Editorials
That’s Definitely Not ‘Jaws’: 6 Spooky Mockbusters Worth Watching
There’s a popular idiom often attributed to Picasso about how good artists copy and great artists steal. Naturally, this isn’t referring to plagiarism, but rather the idea that it’s better for an artist to reproduce something directly from the source instead of simply regurgitating it as-is. The way I see it, this sentiment also applies to creative rip-offs, as I’ll take an unlicensed cash-grab over endless sequels any day of the week.
After all, this is how we got beloved franchises like Friday the 13th (the original film was an attempt at capitalizing on the success of Halloween) and even Star Wars (A New Hope was meant to be a cheap Flash Gordon knock-off). And in honor of all the rip-offs that continue to feed the ouroboros that is popular culture, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six spooky Mockbusters that are actually worth your time.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Mockbuster as any production that intentionally exploits the popularity of an existing intellectual property without actually being affiliated with that particular movie or franchise.
With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite cinematic knock-offs if you think we missed a particularly fun one.
Now, onto the list…
6. Gamera, The Giant Monster (1965)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: an atomic explosion awakens a gigantic reptile (played by an overworked actor in a rubber suit), with the creature proceeding to wreak havoc in urban Japan. No, this isn’t Godzilla, this is Noriaki Yuasa’s derivative classic Gamera, The Giant Monster. The Pepsi to Godzilla’s Coke, Gamera may not exactly benefit from the original formula, but it’s still an important part of kaiju history despite the studio only commissioning the project as a quick cash-grab.
Sure, this schlocky creature feature feels somewhat unremarkable when compared to the real thing, but Gamera really earns its place on this list by launching an entire franchise that would one day hold its own against Toho’s iconic dinosaur. And as someone who grew up building tiny LEGO cities for my pet turtle to destroy as it searched for dried shrimp snacks, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
5. Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies (2012)
Based on a humorous novel written by Seth Grahame-Smith (who is often credited with popularizing the literary genre mash-up), the forgotten 2012 flop Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. However, we’re not talking about that film, we’re talking about its low-budget Asylum-produced mockbuster: Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies.
While Vampire Hunter was criticized for its overuse of CGI and a nearly un-recognizable portrayal of the 16th American president, Richard Schenkman’s Asylum feature boasts a hilarious yet compelling performance by Bill Oberst Jr. in proper period makeup as well as a truckload of hand-crafted practical zombie effects!
Just be sure to keep this one away from historical accuracy enthusiasts…
4. Orca (1977)
Piranha might be the most popular example of the Jaws rip-offs that attempted to ride the wave of Spielberg’s iconic monster movie, but Michael Anderson’s Orca will always remain one of my personal favorite scary movie meant to confuse grandmas at the video store. Yes, the film’s frights are as unoriginal as the Jaws-like marketing makes them out to be, but Orca benefits from some surprisingly competent direction and plenty of underwater violence.
Not only that, but this underrated creature feature also gives our raging antagonist a tragic motivation for its rampage, with highly intelligent Killer Whales being better suited for revenge stories than sharks. They’re also much easier to train, which is why Orca boasts so many spine-chilling attack scenes performed by real animals.
And with the recent trend of real-life Orcas ganging up to sink yachts, only time will tell if this infamous Dino DeLaurentis production was actually meant to be a prophetic warning.
3. Zombi II (1979)
Most mockbusters inhabit a legal gray area, with their slightly different titles and premises giving them some amount of protection against lawsuits. Lucio Fulci’s Zombi II is an infamous exception. When film producer Fabrizio De Angelis realized that Italian law allowed for any film to be marketed as an official sequel regardless of whether or not the project is affiliated with the license holders, De Angelis took advantage of this loophole to create an unlicensed follow-up to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
While the film doesn’t boast the same polish and sociological implications as an official entry in Romero’s Dead series, Zombi II stands out by being a wildly creative zombie romp with its own sense of style. You also get to see a zombie fight a shark! What’s not to love?
2. Carnosaur (1993)
Roger Corman is no stranger to rushed cash-grabs, so it makes sense that the legendary producer would be responsible for the other dinosaur movie of 1993. While Carnosaur is technically based on John Brosnan’s 1984 novel, Corman only greenlit the project because he knew he could capitalize on 90s paleo-fever by getting a dinosaur movie released ahead of the then-upcoming Jurassic Park.
Thankfully, writer/director Adam Simon (who you may know from Salem and The Haunting in Connecticut) refused to phone this one in, making the best of a low budget by focusing on humorous dialogue and nostalgic practical effects (as well as a bonkers story about a virus that makes women give birth to dinosaurs).
Carnosaur ended up being so successful that it spawned an entire mockbuster franchise, though fans should proceed with caution, as future entries vary wildly in quality.
1. Paranormal Entity (2009)
Another Asylum picture, you’d be forgiven for having overlooked this obvious Paranormal Activity knock-off back when it was first released. However, horror fans who dared to check this one out were shocked to discover that writer/director Shane Van Dyke opted to add his own spin to a familiar story instead of simply rehashing the “source material.”
P.E. may not be quite as polished as its more mainstream cousin, but it’s still better than the vast majority of DIY haunted house flicks available on streaming. In fact, Oren Peli (director of the original Paranormal Activity) was so impressed with this ambitious little homage that he later collaborated with Shane on other projects.
The Evil Dead universe expands this weekend with the arrival of Evil Dead Burn in theaters, unleashing a demonic siege upon a grieving family. Director Sébastien Vaniček doles out a gauntlet of pain from beginning to end, and that includes the credits.
While Evil Dead Rise skipped out on credit scenes, Evil Dead Burn follows 2013’s Evil Dead with the inclusion of a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene, extending the Deadite mayhem to the very end.
Vaniček uses the mid-credit scene for levity, injecting one last punchline of gallows humor regarding the Price family. It also raises questions on where that carnage leads. But it’s the post-credit scene that holds larger franchise implications, sure to get fans talking.
It also doesn’t make much sense.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead!
Evil Dead Burn directly ties to Evil Dead Rise, with a possessed Jessica (portrayed in the new movie by Greta Van Den Brink) brutally dispatches a pair of fishermen before leaving the lake in search of those in possession of the Kandarian dagger: the Price family. Deadite Jessica kicks off a new wave of terror when she targets eldest son Will (George Pullar), using him as a Trojan horse into his family.
The Evil Dead Rise connections come full circle in Burn’s post-credit scene, bringing back a fan-favorite Deadite.
In this scene, the daughter of the cremator hired to handle Will’s remains gets curious about a shelf of unclaimed ashes. Among them are the ashes of Ellie Bixler. The girl, left alone while her mom is tending to a client, hears a voice she mistakes for her mother. It’s not.
The voice guides her to a mirror, where she sees not her reflection but that of Deadite Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland). Ellie wastes no time dispatching the child, claiming with a grin, “Mommy’s back.“
Sutherland’s Deadite performance remains a standout in this franchise, but Ellie’s appearance here doesn’t make much sense beyond fan service. Evil Dead Rise final girl Beth (Lily Sullivan) reduces Ellie, who’d assimilated into the Marauder, to a bloody pulp via tree shredder in the film’s climax. There’s not a lot of flesh or sinew left to cremate, to start. To really get into semantics, the Marauder was an amalgam of multiple Deadites in one, so separating her remains from, say, Danny’s (Morgan Davies) or the neighbors seems like an impossible task.
The Marauder in Evil Dead Rise
It’s also jarring in that Deadites tend to prefer to make their torment personal. Ellie has zero connection to this random child. To further nitpick, there are likely much closer crematoriums to Ellie’s home, even if the lake and Price household are in the general region.
Most of all, Vaniček plays so fast and loose with the Deadite possession rules that this scene breaks from the established norms in a confusing way. There’s no dagger here or incantation to summon a demon, so it’s not clear how just being in the presence of her ashes summons her here.
Does any of this really matter? Not at all. The haplessness of this scene’s inclusion doesn’t seem to suggest anything other than a fun momentary reprise of a fan favorite character. It does, however, seem to leave the door wide open for Ellie’s full return.
It’ll be a while before we find out if that is indeed the intention behind this scene; the next is Evil Dead Wrath from director Francis Galluppi (The Last Stop in Yuma County) set for theatrical release on April 7, 2028. It’ll predate all Evil Dead films with its 1972 setting.
Evil Dead Rise
You must be logged in to post a comment.