With Slime City Massacre Greg Lamberson Outdoes Himself
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Slime City Massacre shows what happens when you give Greg Lamberson money, great actors, better cameras and camerawork, and great special effects… he outdoes himself in every way.
Written by James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
Sept. 7, 2010
Slime City Massacre Image Gallery
Release: 2010 (Various Festivals)
Written and Directed by: Greg Lamberson
Starring:
Jennifer Bihl as Alexa
Kealan Patrick Burke as Cory
Debbie Rochon as Alice
Lee Perkins as Mason
Slime City was the first movie I ever saw at a horror convention, two years ago. It blew my mind. The audacity of it, the heart of it… the hilarious special effects and line readings, the questionable camera work. I loved it then, and I love it now. And now, Greg Lamberson has returned to the city 20+ years later for his follow up tale of Day-Glo Himalayan yogurt, magic elixir, and gore.
The story begins in the 1950s as a prostitute named Nicole (Brooke Lewis) finds herself at the soup kitchen of Zachary Devon (Robert Sabin reprising his role from the original). Zachary convinces the understandably wary Nicole to come into the building and introduces her to the rest of his family and his followers, planning to bring her into the fold.
Meanwhile, 7 years into the future from the present day, a dirty bomb goes off in New York City and decimates it. The survivors live in a dog-eat-dog squalor that became known as Slime City. Alexa (Bihl), a draft dodger, and Corey (Burke), an army deserter, are on the run in this world from fighting the war in Canada (yes, really) and end up in Slime City where they hope to stay until they can move on to someplace better.
Inside, they meet up with the homeless and the more hardened survivors, Alice and Mason (Rochon and Perkins), a married couple willing to do anything to survive. After they show them that they are trustworthy, Alexa and Corey are allowed to stay so long as they contribute to the group.
Back in the 50s, Zachary introduces Nicole to the wonders of Himalayan yogurt and magic elixir as well as his doctrine of Flesh Control. At the same time, back in the future, Corey and Mason go on a scavenging mission for food and supplies and happen to stumble across the boarded-up basement of Zachary’s Soup Kitchen. Inside, they find jars of yogurt in four colors along with the elixir and bring them back to the women. After a small feast on what they’ve found, the group splits off and fulfills their deepest sexual desires of the flesh, overtaken by lust. After this, though, they wake up 
and realize they’re covered in slime. And just like in the original, there’s only one way to work off the slime…violent murder. Once they return to normal, they must figure out what the yogurt and elixir really are, who Zachary was, and why he and his followers committed suicide before they’re consumed by their violent and lustful urges and possessed by the spirits of the past…all before evil real estate tycoon Ronald Crump (Roy Frumkes, producer and writer of Street Trash) can bulldoze Slime City and kill the survivors.
The thing that is immediately clear to anyone who has seen Slime City when they see Slime City Massacre (from the instant the opening credits roll even) is that this film is for the fans. In addition to Robert Sabin reprising his role, Mary Huner also returns (now Mary Bogle) to reprise her role from the original, both showing massive improvement over their original performances. Plus, the entire Zachary subplot is backstory to explain the events that led to the first movie. The gore in Slime City Massacre is, many times, 
reinterpretations of the gore in the original, only done better (no scrambled- egg- and- sausage innards here! And wait till you see how they up the stomach-mouth and the ending!). The slime effects and make-up effects look better (and more colorful) while Lamberson himself shows marked improvement in his camerawork. Bihl, Burke, Rochon, and Perkins all give amazing knockout performances as well, Horror Movie Freak Scream Queen Rochon’s being of particular note for a practical hindrance she acts through for a portion of the film that I won’t spoil. There’s even a reference to Street Trash thrown in (in addition to the obvious casting of Frumkes) that elicits a nice chuckle and a dash or two of nudity missing from the original that aren’t too gratuitous or overbearing.
The key that makes Slime City Massacre work, though, is that it still shows some seams and still has that undeniable sense of heart and passion throughout. Sure, the computer effects (when they appear…mostly
you get practical effects) are a bit flawed and pretty laughable. Sure, we still get a bit of the same old bad line reading from Lewis’s Nicole and a really bizarre performance from Robert Bozek as the New Mayor of Slime City . Sure, one still wonders exactly what possesses even one as hungry as these people are to eat what, color and consistency-wise, looks like Nickelodeon Gak. But in the end, just like with the original, none of that matters because Slime City Massacre is still fun, entertaining, and filled with great, at times hilarious, lines and a true sense that these actors and Lamberson had fun continuing the story. Overall, it’s a movie that is better than the original, quality-wise, in every way while still keeping the original’s heart, soul, and style. It’s still just as repulsive and disgusting as ever…only this time the puddle of slime is a bit more polished and the elixir tastes that much sweeter for it. Questions or comments about Slime City Massacre? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
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