DVD Talk review of 'I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I.'

[jay douglas]

I read Adam Tyner's DVD review of I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I. at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=16958 and...i respectfully disagee with his review. of all the dvd's i have been involved with over the last decade, it is the one i am the the most proud of. i have loved this film since i saw it on u.s.a.'s nightflight, and i still enjoy its 'don't wink at the audience' approach to film parody. the dvd production is outstanding given the sources, and the film is, as its always been, infinitely repeatable. the g-men(as played by larry raspberry and james rasberry(no p), are pitch perfect, and the zbeast is truly yhe stuff of legend. the director's commentary alone is worth every penny, and along with bruce campbell's various commentaries, ranks as one of my favorites. thank you for allowing me to express my opinion. this is the first time i have responded to a negative dvd review in my life. adam is a great writer, but i feel strongly that he has missed the little things that make this film exceptional. the dialogue involving 2 door/4 door cars (i'm from detroit)is nothing short of pop culture brilliance.

[Adam Tyner]

Thanks for the response -- I always appreciate hearing from the people involved in what I've reviewed, even if it's a case where my write-up wasn't entirely enthusiastic.

I don't think <i>I Was a Zombie for the FBI</i> is a poorly made movie, and it was at least in part a case of misplaced expectations. I picked it out of the review pool based solely on its title, which led me to think I'd be watching some sort of really campy genre homage. There <i>is</i> a little bit of that in there, but as is noted in the commentary, it owes more to vintage G-men/gangster serials than sci-fi or horror, and those sorts of serials apparently really don't seem to be my speed.

The review does reflect my reaction to the movie, I think the way it's paced would likely not appeal to many of the people who would seek out a movie with a title that off-kilter, and even the promotional copy on the back of the case overemphasizes certain elements to make the movie sound much stranger and as if it has a much more manic sense of humor than it really offers. I'm not really sure who to recommend it to, but I do think it's a good DVD package, all things considered, and I agree that the commentary is very, very good.

[Zodiac_Speaking]

I have to see this now.