A different way of telling a story

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Another strange/sick & twisted film by Writer/Director Bruce Labruce. If you are a gay and/or bisexual male, you will be turned-on a little while watching various scenes. Minutes later you might feel disgusted while watching some scenes, like I was. There is never a real story or entertaining plot to follow in any of his films. He often uses real porn actors/street prostitutes to star in his films because there is always real sex performed within his films. L.A. Zombie Hardcore is most definitely a standard gay porn film with a feeble attempt at storytelling. This is Bruce Labruce's style when he writes and directs this type of film.This review can also be applied to the film, Shortbus as well. Don't get me wrong, I love porno films and I also love mainstream films as well but I know the difference between what is and what isn't porn when I see it. The director of Shortbus was smart enough to edit out 60% of the gay sex scenes that was filmed, adding a few heterosexual sex scenes, which made it easier to blend into mainstream movie theaters. Which became a popular film, making a lot of money, strangely? L.A. Zombie Hardcore was made first because Bruce Labruce got to do yet another "personal" pornographic film with a hint of a storyline, making it fit into the gay "artistic" film genre, like all his movies in the last 3 decades have also. He hires hot porn actors as well as everyday looking yet attractive fairly new actors. In this film, he cast gay male porn actors and a few actors that have worked on some of his other films in the past. Like Tony Ward who plays a homeless guy along with one of Tony's best friends in real life, an actor/clothing designer from the show Project Runway.Bruce Labruce usually writes a part for himself in his films where he can also join the fun like the actors but I didn't spot him creeping/spying or sniffing any of the cast in this film, like he did so famously in his film Hustler White starring Tony Ward, almost 20 years ago.L.A. Zombie Hardcore is worth seeing just to say you saw yet another low budget sick, twisted explicitly pornographic gay art film that. Only gay men that get high on drugs and poppers would call this film "a profound work of orgasmic art". I call it just another low budget "artsy" porno film.

L.A. ZOMBIE is a work of Art. It is a beautiful poetic film. Not fluffy and sappy beautiful, it is poignantly exquisite, but it drives the point home. Anyone who is an outcast or who has ever experienced being excluded, mocked or laughed at for being gay/bi/lesbian/trans, different from what others perceive as standard looking, or even a bit on the weird side can sympathise with this zombie/homeless character. He might be on too much drugs, insane, a horny-necrophiliac, a hedonist or whatever. However, he transcends all that pain and contemptuous treatment by society through the brutal expression of his sexuality. In his mind, the creature frees other people from their mediocrity (they are dead inside perhaps, so here might come the resurrection symbolism) by sharing his manhood with them. Always alone, he keeps going and going further... becoming more monstrous-looking and hungry for sex as he witnesses all walks of outlaw and outcast types: the corrupt business guy, the non-white gangsta, the homeless guys, the S&M gang into all types of excesses...The alternation between what is going inside the zombie's mind and the probable reality shows him as invisible to society, helpless and "ugly". He does his thing and walks away as if it is of no importance, or just a natural need, leaving his lovers dumbfounded. The opening shot on the beach and final minutes are of immense cinematic beauty. The close-up crying scene is heartbreaking, and the cool photography and use of music/lack of dialogues throughout the glum and gore scenes have us amazed/grossed out/feeling sorry for this miserable freaky character.LaBruce holds our attention and his political message is still strong, besides the pornographic content (the surface). It is one of the most interesting accomplishments in all-time Queer Cinema. The amateurish actors keep the film realistic and fresh.There are lots of symbols in L.A. ZOMBIE, but since I am not a film student I leave it to each of you to make an interpretation of them (and I'll avoid being called dumb by some).If you want some cool gay underground experimentation: go watch it! If you want a non-conformist message to ponder on: go watch it! If you like alternative/independent Art: go watch it! If you like original no-barrels drama/horror: go watch it!And finally, if you think Cinema is not solely entertainment but a means for revolution, Bruce LaBruce is the right man for starting it!I'm already waiting for the next piece by this fantastic filmmaker.My rating: 10/10

For some viewers Bruce LaBruce is surely some kind of a legend. After watching two of his movies, I must admit: that's not for me! "L.A.Zombie" is nothing more than a regular porn movie for homosexual audiences. No plot, no acting, no action. If you like to watch a man licking penis of his colleague, or licking his hairy anus, works from LaBruce may fascinate you. I was only bored - more and more with every minute. There was also some bloody gore in that one, but that's not an excuse to watch gay hardcore scenes for 100 minutes, over and over again. The other thing - why the hell that zombie was in one scene looking like a dead one and in another he was like normal person (normal gay person)? That remains a mystery. Just like the point of making such a horrible movies. Really stupid, non-artistic, although it wants to look like one.