Spending all of his
time providing limbs and blood for directors, Gregory Nicotero is
trying his hand behind the camera offering up a sneak peek at his
abilities with the short horror comedy "United Monster Talent
Agency." As with many first outings, his is a dedication to the
monster movies of old with cameos from some of the greatest monsters
as well as cameos from some of the greatest directors (...and Eli
Roth), all of which is set to the tune of the classic fifties news
reels. Nicotero spotlights a world where the monsters we see in
horror movies aren't masterful special effects and latex but real
monsters, all of whom are kept tight and cozy in a secret facility
that rents them out to movie studios for big productions at the risk
of their hired help constantly putting themselves in danger.
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This allows
Nicotero to put his team's make up effects to brilliant use
as he presents variations of some incredible monsters as
well as nodding his head to classic horror movies. The
Gillman, the hunchback, Dracula, The Thing from Another
World, John Carpenter's The Thing, Frankenstein Monster,
even the elevator zombies from Dawn of the Dead are here to
rear their faces, and Nicotero uses the genre nods well
allowing for a gallery of his talents while also poking fun
at the genre. |
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Nicotero is able to
stage some very genuine variations of classic scenes in horror
movies while also sneaking in friends like Cerina Vincent and Frank
Darabont to pose as potential consumers for the horrible beasts all
of whom are ushered around and wrangled in to cages until they're
needed for the next gig. I especially enjoyed the opening sequence
with my favorite aquatic predator the Gillman stalking a hammy
Cerina Vincent, but Nicotero has much more surprises with a
hilarious cameo from Robert Rodriguez, and a finale featuring Dana
Gould doing a hilarious Lon Chaney Jr. impression with Eli Roth as a
typical fifties director. Nicotero obviously has much more in store
for horror geeks in love with his work behind the camera, and I hope
he's able to show us something new and fresh after years of working
with horror's best and worst.
Gregory Nicotero provides horror goons with only a taste of his
directorial chops with a hilarious and clever horror short about the
world beyond movies where the monsters are real after all. Nods to the
genre, great special effects, and a hilarious climax make this one short
worth watching.
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