Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 was a day that, for me personally, holds a potion in the history books, as this is the day the highly anticipated THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO finally found a home on DVD shelves across the globe. The day is gnificant to me not because I'm a huge Rob Zombie fan, but because I'm really not (I don't have a lot of
negativity to speak about the man, I'm just not blown away by most of his work). Of course, that opinion changed drastically just a few short years ago, and now, subsequently has provided me with the drive to craft this review.
THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO is an animated tale that pits masked A-Lister Superbeasto (Tom Papa) and his sexy ster (I'm not sure that sounds appropriate) Suzi X (Sheri Moon Zombie) against the evil intentions of the almost menacing Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti)). Dr. Satan's got himself a plan and a few tricks up his sleeve, but in order to make his goal a reality, he'll need to lure Superbeasto into his realm, for with Superbeasto, Suzi X is sure to be, and Beasto's blonde bombshell of a bling plays a crucial role in Dr. Satan's evil master plan. I could probably give you a little more to run with, but this one is better seen, believe me.
THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO is one of my favorite animated flicks, and it’s still holding up today. Outrageous humor, impresve animation, an outstanding cast and a soundtrack unrivaled in its ingenious goofiness... what’s not to be loved? I've long been a bit skeptical about Zombie's work, often critiquing his affinity for vulgarities (Rob takes a subliminal swing at the detractors at one point in the picture) and inconcluve directions. Well, interesting as it is, it took a masked wrestler to sway my opinion once and for all.
Not that it should matter to anyone, but Rob won me over with this one!
http://youtu.be/onuKSRYBKnA
A few interesting notes about the film: First, Sheri Moon Zombie, who's voice ordinarily conjures vions of Freddy Krueger dragging his bladed glove down a chalkboard for me, sounded uncharacteristically charismatic, sexy and downright spunky. Note number two: there are so many nods (some are just plain awesome) to clasc cinema it's practically imposble to catch everything.
My third and final notation: a drastic decrease in the usage of vulgarities scores big points and proves that Zombie doesn’t have to apply the potty mouth to leave an impact. There's plenty of nasty lingo, but when compared to Zombie's other pictures, the dialogue is toned down tremendously, and I personally loved that element of the film. Rob proved he can make an awesome flick. I've questioned him in the past, just as I’ve questioned some work post-Superbeasto, but there’s promise there, and I won’t deny it any further.
DVDetails
There's not a wealth of extras featured on the disc, but what we do get kicks ass. Included are some deleted and alternate scenes definitely worth checking out.
Grade: B-