Shock-O-Rama Cinema, 2006
starring: Misty Mundae, Rob Monkiewicz, Julian Wells and A.J. Kahn

written and directed by: Brett Piper

the plot: A horror anthology in the tradition of “Creepshow” and “Tales from the Crypt,” “Shock-O-Rama” ties together three tales of comedy and horror. In the first, Callahan (Monkiewicz), a redneck junkyard owner, starts his day at work by finding a crashed alien spaceship. The little alien inside creates big problems for Callahan, first by blasting at him with a deadly ray-gun, and later by creating a giant walking war machine out of old cars and broken appliances. In the second story, which also serves as the film’s framing device, B-movie actress Rebecca Raven (Mundae) quits her job at a crummy studio and goes to a secluded vacation house to unwind. She soon finds herself living the plot of one of her old movies when a blood-thirsty zombie buried beneath the house climbs out of its grave and attacks her. The third story concerns a scientist (Wells) and a severed head with a mutated brain conducting experiments on a bevy of babes.

Why it’s good: Piper’s work for Shock-O-Rama has steadily improved since 2003’s “Screaming Dead,” the first of his trilogy of films for the studio, and “Shock-O-Rama” is the best yet. “Screaming Dead” was overly-serious for a low-budget flick, but 2004’s “Bite Me!” was a campy cheese-fest full of slapstick humor. Piper carries on that tradition in “Shock,” and for some reason, it works even better. There are some genuinely funny moments in the film, and it seems like the cast is actually having a good time, rather than simply phoning it in, like in so many other E.I. Cinema releases. “Shock” also features more of Piper’s cool stop-motion animation, a delightful throwback to the era before excessive special effects. Best of all is Misty Mundae, whose considerable comedic talents are often concealed by her near-constant state of nakedness in other films. Misty (whose real name is Erin Brown) doesn’t quite approach the self-assured, camp performances of Bruce Campbell, but she gets damn close. “Shock” is no “Creepshow,” but it’s a lot more fun, and polished, than you’d expect.

Why you should own it: Shock-O-Rama’s DVD for the film that shares its name (a pure coincidence, as executive producer Mike Raso points out in the disc’s extras) features commentary from Piper and a pair of documentaries detailing the making of the film and its 2005 premiere in Manhattan.