Pose Reviews A Movie. #29: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)

Bahahahahahahaha!!!

Sorry...just thinking about this movie in order to review it makes me laugh.

I can't help it. And if you've watched it, I'll bet you can't either.

The thing to know about The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra in order to enjoy it to its fullest is not that it's bad, but that it's bad on purpose.

Paradoxically, this bad-on-purpose-ness is what makes it really, really good. And incidentally, the sheer magnitude of this bad-on-purpose-ness is what also makes it very, very funny.

To explain, let me use the example of Plan 9 From Outer Space. Plan 9 has endured the test of time and continues to be beloved of current generations because, simply put, it's so bad it's good.

Fans of Plan 9 will know what I'm talking about--you don't love the film because it's great, you love it because it's great despite its awfulness.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra takes this concept even further. It capitalizes on the endearing quality of films like Plan 9 From Outer Space because it possesses the same "vintage terrible" quality, only on purpose.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra was made in 2001--however, it's designed to look, sound and feel like a sci-fi film from the 1950's.

The film's humour, then, is derived not just from the atrociously corny aesthetic, but also from extremely clever (though equally corny) writing of Larry Blamire (the director and leading man).

So, with this one-two punch of hilarity, you end up with a very funny movie about a mad scientist, a less-mad, more-normal scientist, and two space aliens who are all trying to locate a fallen meteor in the remote woods of rural America to acquire the coveted element "atmospherium" that lies within it.

I highly recommend The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra since it's such a unique and effective parody of a genre that's already pretty funny--namely, relic science fiction classics.

So, if you liked classic Zucker Abrams Zucker parodies like Airplane! and Top Secret!, or the great but oft forgotten Loaded Weapon 1 from National Lampoon, you're likely to enjoy The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra as much as die-hard Plan 9-ers.

And if you're already a die-hard Plan 9-er, you've probably already started watching The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra before even finishing this review.

(And if you haven't...well...you probably should be.)

"I SLEEP NOW!"