Bloody Horror Comedy Makes You Think Twice Before Eating Fast Food, Stream Without Netflix

Poultrygeist is set primarily at the American Chicken Bunker, a militarized fast food chain owned by General Lee Roy (Robin L. Watkins), a vile capitalist bearing a striking resemblance to Colonel Sanders. The new franchise location depicted in the film was built on top of the Tromahawk Native American burial ground, where the film’s protagonist, Arbie (Jason Yachanin), once had a romantic rendezvous with his high school sweetheart, Wendy (Kate Graham), before she left town to attend college. Upon returning to the burial ground six months later, Arbie is beyond upset because the burial ground had been bulldozed to make way for the restaurant, and Wendy is actively protesting the establishment with her new girlfriend, Micki. 

In his efforts to antagonize Wendy, who is now a full-fledged animal rights activist, Arbie decides to seek employment at the American Chicken Bunker. Arbie’s boss, Denny (Joshua Olatunde), introduces him to the rest of the staff, who all have fast food names like Jose Paco Bell (Khalid Rivera), Carl Jr. (Caleb Emerson), and Humus (Rose Ghavami). Though American Chicken Bunker does excellent business upon its grand opening, Poultrygeist immediately goes off the rails when it’s revealed that the chickens being sold are possessed by both the Native Americans who used to occupy the land and the souls of billions of slaughtered chickens seeking violent revenge against their oppressors. 

The chickens in Poultrygeist possess their subjects upon consumption, and the American Chicken Bunker quickly becomes overrun with mutant zombies who have an unquenchable thirst for blood. Nobody is spared from the brutality that unfolds, and the gore is realistic enough to make you never want to eat fast food again but campy enough to allow you to suspend a healthy amount of disbelief and enjoy the film (if that’s the kind of thing you’re into). While the stakes aren’t too high in this film because every single character is completely unlikable and repulsive, you’ll want to stick around to see how Arbie and his coworkers try to save the day. 

Like most Troma Entertainment films, Poultrygeist had a shoestring budget of $500,000, and it’s reasonable to assume that a considerable amount of that budget was spent on fake blood. Lloyd Kaufman, who co-founded Troma Entertainment and helmed the film, dipped into his personal retirement savings to help finance the production. Additionally, over 300 unpaid extras were recruited to work on the film through casting calls on Craigslist and various horror message boards. 

Though Poultrygeist was mostly filmed at an abandoned McDonald’s in Buffalo, New York, additional shooting took place at a nearby abandoned church. Since Troma’s contract with McDonald’s didn’t allow them to film any nude scenes on the property, they were filmed at the church, which also housed over 70 cast and crew members during their downtime and only had one working bathroom. 

Poultrygeist only earned $22,623 at the box office because of its very limited theatrical release. Surprisingly, the film garnered a 64% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and was praised for its ability to deliver such a trashy premise so brazenly. Fans of previous Troma Entertainment outings got exactly what they wanted and were satisfied with the over-the-top final product. 

Poultrygeist is one of those films that you just need to sit back and let happen to you. At times you won’t know whether you should laugh, cry, or seek guidance from a higher power. But if you’re willing to subject yourself to a one-of-a-kind chicken-themed gore-fest, you can stream this masterpiece of unhinged creativity for free on Vudu, Tubi, and Plex.