On an RV trip to a friend's wedding, a group of six buddies get lost along the road and are forced to stop at a small bed & breakfast for the night. When the B&B's owner and chef are found dead, the group is held by the sheriff under suspicion of guilt. Their innocence seems imminent and their safety returned when the sheriff arrests a drifter he suspects of the murders. . . but, when one friend releases the evil spirit of Kuman Thong (seriously), the friends are forced to fight for their lives against a gang of the undead.
Comedy? Musical? ZOMBIES? Where have you been all my life? The combination of those three elements sounded like an easy win for someone like me. Toss in a pretty damn good cast of Jeremy Sisto (Wrong Turn), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural), Gina Phillips (Jeepers Creepers), Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey), Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development), and David Carradine (Kill Bill), and it's looking even better. All it needs now is some strong horror violence & gore. . . oh, wait, it says that right there in the MPAA rating! Well, gee, looks like this film simply CAN'T fail! And, I suppose it doesn't. However, it doesn't really succeed all that much either. To start with, there are some very good elements. The gore & violence are excellently excessive. Not Dead-Alive excessive (even though a certain chainsaw scene is eerily reminiscent of a certain lawnmower scene), but there's still plenty. Also, there's some good humour (most notably the Jeremy Sisto puppet), but it occasionally goes over-the-top or takes one joke too far (like slipping in blood for a full minute or the Thriller dance). Technically, the film's alright. The direction isn't anything special, but it looks pretty good, especially for the $500k budget. The script's actually quite good and entertaining: It flows well and the dialogue works well with the characters, even if the actors don't always portray it perfectly. What probably hurts the film most is that it doesn't really properly achieve either side of the horror-comedy subgenre very well. The horror isn't scary and replacing scares with gore simply isn't enough here. The comedy, while occasionally funny, is inconsistent and doesn't really keep the film as a laughfest. But, when it all comes together, the gore & violence added to the occasional laughs make it an entertaining flick worthy of a look for fans of Shaun of the Dead, Dead-Alive, and the Evil Dead series.
Obligatory Zombie Elements:
Cause of Outbreak: Possession or Voodoo or something
Zombie Characteristics: They're pretty much just the townies with some white makeup and fatal wounds. They use weapons, run, talk, etc., so not obviously traditional zombies.
Zombie Effects: There really isn't much. Just some white powder on the face to pale them up. That's all.
Violence/Gore: This is probably the best element of the film here. The gore is excellent and excessive. The violence is all very cool and there are a ton of different kill methods used throughout.
Social Commentary: If there was any, it was extremely subtle.
Final Verdict: 6/10. Eh, give it a look if you want to kill some time.
Recommended? I'd say a tentative 'yes.' It's enjoyable, and that's enough for me to suggest.
-AP3-
Comedy? Musical? ZOMBIES? Where have you been all my life? The combination of those three elements sounded like an easy win for someone like me. Toss in a pretty damn good cast of Jeremy Sisto (Wrong Turn), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural), Gina Phillips (Jeepers Creepers), Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey), Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development), and David Carradine (Kill Bill), and it's looking even better. All it needs now is some strong horror violence & gore. . . oh, wait, it says that right there in the MPAA rating! Well, gee, looks like this film simply CAN'T fail! And, I suppose it doesn't. However, it doesn't really succeed all that much either. To start with, there are some very good elements. The gore & violence are excellently excessive. Not Dead-Alive excessive (even though a certain chainsaw scene is eerily reminiscent of a certain lawnmower scene), but there's still plenty. Also, there's some good humour (most notably the Jeremy Sisto puppet), but it occasionally goes over-the-top or takes one joke too far (like slipping in blood for a full minute or the Thriller dance). Technically, the film's alright. The direction isn't anything special, but it looks pretty good, especially for the $500k budget. The script's actually quite good and entertaining: It flows well and the dialogue works well with the characters, even if the actors don't always portray it perfectly. What probably hurts the film most is that it doesn't really properly achieve either side of the horror-comedy subgenre very well. The horror isn't scary and replacing scares with gore simply isn't enough here. The comedy, while occasionally funny, is inconsistent and doesn't really keep the film as a laughfest. But, when it all comes together, the gore & violence added to the occasional laughs make it an entertaining flick worthy of a look for fans of Shaun of the Dead, Dead-Alive, and the Evil Dead series.
Obligatory Zombie Elements:
Cause of Outbreak: Possession or Voodoo or something
Zombie Characteristics: They're pretty much just the townies with some white makeup and fatal wounds. They use weapons, run, talk, etc., so not obviously traditional zombies.
Zombie Effects: There really isn't much. Just some white powder on the face to pale them up. That's all.
Violence/Gore: This is probably the best element of the film here. The gore is excellent and excessive. The violence is all very cool and there are a ton of different kill methods used throughout.
Social Commentary: If there was any, it was extremely subtle.
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Final Verdict: 6/10. Eh, give it a look if you want to kill some time.
Recommended? I'd say a tentative 'yes.' It's enjoyable, and that's enough for me to suggest.
-AP3-