The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964)

"I'll fix you so even the freaks won't look at you!" - Estrella

A young man gets cursed while visiting the carnival.
Starring: Ray Dennis Steckler, Brett O'Hara, Atlas King, Sharon Walsh, Erino Enyo

Link to IMDB

Bottom of the Barrel: Exhibit #7

Jerry

Jerry's looking for something to cure his boredom, so he grabs his girlfriend Angela and his buddy Harold, and they head to the carnival for an evening of roller-coaster rides and dancing.
Along the boardwalk they eventually come across Madame Estrella, a mysterious gypsy lady who offers to read their fortunes with her crystal ball. Jerry and his friends decide to give it a try, but his negativity distracts Estrella and she senses something wrong with him that even I can see... Jerry's an ass hat!
I mean, just look at that smug face!

Unbeknownst to them, Estrella is a dangerous lady working an evil scheme of some sort, and her plans will soon involve Jerry.
When Angela and Harold decide to go home for the night, Jerry stays to watch the exotic dancers, and Estrella takes this chance to lure him backstage and hypnotizes him to be a part of her mystical plan.


It takes what seems like forever, but as Jerry goes about his routine the next day he eventually snaps and the hypnotic powers take control of him, turning him into a crazed killer! He flees back to the carnival and Harold and Angela follow him, trying to find out why their friend is acting so bizarre.

Angela                               Harold                                   Madame  Estrella

There's barely any plot, because most of the movie is just set-up for the final 20 minutes when Jerry goes psycho, but the major flaw here is the eleven musical numbers sprinkled through the movie. We spend a lot of time watching Jerry watch dancers and singers performing at the circus, and these scenes are completely meaningless and dull in every way possible.

Proof that there's zombies for one second

This homemade, low budget cult film isn't a complete loss though, and it somehow began to win me over more than it should have. There's an unorthodox style and presentation to much of the movie, as though it was birthed by some freak accident instead of made by human hands.
There are plenty of accidentally surreal touches in the later half that had me laughing, and the chaotic climax becomes a real treat of nonsense.
All the grimy incompetence oozing from the screen had me hypnotized!

Zombies eventually do make an appearance, because Madame Estrella has been hoarding victims in her basement or something, but the movie never delivers what the ridiculous title suggests. A better title would have been "Weird Jerk Becomes an Even Bigger Jerk than Before."


Be sure not to miss:
- I'm pretty sure Estrella's face wart moves around.
- What is Harold's accent doing?

Internet review:
"This movie is oddly fascinating." - ChrisReidy

Should I watch it?
Not a complete loss, but most people should stick with the MST3K version.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Incredibly Strange Creatures gets...