Rabid, diseased, zombie-like apocalyptic films and TV shows are all the craze now. Putting a funny spin on them is probably the second biggest craze when trying to jump on the zombie band wagon. Cooties is one of the films that does it right with a great outbreak story and the right amount of horror and humor to keep it interesting.
Elijah Wood plays Clint Hadson, a struggling writer working on his first horror novel to try and get out of his mom's house. He takes a job as a substitute teacher to make ends meet and winds up working in his hometown elementary school in the town of "Fort Chicken". A clever name for the school because of the source of the infection that turns kids into rabid little monsters.
The films opening shows infected chicken nuggets being made and distributed to schools which leads to the outbreak. For some reason, the virus only infects those that have not gone through puberty so the popular kids snack has the potential to infect a lot of kids, which is why the film is titles "Cooties". A similar premise is hinted at in Zombieland, another comedic zombie film where tainted beef is the source of the infection.
Rainn Wilson's character probably has the most humorous lines in the film which will probably make him a fan favorite. Saturday Night Live alumni Nasim Perad plays Rebekka Halverson who seems to be very pro-gun, and anti-people so she has some knee slapping moments in the film too. Overall, Cooties seems to be a solid rental if you are looking for something to pass the time this winter.
The film is rated 'R' for horror violence and gore, language including sexual references, and some drug use.
