Cooties (2014)

8.25 of 10. Excellently gross start and plot setup fades into more of a pure action, scream and gore/gross-out horror film, though there's enough ongoing comedy to keep it amusing.

While it may be too much for Hobbit fans to handle, the little half-ling actor pulls off his roll well. The overall casting is both recognizable and obscure enough to make it seem like a true collection of teachers, students, and parents.

Highly recommended as a chill-out film after watching something more serious like Food, Inc. (2009) or Partisan (2015). Unlike the more serious food psycho horror of Gravy (2015), this is also something with enough intellectual humor that parents can enjoy it with their tween kids as they move into their post-cooties years.

Fmovies: This is a week of horror comedies for me, it seems. Although I did not want it, but turns out that these horror comedies are not bad! And this one was entertaining, just like Bloodsucking bastards I saw yesterday.

I enjoyed the movie because of its unusual setting - elementary school and kids as zombies.

I must say that first two, three minutes were kinda disgusting to me as I sat down to watch the movie with a bag of chips and ... that fly pooping on the meat and then the process of making those chicken balls or whatever... Man, I will be more careful what I will eat in the future.

It is interesting how they portrayed teachers in school. I am sure most schools have those characters! I did not get which subject a gay teacher does.

In one scene, maybe in that discotheque playground, or somewhere I thought Katy Perry was lying murdered! LOL Don't know if that was intentional or not ...

Anyway, it is fun. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining! Seven from me.

So I went into this with fairly high expectations. I love horror/comedies and this one looked very promising, funny premise, great cast, and zombies (who doesn't love zombies?). It wasn't a bad movie by any means but it did let me down a little bit.

First off the main thing that killed my buzz with this was how unlikable Elijah Wood's character was, I get that they were doing this on purpose but the scenes with him in them just made me get more and more irritated with his character. It's not that Wood did a bad job or anything, it's just that some of the lines that were written for his character were almost cringe worthy bad. That character however was more than made up for by how awesome Rainn Wilson's character was, some of his lines were gold.

A lot of the jokes were great, I found myself laughing out loud multiple times, but some of them just fell short and didn't really work at all. For the most part though the humor works well and helps to move along the movie. I think the main thing that really kept this movie from being great is that the Horror concept of it kind of gets put on the back burner to the comedy in too many scenes. I really wish they would have thrown more horror elements in. There are far too many scenes of the survivors just sitting in various rooms of the school trading mediocre-pretty decent dialogue.

Overall this wasn't bad, in fact it was a good movie. I was entertained and had a fun time watching it. But it could have used a bit more gore and horror and a little less mediocre jokes. Still a good ride though.

6.5/10

Cooties fmovies. Unlike other films about zombie kids (such as The Children or ¿Quién Puede Matar a un Niño?), Cooties employs a humorous tone which partially reduces the moral dilemma of killing children, even if they are living dead. But it doesn't completely trivialize it either, because it allows the characters feel doubts and remorse when they are obliged to take such drastic measures under life or death situations. This delicate balance of comedy and drama avoids Cooties from becoming a simple gore caricature, and it creates an appropriate atmosphere to develop pleasant characters, with a well defined humanity behind the stereotypes... something weird in zombie cinema, which is usually satisfied with a provision of disposable victims in order to show a bloody death every 10 or 15 minutes. On the opposite, Cooties prefers to focus on the interaction between the teachers during their terrifying situation, and that strategy improves the film... even though it makes it less satisfactory on the simple visceral level. I think co- screenwriters Leigh Whannell (who also plays Doug, the eccentric Science teacher) and Ian Brennan should have gone much farther in the combat between zombies and humans... or, to be more precise, teachers against students. I have never given any class, but I have some friends who work or have worked as teacher, and their opinion of the students is... unfavorable, to say it in a kind way. So, I think Whannell and Brennan wasted the opportunity of making Cooties an intense catharsis for teachers around the world who have the secret fantasy of smashing the skull of a particularly rude student with a fire extinguisher. That intensity would have made the film much more memorable and shocking; and I say it with a maximum respect for teachers and the responsible and educated students (I hope this disclaimer avoids the adding of my name to some FBI list). On the positive side, Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge García bring good performances in their roles, and co-directors Jonathan Millot and Cary Murnion find the adequate balance to make us laugh during scenes which would seems tasteless in a more serious movie. To sum up: horror, humor and social commentary. Cooties has it everything. I just wish it had more of everything.

A mysterious virus hits an elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives.

The start of this film will make you never want to eat chicken again. The cast includes some of my favorite funny stars: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Saw's own Leigh Whannell and Lost's Leigh Whannell; with a quick non speaking cameo by Mark Christopher Lawrence who played in chuck. Everyone worked really well together and you can tell they enjoyed doing this film.

The story feels familiar but unique. Cooties is a horror comedy but it's more comedy and less horror but that doesn't talk away from the film. I enjoyed the gore and the practical effects, although there isn't much of a soundtrack, mostly dark ominous tones. The humor is a bit dry and I wish there were more one lines.

The movie is forgettable but is fun and worth a watch. I would like to see a sequel, so don't let this indie film pass you by. Cheers and remember life won't suck as long as there is a good movie to watch.

6 out of 10

edited by Samantha Locke

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When I saw the trailer for this movie, I could not wait to see it!

A chicken carrying a food virus becomes chicken nuggets for an elementary school in a small town, and effects them with a flu like virus that turns anyone who has not reach puberty into flesh loving monsters. How cool is that?

Though the idea that the chicken nuggets they feed you in public school are actually made of chicken is totally unrealistic, the metaphor of a girl who eats these nuggets spreading a zombie apocalypse like the cooties is brilliant

I've seen my share of Zombie movies and I never seen this particular premise. Adding to this is a great ensemble cast lead by obviously horror movie fan Elijah wood, who also did Maniac and Grand Piano which I loved. Rainn Wilson was Boss with a capital B in this film, and added to the 1980s homage of horror and action I was vibing on all over this film.

The best part is that the movie is rated R which means nothing gets held back as these teachers beat the crap out of their undead students.

Cooties is an action comedy horror movie that keeps your interest for all 90mins, never a dull moment and just so much fun from beginning to end.

If you're a fan of Horror movies, especially the zombie-genre, it's worth taking a look at.