This Web Blog was haphazardly produced without using Spell Check one danged time. We like it that way.

The title first put me off - as I'd imagine it has for you. But don't be deceived. There's a lot more going on under the hood of this film than one might suspect. In fact, I'm not sure how to begin to recommend the film to you but I'll muddle through.

If you clicked on the link to the trailer above, you'll see that it comes across as a documentary, though it's fully tongue-in-cheek and definitely a wonderful example of a mockumentary. But it's also much more than that. You might say it's a genre-bender. (Please excuse the pun.) While paying homage to the zombie horror genre, it twists it in surprising ways. Ways that are unexpected and refreshing.

But before I get into why I'm recommending this film to you, let me talk a bit about the people behind the effort.

Here's how they describe themselves:

Grace Lee is an award-winning filmmaker who received her MFA from UCLA Film School, where she won numerous awards for her thesis film "Barrier Device". Grace has gained international acclaim for her engaging and socially relevant documentaries dealing with issues ranging from military prostitution in South Korea ("The Women Inside") to sweatshop workers' rights ("Garment Wars") to Asian-American stereotypes ("The Grace Lee Project"). She is a recipient of the Illustrious Media of Conscience Fellowship and resides in Los Angeles.

John Solomon attended UCLA Film School, where he wrote and directed numerous narrative short films, including "Song Sung Blue", "The Eulogist's Opera", and "Nonsense Man". In 2001, he began shooting trauma footage at various Los Angeles hospitals and has since traveled to Egype and China to continue his work. John enjoys surfing, wearing scrubs and applying special effect make-up.

Frankly, I believe I'd be hard-pressed to find two more unlikely people to prod uce a film about zombies. That's why I think, at the end of the day, they were so successful at making this film work and bring something new to the table.

The beauty of what has been achieved in this film is that you enter the scenario with the belief that the filmmakers believe that zombies live among us - or, at least, people who believe they are zombies. (This is taking place in Los Angeles, after all, where people believe a lot of strange things.) So you are encouraged to suspend disbelief and wonder why anyone would want to claim they are a zombie.

The people we are presented with look and act like anyone else, hold jobs, etc. A couple of them are rather mundane, frankly. So why would they want to claim they are dead?

Ivan, one of the first "zombies" to which we are presented, works in a convenience store and does a 'zine about the life of American zombies. He has a girlfriend, who describes she and her friends as "zombie chasers". So far, typical L.A., right?

We get to meet other supposed zombies in the first half of the film, watch Grace and John bicker about how this documentary show go and everything seems quite normal - if dealing with off-kilter subject matter. But then comes "Live Dead", the big annual zombie festival - along the lines of Burning Man - where no humans are allowed.

I won't be a spoiler. I'll just say that after Grace and John get a special pass to attend "Live Dead", the film makes a definite and interesting turn into a new direction. Still mockumentary but crossing genres, perhaps creating a new one that you'll find droll, troubling, intriguing and well worth your time.

Grace, John and their film crew push a number of buttons to get a special dispensation to attend. That's when things get very weird.

If you have as quirky a sense of humor as this reviewer, enjoy real creativity and originality, and some amusing cinematic moments by new talent, I recommend you check this film. It's a little gem.

"American Zombie" is playing various film festivals around the country, including South-by-Southwest (SXSW) here in Austin, this year. It goes in theatrical release in March. DVD's can be purchased from CinemaLibreStudio.com.