Cooties (2014) Reviews

• Great Fun

  torndownunit2015-11-04

  I have a really tough time figuring out what people want from the Horror genre nowadays. I am really surprised to see this movie doesn't have a higher rating on here. This is a great Horror/Comedy movie, with an outstanding cast, and very good writing. It's just a really gory, really funny, really run movie. What you see in the trailer is what you get, which is nice for a change with the amount of misleading trailers nowadays. The only reason I don't give it an even higher rating is because I agree with other viewers that it does lag a bit around the middle of the film. It almost seems like they just shoved some filler in to meet a running time. But it manages to get back on track again. I rarely read reviews on here, but I laughed out loud and had a great time watching this movie.

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• TEACHING IS THE HARDEST JOB IN THE WORLD

  nogodnomasters2018-04-21

  Clint (Elijah Wood) goes to his old school, Fort Chicken elementary school, Illinois (GO FIGHTING ROOSTERS!) as a substitute teacher. He meets Lucy (Alison Pill) an old friend who has trouble with normal conversations. Her boyfriend is the PE teacher Wade (Rainn Wilson) who owns a truck with duo rear wheels. The film introduces us to a number of quirky characters and kids that are not that adorable. Due to a viral breakout caused by processed chicken nuggets (I tossed mine out after seeing how nuggets are made from pink paste) the children turn into blood thirsty zombies who attack in hordes with some limited mental capacities. The film spoofs formula writing: dress up montage; guy who is way too smart; self-sacrifice individual; climbing through the vent duct; and a reference to a previous film..."Sneak around like a little Hobbit." This is a funny zombie style cult film. Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

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• Great horror/action/comedy. Must see for horror-comedy fans.

  Finfrosk862015-09-21

  What a blast! Never boring. Great cast. Reminiscent of The Faculty (a favorite of mine), because it takes place in a school, yes, but also somehow because of the tone of it. Also, Elijah Wood is in both. He is great. Cooties is kind of a classic premise, but with a couple of twists that makes it quite refreshing. And even though a good deal of what we see, we have seen before, it's done in its own way that just makes it entertaining. Just well directed, I guess. It's horror and comedy brilliantly mixed, but also has quite a lot of action and thriller elements. It's not really scary, but has a couple, and particularly one scene that is pretty suspenseful. The make up and effects aren't incredible, but absolutely gets the job done. One or two scenes I thought lacked the last polish, but nothing major. To sum it up, it's just great fun. I LOVE the political incorrectness of it, and that must be why the score on here isn't higher. Many good moments in this movie, I will definitely watch it again.

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• Another fresh and exciting take on the zombie movie.

  subxerogravity2015-09-21

  When I saw the trailer for this movie, I could not wait to see it! A chicken carrying a food virus becomes chicken nuggets for an elementary school in a small town, and effects them with a flu like virus that turns anyone who has not reach puberty into flesh loving monsters. How cool is that? Though the idea that the chicken nuggets they feed you in public school are actually made of chicken is totally unrealistic, the metaphor of a girl who eats these nuggets spreading a zombie apocalypse like the cooties is brilliant I've seen my share of Zombie movies and I never seen this particular premise. Adding to this is a great ensemble cast lead by obviously horror movie fan Elijah wood, who also did Maniac and Grand Piano which I loved. Rainn Wilson was Boss with a capital B in this film, and added to the 1980s homage of horror and action I was vibing on all over this film. The best part is that the movie is rated R which means nothing gets held back as these teachers beat the crap out of their undead students. Cooties is an action comedy horror movie that keeps your interest for all 90mins, never a dull moment and just so much fun from beginning to end. If you're a fan of Horror movies, especially the zombie-genre, it's worth taking a look at.

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• Cooties

  Argemaluco2016-04-29

  Unlike other films about zombie kids (such as The Children or ¿Quién Puede Matar a un Niño?), Cooties employs a humorous tone which partially reduces the moral dilemma of killing children, even if they are living dead. But it doesn't completely trivialize it either, because it allows the characters feel doubts and remorse when they are obliged to take such drastic measures under life or death situations. This delicate balance of comedy and drama avoids Cooties from becoming a simple gore caricature, and it creates an appropriate atmosphere to develop pleasant characters, with a well defined humanity behind the stereotypes... something weird in zombie cinema, which is usually satisfied with a provision of disposable victims in order to show a bloody death every 10 or 15 minutes. On the opposite, Cooties prefers to focus on the interaction between the teachers during their terrifying situation, and that strategy improves the film... even though it makes it less satisfactory on the simple visceral level. I think co- screenwriters Leigh Whannell (who also plays Doug, the eccentric Science teacher) and Ian Brennan should have gone much farther in the combat between zombies and humans... or, to be more precise, teachers against students. I have never given any class, but I have some friends who work or have worked as teacher, and their opinion of the students is... unfavorable, to say it in a kind way. So, I think Whannell and Brennan wasted the opportunity of making Cooties an intense catharsis for teachers around the world who have the secret fantasy of smashing the skull of a particularly rude student with a fire extinguisher. That intensity would have made the film much more memorable and shocking; and I say it with a maximum respect for teachers and the responsible and educated students (I hope this disclaimer avoids the adding of my name to some FBI list). On the positive side, Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad and Jorge García bring good performances in their roles, and co-directors Jonathan Millot and Cary Murnion find the adequate balance to make us laugh during scenes which would seems tasteless in a more serious movie. To sum up: horror, humor and social commentary. Cooties has it everything. I just wish it had more of everything.

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