investigate the cause of the zombie plague, because the whole thing is killing his book sales (after all, who wants to read about the unholy when the unholy is commonplace?). In doing so, he runs first into Emily, then into Sister Bliss n' Simon. Things spiral out of control when the picture's somber chain-smoking villain (shades of The X-Files' "Cancer Man") becomes aware of their activities, and learns how close our misfit band of protagonists is becoming to uncovering the sinister truth. Ba-ba-ba-bum!

Suddenly, in addition to the living dead, our heroes are stuck dealing with all the forces of the diabolical, corporate-owned government (shades of ROBOCOP's O.C.P.), including an endless succession of cloned henchmen (all played by Mike Watt) and a loyal legion of robotics-enhanced, computer-assisted "cyber-zombies."

This might all sound like a bunch of mixed-up mania that's only kooky solely for the sake of being kooky, but there's more to it than that. The "kookiness" here is organic, clearly an offshoot of the deranged-yet-literate movie buff minds belonging to its creators. What's more, between Amy Lynn Best's bouts of black belt blade-brandishing ninja-bitch zombie-slayage and the many random visitations to the lair of public access T.V. show host Necro-Phil (a kick-ass, leather jacket-adorned, wise-cracking, groovy ghoulie muppet who looks like a cross between Max Headroom and one of the zombified punks from RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), there's a lot o' cerebral, cynical sociopolitical commentary to soak up as well. Check out the fake commercials for the N.O.E. (featuring cameos from cult film legend Debbie Rochon, and Sub Rosa Studios founder Ron Bonk's rugrats), or those for the fictional Charge energy drink. Check out the simple fact that GodCorp. (the nefarious corporation responsible for the state of the world in THE RESURRECTION GAME) is called, well, "GodCorp." Hell, check out the very existence of Necro-Phil himself!

And how about the facts regarding Sister Bliss' chosen profession(s)? She's a nun... who tortures, punishes, and basically beats the holy hell out of people who pay her to because they get off on it. If that doesn't sound like your average Catholic right there, I dunno what does. She's also a nun who profits from violence and atrocity, and who goes out and slaughters countless numbers of mindless drones who stumble about drooling all over themselves, too dumb to get out of the way when she's comin' right at 'em with a big-ass katana. And if that doesn't sound exactly like the organized religion in general, then I'm a monkey's uncle.

Though it takes place in the near future, the look of the film, with its admittedly outdated fashions and technology, takes on a grim, Orwellian, "used universe" kind of vibe. And though some of its themes may seem commonplace in indie genre films nowadays, remembering when this movie was actually made helps one realize just how ahead-of-its-time it really was (keep in mind that this was being made around that same time that bloodless teen body count flicks like URBAN LEGEND and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER were still being churned out by the major studios at a clip pace).

Much of RESURRECTION GAME's magic comes from the people who put it together. Boasting more skill, passion, insight, and imagination than most of the clueless clods employed by (as Lloyd Kaufman might say) those damn devil-worshipping multimedia megaconglomerates, the Happy Cloud gang know how to tell a story, how to craft memorable characters (aside from the originality of the story and the strength of its sociopolitical themes, the three elements that make THE RESURRECTION GAME truly unforgettable for me are Sister Bliss, Simon MacForman, and Necro-Phil), how to be funny without being cheap, and how to be intellectual without being pompous. They also have an incredible knack for genrebending that feels effortless and natural. One of the more subtle things about THE RESURRECTION GAME that I was delighted by was Mike Watt's inherent understanding of how to develop a plot and make it flow in an organic way, something that may not seem like a big deal... until you look at the way motion pictures are increasingly being made these days, as an almost unrelated series of elaborately choreographed action/gore/joke sequences whose only relation is that they feature the same characters, with no regards for story, characterization, consistency, or logical progression. The story of THE RESURRECTION GAME, at a very fundamental level, makes sense. It progresses logically, until finally arriving at a climax that seems like the only outcome which the events that proceeded it could ever have led to. The ending of the film is both surprising and logical, and it manages to be the very best part of the entire movie, an important quality that modern movie endings tend to lack.

Unexpectedly, this putrescent potpourri of hitmen and undead cannibals also injects some pointed poignancy into the mix. This comes mainly from how much we are made to care about the characters, but also from some of the original ideas that Watt comes up with and forces into our heads, ideas that would normally never occur to us, and would surely not show up in most other movies of this type. For instance, there's a moment when one of the "Adam" clone-soldiers that Watt himself portrays makes mention of the fact that one of his identical predecessors was actually married, reminding us that just because someone looks like you and may even have the same genetic data as you... does not mean that said someone is not a unique, individual person, with hopes and dreams and fears, and a heart and a history, and love and a mind all their own. It forces us to contemplate issues of identity, as well as scientific morality, and delivers the message that "hey, these characters aren't just faceless drones... 'cause clones are people too." That may sound silly, but there's an authentic core of emotion there, one we shouldn't be too soon to forget.

It may be more talky than your typical post-Fulci flesheater flick fanatic might expect, but fans of smart horror and quirky black humor ought to love this film. It towers head-and-shoulders above the glut of formulaic zombie flicks continuously choking the life out of the indie scene. For one thing, it sticks out because of the fact that it was made way before the modern boom in zombie reinterest, but what reeeeally helps THE RESURRECTION GAME stand up and demand your attention is the fact that it's far and away better than many of the movies that have come along with said zombie boom. While every camcorder Coppola with a jar of fake blood and a few torn-up t-shirts has seen fit to throw his or her hat into the ring, THE RESURRECTION GAME has been the only serious contender in the fight to inherit Romero's throne in years. Not only does this picture have the Pittsburg pedigree, but it's also got the blue collar independent spirit, the dry n' dark sense of humor, and the hardline commitment to social commentary that takes it out of the realm of standard zombie horror and into the realm of political horror.

This is not "just another zombie film." It's a zombie film made not by overeager fanboys, but people who actually give a hoot about cinema as a storytelling medium. Yes, the Happy Cloud family members are fans, but this isn't just a gory geek-out. Witness the fact that is a zombie film that actually gives a crap about why the hell the zombies exist in the first place. Not only does the Happy Cloud team take the time to figure out the reason for the zombie plague, they make that reason the focal point of the whole story. What's more, they understand that in a world full of the walking dead, what's really interesting is not to focus on the monsters, but rather the human beings involved. For that reason, more attention is paid to the writing than toward self-satisfying attempts to shoehorn the requisite amount of gutmunching scenes in.

That THE RESURRECTION GAME was shot on 16mm additionally helps it stick out in a genre where, more and more, D.V. is becoming the status quo. I respect and commend those who use new school technology to their advantage, and I celebrate the fact that the Digital Revolution has opened the doors for budding would-be microbudget auteurs and has made cinema a truly democratic artform. But there's just something about actual film stock that D.V., no matter how high quality, will never be able to capture.

Due to the movie's age, it's no surprise that RESURRECTION GAME has got some wear n' tear to it. Digital archiving glitches are apparent, and the middle of the movie is particularly beset by chemical burns and scratches to the original negative. Those who like their D.V.D. prints to be flawless will most likely cringe, but for others who don't mind a little flavorful ugliness will find that the imperfections give the movie a rugged, gritty, grindhouse-y feel.

As for the technical aspects of the flick, keep in mind that this is an example of no-budget guerilla cinema here, chief. The continuity, lighting, audio, set design, special effects, and fight choreography is about what you'd expect if you're familiar with the microcinema scene. That is, they range from dismal to sketchy-but-decent. On the other hand, both acting and cinematography are above average for this level of filmmaking. Much of the shoddiness here comes just because of how low budget a movie it is we're talking about. I don't begrudge the Happy Cloud crew a bit, as its clear that what's missing from THE RESURRECTION GAME is moolah, not talent or care.

There are admittedly a lot of plot holes in the story (though none are too painfully glaring, especially if you allow yourself to get caught up in the fun of the film), just as there are a few times here n' there where the picture drags horrendously. But I think all those mistakes are mostly made up for just by virtue of how earnest, charismatic, eclectic, and flat-out bizarre the film is as a whole. THE RESURRECTION GAME proves once again that if you want to see some truly remarkable cinema, you either have to take a plane overseas, or dig a tunnel into the heart of the independent underground. 'Cause, boyo, you sure as shit are gonna have a helluva time finding anything worth writing home to ma about in the mainstream movie scene

This is a picture that is tailor-made for cult classic status. It already has a strong cult following, and I predict that its fan audience will only grow with time. THE RESURRECTION GAME knows how to be smart and it knows how to be stupid, and it knows when to be which. A zombie movie for brain-damaged T.V. burnout conspiracy theorists, this psychotronic sliver of subterranean cinema goes for broke in a way that only D.I.Y. films can, a way that only D.I.Y. filmmakers understand.

Mike Watt's direction takes its cues from visionaries like Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, George Romero, and J.R. Bookwalter, but it ultimately uses their genes to create a D.N.A. stand unique to Watt himself. Showcasing a transgressive vitality and an eccentric narrative structure, RESURRECTION GAME is identifiably a movie that could not have been made by anyone but Watt and his Happy Cloud compatriots. Despite being a slightly schizoid cinema pastiche (a colossal and combustive collage of inspirations n' influences as varied n' disparate as Alfred Hitchcock, THE MUPPETS, RESERVOIR DOGS, Destroyer Duck, Philip K. Dick, the Cohen brothers, John Woo, Raymond Chandler, Tim Kincaid, and Star Trek), the occasionally arch, always iconoclastic meat-and-potatoes here is 100% Mike Watt. THE RESURRECTION GAME's heady stew of clones, katanas, big guns, and leather jackets belongs to him and no one else. This detective story/Hong Kong action/subversive comedy mash-up never feels like merely a jumble of nods n' homages, but rather a genuine, cohesive, and singular work with Watt's signature stamped all over it. The fact that it has the balls to take on corporate, governmental, and religious culture as bitingly as it does only makes it more unique. More importantly, it's entertaining without ever losing its edge.

The Ten Year Anniversary special edition D.V.D. released by Happy Cloud Pictures is a true gift to the world (okay, maybe I'm being slightly hyperbolic, but nevertheless it's pretty fuckin' sweet). In addition to the movie, we're also given a a special retrospective documentary featurette made up of some sweet never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and some equally sweet newly minted interviews with everyone from Ultra Violent magazine writer Art Ettinger to Troma founder (and creator of the Toxic Avenger!) Lloyd Kaufman to SHATTER DEAD director Scooter McCrae, all of 'em talking about the movie, its cult following, and the reasons why it took so damn long for this D.V.D. to see the light of day. There's also a trailer for DEMON DIVAS & THE LANES OF DAMNATION, as well as two audio commentary tracks.

The first commentary features Mike Watt, Amy Lynn Best, and Bill Homan, and is chock-full of stories from the set and actual information about the production, the shoot, the effects, and so on. It's also hilarious and charming, with Watt, Best, and Homan all chiming in with various self-deprecating comments. The other commentary is just Mike Watt and Mike Watt alone, and is exactly the kind of writer-director's commentary I wish I could get more often. That is, instead of focusing on the details of "how we did it," the focus here is on "why it was done." Informative, intelligent, and insightful, Watt's solo commentary may be less humorous, but it's emphasis on the ideas and themes at work between the lines of this macabre, chaotic yarn about ghouls and gunslingers is enticing nonetheless. And if you're like me, the kind of fan less interested in the technical how-to of cinema and more interested in topics like the current state of the entertainment industry, the dearth of imagination in today's movie-makers, Watt's own cinematic philosophies, the history of the movie and its makers in general, and the deeper concepts behind all the guns, gore, and martial arts mayhem that THE RESURRECTION GAME offers, you'll find it eminently enjoyable.

Of course, one of the things that makes his solo commentary such a joy is the same thing that makes THE RESURRECTION GAME itself a joy, and that's Watt himself. Mike Watt is well-read, self-aware, unpretentious, and, from what I gather, his ideologies, at least in regards to film and filmmaking, are remarkably similar to my own. His films therefore do not suffer from a lack of imagination or ingenuity, nor from ego, insincerity, or inexperience. Again, this is all simply my opinion, and, seeing as I do see similarities between myself and Mr. Watt, it goes without saying that I'm being biased, because we're both obviously on a similar wavelength. Now, dear reader, if, whilst reading this review, you've felt at all like perhaps me and you are also on a similar wavelength, if you've felt that whatsoever, then I highly suggest you make it a point to give THE RESURRECTION GAME a look. It does what too few films today manage, blending together both brains and brawn, and hybridizing them together in such a way that they become inseparable.

THE RESURRECTION GAME feels a lot like a comic book. It's very pulpy. It doesn't take itself too seriously (not enough zombie movies with samurai sword battles if ya ask me), but it does take itself just seriously enough to provide an engaging plot, filled with unforgettable characters, taking place in a wholly unique, fascinating universe all its own. A twisted tale about a horror of mankind's own making, the movie is deceptively relevant and deeply layered, even as it maintains an air of staunch simplicity. It is as smart as it is entertaining, with just a hint of campiness. A no-budget popcorn b-movie, with all the trappings of a genre piece, but with a rapier wit and an acerbic, socially conscious worldview to match.

You may disagree, but I honestly feel that RESURRECTION GAME is a modern microcinema masterpiece, a serio-comic indie horror triumph akin to such landmark pictures as BAD TASTE and THE DEAD NEXT DOOR. If nothing else, though, I can say this: it's the best satirical sci-fi kung-fu zombie-noir action/horror-comedy out there. Of that much, I'm certain

Until next slime...
Stay sick!
Your pickled pal,
William Weird.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: buy it
Best moment: the bloody, bullet-blazin', sword-swingin', flesh-feastin', clone-cluttered climax