Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

December 14, 2007

It’s been so long that I had forgotten what it’s like. I actually got out of the house last weekend and got to attend the Houston Premiere of Poultrygeist at the Alamo Drafthouse!

Poultrygeist is a love story, wrapped inside of a horror movie, tucked inside of a musical. That’s right, it’s a musical! The songs are catchy and are guaranteed to get stuck in your head. They’re almost as good as Cannibal! The Musical. I’ve had “Fast Food Love” stuck in my head for a couple of days.

When Arbie and Wendy make love for the first time in the Haunted Indian Burial Ground, little do they know that there are plans in place to bulldoze the Burial Ground and open up an an American Chicken Bunker Restaurant. Flash to six months later – Wendy returns from college a full blown dyke and dumps poor Arbie on his zombie finger buttplug (don’t ask). Arbie’s revenge is getting a job at the very place Wendy and her new girlfriend Micki are protesting – American Chicken Bunker. When a mysterious, vein-covered pulsating egg is accidentally fed to one of the guests, strange things begin to happen at the American Chicken Bunker…guests and employees alike begin dying, only to be resurrected as Indian Chicken Zombies with a craving for human flesh.

Poultrygeist is the grossest, most special effects intensive TROMA movie ever – and if you’ve seen Terror Firmer, that’s saying a lot. Lots of shit and blood. Ron Jeremy. Lots of green broma seltzer vomit – a TROMA specialty. In fact, there’s a group vomit scene that almost puts Stand By Me to shame…and yes, the Sgt. Kabukiman car crash is back. I was actually surprised by how they used it, too. Stick around for the credits and you’ll get a special 80s inspired dance number.

TROMA founder Lloyd Kaufman was there in attendance, signing stuff and taking pictures with his fans. I didn’t bring anything to sign, but I did stop and chat with him for a bit. (I considered having him sign my belly, but thought better of exposing my stretch mark covered abdomen in front of a bunch of fan boys.) I picked up a copy of the Poultrygesit “kara-yolk-e” DVD that allows you to sing along with all the songs from the movie. In fact, Lloyd asked me to mention their “kara-yolk-e” contest in my review. Throughout the end of the year, TROMA is accepting fan videos of karaoke performances. The winner will end up on the Poultrygeist DVD and get some other stuff. Details can be found here. Lloyd also hosted a Q&A session after the film ended, which I unfortunately had to duck out of early to go pick up the kiddo.

Poultrygeist is the first TROMA film that I’ve gotten to see in the theater. I don’t know if it was because Lloyd was there in person, but every time he appeared on screen, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. Well, as enthusiastically as a theater that is only half full can cheer. I was floored that the theater wasn’t sold out. I overheard someone in the crowd say that the Austin premiere the night before was packed, which isn’t surprising at all – The Drafthouse is a BIG DEAL in Austin. I assume that a Dallas show would be just as packed. Is Houston really that lame? (That’s a hypothetical question, I already know the answer to that question.) Lloyd says he raided his wife’s retirement fund to make Poultrygeist, so go support Lloyd and see Poultrygeist! The West Oaks Drafthouse also hosts Free TROMA Thursdays, which is an amazing deal, even if their food is a way overpriced. I encourage all my readers in Houston to go out and support FREE TROMA Thursdays – I would hate for them to close the shows down. Of course, you may get mugged in the parking lot, which makes it a bit less enticing…but it’s well worth it, right?