As
black American culture changed in the late 60s and early
70s with the advent of funk music, the black power movement,
and the iconic Afro, this evolution made its presence
known in the films of the early 1970s. Appealing mostly
to the urban black audience, these "blaxploitation"
films, as they came to be known, were immensely popular.
They came to be known for their (mostly) all-black casts,
over-the-top blatant sexuality, and bloody violence. Trademarks
include tight, scanty outfits (for the women), tailored
70's-style suits (for the guys), big Afros, sex, violence,
drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes, and, let us not forget,
the tricked-out cars (i.e. "pimpmobiles").
While
these blaxploitation films flourished throughout the 1970s,
they were eventually shut out by pressure exerted by the
NAACP, the Urban League, and influential members of the
black community. These movies presented both a curse and
a blessing. On one hand, they confirmed and perpetuated
negative stereotypes of the black urban community by portraying
them as little more than drug dealers, thugs, pimps, and
prostitutes. Adding to many people's concern was the fact
that many of these films were helmed by white directors.
On the other hand, these movies were the first to feature
all-black casts and black urban culture and music. This
would eventually make it possible for future movies to
explore black social themes, like Boyz in the Hood.
It
is to this cultural trademark genre that Chad Hendricks
pays homage to in this horror-comedy. Think Undercover
Brother meets Army of Darkness.
Before
seeing this film, I must say that I considered myself
to have a rather catholic taste in the arts; no, not Catholic
as in "I love nothing more than to gaze at medieval
church paintings and listen to Gregorian chant",
but catholic as in universal. My tastes in music and the
visual arts are very wide ranging… or so I thought.
Then I encountered Insane in the Brain, the brainchild
(pun intended) of Everything
Means Nothing-director, Chad Hendricks, and I
realized that I had no familiarity with the genre of Blaxploitation
at all. Not because of dislike or lack of interest; I
just never got around to watching the traditional blaxploitation
films of the '70's like Dolemite, Foxy Brown, or Superfly.
I hadn't even seen modern spoofs or remakes like Undercover
Brother.
As
this film opened my eyes to the trademarks of the genre,
I found that I absolutely loved it.
With
that said, let's get to the basic storyline.
The
film opens with the obligatory zombies rising from their
graves, moaning "Brain! More brain!" However,
with their first foray into the unsuspecting world of
the living, it is clear that they are not craving 'brain'
so much as 'head.' (A very funny revelation, once I finally
understood the joke after a zombie claimed his first unsuspecting
prostitute.) As the number of dead hookers rises, two
superfly cops, Detectives Sloan and Goldie begin investigating.
What they discover is that only the most unconventional
approach will terminate these horny zombies, which results
in much hilarity.
