The Weird Kidz (2023)
Zombos Says: Crude, Rude, and Good
Watching The Weird Kidz, an animated horror tale from Zach Passero (writer, director, animator) and Hannah Passero (background artist), you get a vibe like this film is fresh out of a VHS cassette cover that was gotten from a mom and pop video store, from that section in back of the store, separated by a beaded curtain, making those videos mysterious, potentially naughty, and usually in need of a little extra kick (just saying) to enjoy with friends; you know, where only the true die hards would venture in search of a change-up from the usual mainstream glossy stuff. So yes, crude, rude, and definitely with hints of 70s and 80s growing up pains, The Weird Kidz can grow on you. It is like watching an X-Files episode done in a Robert Crumb underground comics kind of way, if Crumb was plastered to the walls and did not know what day it was.
It definitely looks like it took 8 years for Passero to draw it, which is not to say that is a bad thing. The lines, the motion, and backgrounds (thanks to his wife) are basic and a bit short of the word "style," but paired with the story it all works. And given the personalities of his characters, the simple art meshes well with them.
Their dialog delivery and relationship chemistry is much like what you would find in King of the Hill or Beavis and Butt-head. Not the smartest bunch, just simple but earnest and working through the awkward growing-up bits of life.
The most awkward of the bunch is Dug ( Tess Passero), being overweight, not athletic, and pretty good at arcade games. Flashbacks give us his rough connections with meeting everybody else's expectations, but he turns out to be determined in his actions and even-tempered when the monster shows up with It's family. Mel (Glenn Bolton) and Fatt (Brian Ceely) are his closest friends. Fatt isn't, and Mel, like Wyatt (Ellar Coltrane), has more adult stuff on his mind.
That more adult stuff comes into focus when Mary (Sydney O-Donnell) joins the group for a camping trip to Jerusalem Park. Of course, the local legend of the Night Child cryptid munching on people just adds to the campfire spook story effect; until Dug goes missing, Wyatt and Mary almost do it and suffer cryptid-interruptus, and Mel and Fatt get an eyeful of adult stuff with lots of fireworks.
Cue the cryptid and an unwelcomed spelunking, and the horror takes off from there. More terrifying are the sheriff (Sean Bridgers) and the only-store-for-miles lady (Angela Bettis), once they get involved. That's because they were already involved. Sneaky bastards.
As the voices go, they work well, but Mary's a bit too copacetic sounding at the worst times, and I would have expected Grumbles the bloodhound to have a lower voice given the balls he carries around (Passero is definitely not a Disney animator). It is also a bit funny watching anyone walk as the motion is abbreviated, but the overall direction keeps the story moving even if the characters are not. Also, either Wyatt is more stoned than he appears or he can take it on the chin much more than one would expect, given he gives one for the cryptid team. And Dug goes one better too, given the circumstances.
The Weird Kidz is a throwback to the life is hard, then you run from monsters making it even harder period of the 1970s and the growing-pains-suck-but-figure-it-out period of the 1980s. Taking us back to that section of the video store is always iffy at best, but this time around, it is a worthwhile trip.