End Zone 2 could be seen as a parody or a homage to exploitation cinema in the peak of drive-ins and grindhouse theaters. Smash Mouth( not to be confused with the one-hit wonder band) is the classic 70s horror villain that draws or gave inspiration from Jason Voorhees( wink wink) its a great watch that will be a great double billing with ‘The Room’ when you’re getting shit-faced drunk with your friends and you want to introduce them to a killer like Smash Mouth. The acting even works as if it was pulled from that era as well. This will play exceedingly well in front of a crowd, I could only imagine the reception it got at FrighFest.
Now on to The Once and Future Smash a terrific mockumentary starring Bill Weeden and Michael St. Michaels who are both outstanding and give performances that will make you want to watch a web-series that is akin to ‘The Office’ there’s great deadpan chemistry between the leads as we try and find out who the real Smash Mouth was from End Zone 2.
There’s also great stuff from our friend Adam Marcus as he has a blast being on camera being interviewed about how Smash Mouth and End Zone 2 inspired so many of his films. Mark Patton also makes an interesting appearance talking on Smash Mouth. A.J. Cutler gives a breakout performance in this mockumentary that should get him massive amount of love for being this damn funny and a scene stealer from Michael and Bill.
The Once and Future Smash is truly a special gift we got this year from FrightFest… I am not just saying because it was filmed at the Mad Monster in my town, it’s a gutbustlingly funny film that will also warm your heart. It’s worth multiple viewings.
Overall Grade: 5/5 Stars
