APOCALYPSE, CA (2011)

Directed by Chad Peter
Written by Chad Peter
Starring Nick Mathis, Erin Bodine, Anne McDaniels, Alexander Cardinale, Elizabeth Sandy, Sarah Smick, Ryan Jordan

Though not so much a horror film as it is a quirky romp filled with whacked out weirdness, APOCALYPSE, CA is definitely a film like few others. If I had to find something to compare it with, I guess I’d choose Gregg Araki or John Waters above anyone else as Chad Peter attempts to twist both gender and reality as a cast of ridiculous good-lookings try to survive in LA mere days before an asteroid is about to hit.

The acting here is not top notch, but they are damn good looking (especially the nummy-liciously bikini-clad Anne Daniels) and do their job pressing this story along. A pill is discovered that gives the taker a dose of what it is like to be the opposite sex. At the same time, one of the male cast members switches bodies with another female cast member and both go through the motions of most of the gender swapping films you can think of. Also, there’s a giant woman crashing through LA smashing airplanes and stomping on civilians.

What does this have to do with an asteroid crashing into the Earth?

Not really sure, but APOCALYPSE, CA doesn’t bother itself with explaining all of that.

Like Araki’s films, the good-looking cast flops in and out of bed with each other on a whim. Like Waters, the offbeat is incorporated with pride and ease. Though it may not make a lot of sense in the end, this is a nice apocalyptic romp with enough touches of the bizarre to qualify it a mention here. APOCALYPSE, CA does have a lot to say about gender roles and assumptions one has about the opposite sex–not your usual horror theme, but one well plumbed here.

If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, Peter’s APOCALYPSE, CA might be exactly what you were looking for.

Check out the trailer here!!