Note: The only truly sane response to any political campaign is terror and bewilderment, and as the 2008 presidential contest rockets to its conclusion, the Video Vault is celebrating by watching genre flicks of a more political bent.

the plot: Former presidential speechwriter David Murch (Tenney) is throwing out the same old partisan talking points on a political talk show when he’s confronted by a grieving military mother (Breuer) whose son died while serving in Iraq. In a rare display of emotion, Murch wishes that deceased vets could come back and share with the country their true feelings about the war. It’s a great sound bite, one that attracts the attention of right-wing columnist Jane Cleaver (Gill), and soon she and Murch hook up both politically and personally. But Murch’s wish comes true in the most horrifying way possible when the bodies of deceased troops rise from their graves and shamble back to their hometowns. The public panics, but soon, the aim of the zombie soldiers becomes clear: they want to vote in the upcoming election. Presidential aide Kurt Rand (Picardo) enlists Murch’s help in playing the zombie situation to their advantage, but the incumbent administration soon discovers the dead are viciously anti-war and plan to take their revenge in the voting booth.

why it’s good: In our increasingly partisan political environment, even the dead are forced to take a side. And while a case certainly can be made for pro-war zombies, it just makes sense that the living dead would be against the very sort of saber-rattling nonsense that sent them to the grave in the first place. As an anti-war satire, “Homecoming” does a fairly decent job at taking shots at right-wing blowhards and the outgoing presidential administration, but it could’ve gone a little further. Some of the jokes are easy: columnist Jane Cleaver—a stand-in for the Republicans’ own queen harpy Ann Coulter—turns out to be a dominatrix in her spare time.  Others are a little more clever, such as the on-camera about-face a neo-con evangelical minister does when he learns the living dead are trying to oust his party from office. Writer Sam Hamm even works in a nice bit about voter fraud  and an homage to the opening scene of “Night of the Living Dead.” But “Homecoming” never gets as funny—or graphic—as it should, and it feels like director Joe Dante, usually an ace when it comes to pitch-black humor, is hampered by the script’s uneven tone. A last-minute plot twist involving Murch’s Vietnam vet brother trips up the third act, and it’s a bit of a letdown that, apart from chowing down on a single GOP hack, the zombies never get to go crazy. Opting for the ballot instead of brains is a more thoughtful choice, but when it comes to mixing horror with satire, a little bit more blood can always help make your points stick.

why you should own it: “Homecoming” is available on its own as a single DVD or as part of the “Masters of Horror” first season box set. The series is hit or miss, so picking up the individual episodes from your favorite genre directors (including Don Coscarelli, John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon) might be your best bet.