Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson lead a group of teachers against the rebelling students, in “Cooties”. Due to a virus infected batch of chicken nuggets, the little kids of Fort Chicken (Not kidding) Elementary School are turned into killer zombies. While the teachers come together, this all takes place during the middle of a love triangle between Wood, Wilson, and Allison Pill. I honestly wasn’t expecting much going into “Cooties”, and maybe that is the best way to walk into such a film filled with off the wall hillarity, combined with spoof horror that is very self aware for the ridiculous content that it boosts. I enjoyed this film as an 83 minute distraction from the serious nature of most films that i review. It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you can appreciate horror satire like “Dale and Tucker Vs Evil” or “John Dies at the End”, then you will find that “Cooties” has plenty to offer. The first act is presented very crisp, presenting Wood as anything but our typical horror protagonist hero. It’s kind of funny that they don’t try to make him into a badass to fight these zombies. Something i greatly appreciate, as Wood isn’t the most intimidating of presences. Were introduced to an array of mixed personalities among the teachers, including SNL’s Nasim Padrad, writer of the film Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and the macho badass of the film Wilson. Rainn has always been someone who steals the most of every role, big or small. In this film, he proves as the line between the film’s success, often having to provide the comedy for a film that could’ve tired off due to it’s lack of violence during the second act. The film definitely wasn’t made for a lot of money, but i think it adds to it’s charms for this film to look cardboard, due to it’s sense of humor that more times than not had me chuckling. I mentioned the lack of violence, and i do wish the film had more deaths. By the end of the film, you realize that there are just too many characters with very little to do, and that is where it should’ve taken notes from past horror films and gotten rid of a few. Whannell has crafted such big name horror franchises like “Saw” and “Insidious”, and i think he has succeeded because he always sees plots as much more than just a killer with a knife. There is a solid explanation to why this disease is only affecting children, and i appreciate his ability to make the silliest of circumstances even remotely believable. The back and forth between Wood and Wilson is what makes this movie a worthy DVD rental. These two are clearly having the time of their lives in these roles, and it’s nice to see that the hero doesn’t always have to be the one with top billing in the film. The ending was a little abrupt and sewed together a little too neatly for the destruction that takes place in this small town. “Cooties” takes some chances and most of them pay off in raucous fashion. Don’t be too scared away from the R rating. It’s more for the language and less for the bloody gore that you would expect in a movie like this. No shots needed for these cooties.

6/10