Rant #1,449: "Zombeavers"

My wife worked this past Sunday, and when that happens, generally I don't have much to do.

I help her with the laundry, I go to the supermarket to pick up odds and ends that I missed when I did our major shopping, and I basically just chill out.

Usually, I chill out by launching a movie marathon, two or three movies that I watch on Netflix.

This Sunday, I watched just one--I couldn't find anything else to suit my fancy--but it was one that I have to say, I would recommend that you check out.

If you are into retro-1970s horror flicks that mix that genre with the current fascination our society seems to have with zombies, well, I have the movie for you.

The 2014 movie "Zombeavers" is just what I described: a cheesy, retro-1970s horror flick that checks in at about 74 minutes, as if it were the first bill of the double features movie theaters used to show way back when.

It concerns three young, pretty women (are there any others in this type of movie?) that go out on vacation. Little do they know that the waterway right by their accommodations has been polluted by a toxic waste spill perpetuated by two ditzy, backwoods hazmat drivers.

The toxic waste overtakes the beaver population of this waterway, and well, the rest is as predictable as you might think it is.

The women--joined by their boyfriends in what was supposed to be a boy-free time away--fight off these feisty infected beavers as much as they can, but the predictable outcome awaits them.

As these films go, there is plenty of blood, enough topless scenes to keep this 58 year old interested, and all of the action is played out by a nice looking, no name cast that appear to be having a real good time doing what they are doing.

Yes, the movie is as stupid and silly as can be, and wait until you see what is next on the agenda of the moviemakers with the mixing of zombies and the fauna in this area.

Anyway, it was a nice way to kill less than 90 minutes, and if you are into such films, I would highly recommend this movie.

I grew up in movie houses in the 1970s watching such films, and evidently, these movies--made on the cheap with basically unheard of before or since actors--have become real cult items today.

They all pushed the envelope with their nudity, sex and blood content, but for this kid of the time, they were my personal gateway to growing up. In those days, there was no Internet, no Playboy TV, just Playboy magazines and the occasional nude/sex scene in legitimate films.

So when I saw these types of movies, it really gave me a different perspective on the female of the species, and evidently, I was not alone in this view that hit me during my formative years.

Quentin Tarrantino is the ultimate purveyor of these types of films. He is also of the age of person who grew up watching these movies, and his own films are sort of homages to this genre.

So if you think that these types of films are nothing but trash, you are right to a point. They are exploitative as can be, but they shaped Tarrantino and others' thoughts about moviemaking.

Anyway, take a chance on "Zombeavers"; if nothing else, I guarantee you will laugh you socks off at this movie.

And at 74 minutes or so, it won't kill your day even if you watch it and don't like it.

The next installment of "Sharknado," anybody?