''Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer'' is a 2012 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

feature film directed by Zack Beins and Richard Taylor, and written by Beins, Taylor and Tim Johnson. It stars Mark Shonsey, Lindy Starr, Zachary Byron Helm, and

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

Plot synopsis

Atom (Mark Shonsey) is an avid bowler and hardcore horror movie fan. After having his team barred from the championship due to bowling alley corruption and losing his horny girlfriend Emily (Lindy Starr) to sadistic rival bowler Dario (Zachary Byron Helm), Atom suffers a severe head injury, causing him to

hallucinate A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...

that everyone around him are the flesh-eating

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

. Believing the

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

has arrived, Atom must defend himself from the "zombies" in the most violent and unpredictable manner possible. ''Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer'' has been described as a "love letter to

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

", featuring much of the

campy Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...

aesthetic and graphic violence and nudity common of the company's films, as well as including many overt references to Troma movies and a cameo appearance from Troma president

Production

''Atom'' is the first feature-length film from

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

Bizjack Flemco and filmmakers Zack Beins and Richard Taylor, who had previously directed the 2007 short film '' The Misled Romance of Cannibal Girl & Incest Boy'' and had provided special effects work for several independent films, most notably

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

s '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead''. To help finance the film, Beins and Taylor shot a fake trailer to generate interest, and hosted several

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

s for the movie with local bands. The film was shot entirely in the cities of Denver and

Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

over the course of four years. According to interviews with Taylor and Beins, the production was troubled by numerous issues, exacerbated by the extremely low budget of the film; notably, large portions of the film had to be re-shot after one of the main actors quit and had to be recast, while problems in finding affordable filming locations resulted in shooting at five different bowling alleys. ''Atom'' was shot in

high-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (No ...

; as neither Beins or Taylor owned an HD camera, the two tracked down a friend who did and offered him an acting role in exchange for use of their camera. In addition to Troma president

, the cast of ''Atom'' also includes cameo appearances from Denver performance artist

Maris the Great Maris the Great is a promotional performance artist based in Denver, Colorado, and "undead" frontman for the punk rock band, Maris the Great and the Faggots of Death. He promotes bands through interviews on his website, MarisTheGreat.com. The int ...

KBPI KBPI (107.9 FM, "KBPI") is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Collins, Colorado. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts an Active rock radio format. KBPI's studios are located in Denver in the Tech Center. In December 2017, iHea ...

DJs Uncle Nasty and Matt Need,

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

claims investigators Bryan & Baxter,

internet personality An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...

Shawn C. Phillips and popular

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

horror actor Babette Bombshell (''

Not Another B Movie ''Not Another B Movie'' is a 2010 American satirical film written and directed by John Wesley Norton which peers into the processes of making a low-budget horror film. The film stars Byron Thames, Larry Thomas, James Vallo, David Faustino, Joe E ...

'', '' Return to the Class of Nuke 'Em High''). Zachory Byon Helm, who was cast as the film's primary antagonist Dario, is the president of the Denver Hearse Association, and several of his hearses were used in the production.

Release and media

''Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer'' made its premiere at the Denver Starfest convention on April 20, 2012, and continued to play at independent film festivals across the Midwest, including the TromaDance Film Festival in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, the Denver Indie Fest and the Fort Collins Horror Film Festival, as well as select screenings in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. In 2013, the film was screened at the

Denver Comic Con Fan Expo Denver (previously Denver Pop Culture Con and Denver Comic Con) is a speculative fiction fan convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. The event is a celebration of comics, books, movies, TV, gaming, and other p ...

, followed by a Los Angeles premiere at the

California Institute of Abnormalarts The California Institute of Abnormalarts - also written as the California Institute of Abnormal Arts and abbreviated as CIA - was a nightclub and sideshow museum located in North Hollywood, California. Owned and operated by actor-screenwriter Car ...

. The same year, ''Atom'' was again screened in Denver with ''Midget Zombie Takeover'' by '' The Worst Movie Ever!'' director

Glenn Berggoetz Glenn Berggoetz is an American director, writer and actor. He is known for directing several low-budget films, including '' The Worst Movie Ever!'', a film which had the lowest grossing opening weekend in history. His other films include '' To ...

. A DVD release of the film is scheduled after the film completes its film festival run. According to Taylor and Beins,

may release it should the filmmakers not find a better distribution deal. In November 2012, Bizjack Flemco independently released a limited run of fifty VHS copies of the film in a clamshell box. In 2013 at

Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

Taylor and Beins sat on the panel for

and were asked by a fan if the film will be released on something more current then VHS. Taylor asks

if Troma would release a DVD of the film. Kaufman replies "Will see how it does on VHS." The film's eponymous theme song was written and recorded by the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

comedy punk band

The Radioactive Chicken Heads The Radioactive Chicken Heads are an American virtual band formed in Orange, California in 1993. Operating anonymously under the guise of mutant chickens and vegetables, the Chicken Heads' music is primarily a mix of punk rock, heavy metal music, ...

. The song also appears on the band's 2009 rarities album ''Poultry Uprising'' and in a

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

remix on their 2013 video game '' Badd Bunny Breakout''. In 2013, Taylor and Beins directed a music video for the song in

La Habra, California La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north of ...

, featuring the Chicken Heads and numerous cameos from local musicians, including

Dukey Flyswatter Michael David Sonye (; born April 22, 1954), best known by his stage and screen name Dukey Flyswatter, is an American actor, screenwriter, and musician, recognized for his work on numerous low-budget B movies and as singer for the Los Angeles h ...

Haunted Garage Haunted Garage was a horror punk and heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Fronted by singer and B-movie actor Dukey Flyswatter, the band were recognized for their campy horror and science fiction-inspired songs and outrageous shock ro ...

. The video premiered on September 3, 2013. A digital soundtrack album for the film, featuring both the original score done by Tim Johnson and songs from punk, rock and metal bands, was released on the online music store

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

on May 10, 2012. In 2012, another music video was produced and made for the song "Rock & Bowl" which features all the producers of Atom under the

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...

band Bolonium. On May 28, 2014, it was announced that the film will be released on DVD officially by Whacked Movies early 2015. The Special Edition DVD was released on August 25, 2015.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1560765
Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer official websiteReview of Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer
a
Ryan's Reviews
2012 comedy films 2012 comedy horror films 2012 films 2012 horror films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films American comedy horror films American splatter films American zombie comedy films English-language comedy horror films Ten-pin bowling films