Cooties (2015)

Cooties is Shawn of the Dead meets Children of the Corn, or something of that ilk. I greatly enjoyed it and hooted at the appropriate parts in this first film from Elijah Wood’s production company. Though it only made $55K during one week in the theaters, it afforded Rainn Wilson’s dopey phy-ed teacher a hobbit joke at Wood’s expense, and gave him the key closing line (while holding a match): “Nap time, m---f---ers!” It also poked fun at blind “patriots” and semi-dittohead libertarians. A substitute teacher and wannabe novelist, Wood commits the ultimate cringeworthy sin and assigns his classroom to read and critique his manuscript. (No, that’s not what brought on the zombie apocalypse – it was tainted chicken nuggets from the leading manufacturer in the sleepy burg of Fort Chicken.) I would love to watch Cooties again. It’s not quite as funny as Zombieland or Shawn of the Dead, but what it lacks in sheer mirth, it makes up for in chutzpah. Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (3-24-2016)