Movie fans have been frightened by slow zombies, fast zombies, animal zombies, and even singing zombies. Now a scary new breed of the undead has been introduced on screen by Jim Townsend -- the writer, director and star of Attack of the Vegan Zombies! Townsend’s clever horror contribution makes us hope to see more from him in the future. And many of us will be more careful walking through vineyards after seeing his little indie gem.

Who ya gonna call when your grape crops fail and your business faces financial ruin? If there’s a witch in your family, that’s one option. However, it comes with serious consequences. That’s what loving couple Joe (Townsend) and Dionne (Christine Egan) discover, much to their dismay. After Dionne secretly receives help from her witchcraft-practicing mom (H. Lynn Smith), their vineyard blooms again while others in the area turn to dust. Unfortunately, momma’s spell isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. With it comes vegan zombies out for blood -- not flesh, of course. Everyone who shows up to help Joe and Dionne harvest their grapes become fair game, so most of the suspense involves not who but when.

I’m impressed with several performances here, especially the convincing turns by Townsend, Egan and Smith. In many low-budget independent films, it’s difficult to decifer the dialogue. Happily, these actors know how to say lines so all viewers can hear and understand  them -- no captions needed. In fact, the sound quality of Attack of the Vegan Zombies! is first-rate throughout -- as are most of the production values.

I’m a vegetarian, so it pleases me that vegan zombies have finally received some quality screen time. Thanks, Mr. Townsend! (Capsule review)

(Released by Zombie Films; not rated by MPAA.)

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