Spending all of his time providing limbs and blood for directors, Gregory Nicotero is trying his hand behind the camera offering up a sneak peek at his abilities with the short horror comedy “United Monster Talent Agency.” As with many first outings, his is a dedication to the monster movies of old with cameos from some of the greatest monsters as well as cameos from some of the greatest directors (…and Eli Roth), all of which is set to the tune of the classic fifties news reels.
Nicotero spotlights a world where the monsters we see in horror movies aren’t masterful special effects and latex but real monsters, all of whom are kept tight and cozy in a secret facility that rents them out to movie studios for big productions at the risk of their hired help constantly putting themselves in danger. This allows Nicotero to put his team’s make up effects to brilliant use as he presents variations of some incredible monsters as well as nodding his head to classic horror movies. The Gillman, the hunchback, Dracula, The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Frankenstein Monster, even the elevator zombies from Dawn of the Dead are here to rear their faces, and Nicotero uses the genre nods well allowing for a gallery of his talents while also poking fun at the genre.
Nicotero is able to stage some very genuine variations of classic scenes in horror movies while also sneaking in friends like Cerina Vincent and Frank Darabont to pose as potential consumers for the horrible beasts all of whom are ushered around and wrangled in to cages until they’re needed for the next gig. I especially enjoyed the opening sequence with my favorite aquatic predator the Gillman stalking a hammy Cerina Vincent, but Nicotero has much more surprises with a hilarious cameo from Robert Rodriguez, and a finale featuring Dana Gould doing a hilarious Lon Chaney Jr. impression with Eli Roth as a typical fifties director.
Nicotero obviously has much more in store for horror geeks in love with his work behind the camera, and I hope he’s able to show us something new and fresh after years of working with horror’s best and worst. Gregory Nicotero provides horror goons with only a taste of his directorial chops with a hilarious and clever horror short about the world beyond movies where the monsters are real after all. Nods to the genre, great special effects, and a hilarious climax make this one short worth watching.