MST3K: Episode 604 - Zombie Nightmare

I'm watching all of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes in order. More about that here and here.

Episode 604: Zombie Nightmare

First aired: Comedy Central on 24 November 1994
Availability: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Amazon (Volume 15), Shout Factory (Volume 15), Best Brains (Volume 15)

Nightmare, indeed.

If you're paying attention to the episode numbers, you've noticed that this is Episode 604, and it's wedged in between Episode 615 and Episode 616.

There's a reason. The MST3K crew was doing a tour of college campus and was using this episode. So, it was held from air until the Thanksgiving Marathon in 1994.

A few other episodes were aired out of production order, too. I haven't found a reason for that, just an explanation of why this one aired so far out of order.

This is one of those where, upon first watching, I totally missed a plot point. Not for the episode, but for the actual movie that Mike & the Bots were watching.

So, where do you want the body?

Okay, I know, there's no real reason to actually pay attention to the movie, just the riffing. But, for some reason, I followed the movie close enough to be considered watching it, but not close enough to catch the connection between two scenes.

Young Tony watches Tony's Dad get killed by a couple of teens when Tony's Dad stops some '60s Teens from raping a Teen Girl, then later is Adult Tony and has a large bat and stops a robbery but is run down by a later group of teens but rather than call an ambulance, the store owner takes Adult Tony's body to Tony's Mom's yard, so Tony's Mom contacts a local Voodoo Priestess who resurrects Adult Tony to take revenge, so all the Tony-killing Teens are murdered by Zombie Tony, along with a Parent of one of the Tony-killing Teens, all the while a Young Detective is trying to solve the grisly murders, but Police Chief Adam West is interfering with the investigation until at the end, when we discover that Police Chief Adam West is one of the '60s Teens who tried to rape the Teen Girl, who grew up to be Voodoo Priestess, which is why Voodoo Priestess had Zombie Tony avenge not only Tony's killing, but Tony's Dad's killing, but Police Chief Adam West kills Voodoo Priestess in the cemetery but before he can kill Young Detective, Tony's Dad comes out of his grave and drags Police Chief Adam West to hell. The end.

Adult Tony and his big bat.

Zombie Tony wields a bat.

Now, what plot points did I miss? Well, I never connected Teen Girl with Voodoo Priestess until they told me. And, the whole thing with Police Chief Adam West being one of the '60s Teens caught me off guard. You see, Adam West is 27 years older than Jon Mikl Thor, who played Adult Tony. So, if Young Tony was 10, then '60s Teen would have been 37. Unless Adam West was playing a character about 20 years younger than himself. Or something.

Tia Carrere is in this movie. So, no, it wasn't all bad.

"So, hell's right there?" "Yes, that's why you should call before you dig."

Anyway, I didn't see it coming, but not in one of those, "Wow, didn't see that coming!" kind of ways, but more of a "What the hell?" kind of way.

M&tB didn't really really mention these odd plot twists. Crow asked "Is that true?" just before Police Chief Adam West confirm the truth, so it was more of a playing with the movie than focusing on the plot point.

Still, things like that are part of what make it a bad movie, and what makes it MST3K fodder.

M&tB had fun with it, and with some goofy Host Segments.

Overall, it was a fun episode.

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