Spoilers Below

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to disagree that rock star/filmmaker Rob Zombie has at least one film in the bag that appeals to somebody (unless said person subscribes to the Hallmark Channel). And in anticipation of this weekend’s theatrical release of Zombie’s sixth feature film, The Lords of Salem, we here at Bubble Blabber thought it’d be a fine idea to give readers a little taste of the horror director’s voyage into the realm of animation, in his latest flick (prior to Lords), the strange and shocking The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.

Superbeasto is Zombie’s most eccentric film to date, which couldn’t have been brought to life in the live-action medium.

The film kicks into high gear and doesn’t brake for anything; viewers may have to take a second viewing incase they missed something the first time around. It’s what I’d imagine an attention deficit disorder sufferer’s wet dream on acid would look like. After a grainy, black and white “friendly word of warning” – channeling the introduction to James Whale’s 1931 classic, Frankenstein – we’re introduced to former lucha libre wrestler and adult film director/producer/star, El Superbeasto (voiced by Tom Papa, who also co-wrote).

After a hard days work of casting and shooting big-breasted bare women in “Big Spicy Meatball Macho Man,” Superbeasto decides to unwind… at The Haunted Palace strip club. With several cameo appearances from some of horror’s finest, including Jack Torrance from The Shining, and the biggest display of male chauvinism, Superbeasto develops an X-rated Looney Tunes-esque crush on The Haunted Palace’s main attraction, the foul-mouthed, materialistic Velvet Von Black (Rosario Dawson).

Coincidently, the feeble Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti) also desires Velvet, who bears the mark of the beast, to become his unholy bride in order to transform into a hulking and dominating devil. The doctor sends his intelligent ape servant, Otto (SpongeBob himself, Tom Kenny), out to fetch Velvet, and the love struck Superbeasto makes it his mission to save her ass (literally and figuratively).

Elsewhere, Superbeasto’s shapely, Nazi-slaying, super-agent sister, Suzy-X (Mrs. Zombie, Sheri Moon), embarks on missions with her sidekick and secret admirer, Murray the Robot (a replica of The Robot from the classic 1930s serial, The Phantom Creeps; voiced by comedian Brian Posehn), kicking Nazi ass all over Monster Land, until they eventually team up with Superbeasto to save Velvet and open up a can on Dr. Satan.

An outlandish climax occurs, but the falling action is even more bizarre, from an outrageous catfight, to a Loverboy tribute to an encore presentation of “Dick Soup” by the fictitious band, Banjo and Sullivan. There are several other music numbers just as outrageous as the film throughout the duration, by the actors themselves or by comedy duo Hard ‘n Phirm. Haunted is one word to describe El Superbeasto’s world, but I could think of countless more suitable adjectives, such as twisted, absurd or vulgar, for example.

Perhaps this world is described as haunted from the many beings which inhabitant it, such as Universal monster all-stars The Mummy, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s monster and his bride (Dracula makes an appearance, but it’s a Christopher Lee look-a-like, the Hammer Films incarnation), American slasher movie MVPs Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface, and some of Zombies previous players, Otis B. Driftwood and Captain Spaulding (with Bill Moseley and Sid Haig reprising their roles).

Adapted from the pages Zombies comic book of the same title, and three years in the making, one way to describe the violent and explicit film is dynamic and deviant. It’s chock full of TNA and T ‘n’ A.

9 out of 10