Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night
Review by Peter Syslo

Coons! … (2005) turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, due to the title and the subject matter, but I really think that these guys turned out a truly funny horror comedy. The film is a product of the independent film company Overbites Pictures (www.overbitespictures.com) and was created with a budget of only $5000. Apparently I am not the only one impressed, because Troma has picked up the film and is planning to release it sometime in 2007.

Coons!... is written & directed by Travis Irvine and here is a basic rundown of the main cast: Brian Kamerer, Nick Maier, Zack Riedmaier, John Sarvis, Colin Scianamblo, Dan Velez, Travis Irvine, Tom Lyons, and Lehr Beidelschies. Basically, the movie is about a group of campers who are terrorized by diseased raccoons, while a ranger, scientist, and other officials try to stop the raccoons. Yes, it’s a wacky idea, but let me tell you - it is hilarious. The film is a totally tongue-in-cheek horror comedy that focuses on the humor in stereotypical/archetypal characters such as: the bumbling ranger, the scientist who understands the problem, the shifty self-interested mayor, the stoner hippie, the flamboyantly gay man, and the typical adolescents wh o are always in “camp” horror movies. Most of the film’s stars are in dual roles of authority figure/camper and you get a taste of the humor early on, because most of the “authority figures” are wearing 1970s, “adult movie star” moustaches and wigs. This is one of the many sight gags in the movie – you have fake blood and fake plastic breasts in the opening scene, you have scenes of cartoonish gunshot-violence, and you have the completely over-the-top raccoons. Let me just say, the raccoons really added to the humor of the picture and actually came across pretty well, considering that they used real, frozen, dead raccoons for the film (no animals were harmed – they were donated to the production by an Ohio animal service). Aside from all of that, you have simply hilarious dialogue, a musical number that fits perfectly, and you have a basically crude, politically incorrect, but great sense of humor throughout the film.

Like I said before, I was pleasantly surprised and the quality of the film is simply fantastic, for such a small budget. The movie is well-filmed with great lighting; there is visual clarity throughout and I think that these guys really know how to tell a story, visually, because the camera seemed to always be in the right place at the right time and nothing really seemed out of place (also this is an example of really good editing). Regarding sound quality, all of the dialogue came through really nicely and was well-balanced with the environmental sounds and the soundtrack. One thing that I noticed about the soundtrack, it was almost a minimalist nod to JC (John Carpenter, not Jesus Christ); you would often hear a pentatonic minor bass line and it worked really well to keep the pace and hold tension. Overall, the soundtrack was a humorous balance between that darker bass line, banjo playing, and the rock music of a band called, “The Happy Campers”; it was very effective and well done.

Although the film is based on an offbeat topic, I think that Overbites Pictures really pulled off a successful horror comedy and it was truly funny. It is reminiscent of something The Kids in the Hall, The State/Reno 911 cast, or Broken Lizard would put out and I really do enjoy that type of humor; the humor that takes chances and is not afraid to be politically incorrect or tasteless. I thought that all of the actors in Coons! ... stayed in character and I think that they really made this movie work. I thought that the humor was right on the spot and it was not forced at all – it was very natural and definitely the result of good character writing and the fearless conviction of the actors involved. I have to be honest, I would much rather watch this than any of the “40 Year-Old Virgin – ish” comedies or stale Will Ferrell vehicles that are put out nowadays. Yes people, besides horror, I think that the whole comedy genre needs a complete overhaul (what ever happened to the days of Animal House, Caddyshack, etc.?).

So, my final thoughts are: if you are looking for a funny comedy that has a horror basis, keep on the lookout for this release. I really want to see what these guys can do next, with another comedy or even with a serious script and a higher budget. I think Overbites Pictures has some great potential and Coons! ... gave me a laugh that I haven’t had in a long while. If you are more uptight about humor or like straightforward sitcoms, you might not find some things funny – there are jokes about stereotypes, defecation, and violence – but remember it is all tongue-in-cheek and they are just jokes; I repeat for the podium-pounders: THEY ARE JUST JOKES (I am half Polish and I have always enjoyed Polish humor; I never sued anyone for telling a Polish joke – mainly because I’m too stupid)!