Undead

An alien invasion right in the middle of a zombie outbreak? That would suck!

It’s nice to see horror comedies making a resurgence nowadays, but there was a long gap where we had nothing. For a while these films only existed in the form of Troma or parody and PG-rated crap. There were some good comedic moments popping up in straight horror flicks, but they are too few and far between. It was a good ten years before we had a horror comedy to get excited about.

Enter Undead, a kick-ass horror comedy from Australia that even crosses into sci-fi territory. No surprise it came from Australia though; the last good horror comedy came from that region in the form of the classic Braindead! Except here they upped the ante Braindead set and have raised the bar with their fresh take on the genre. Of course it starts out like any other zombie flick; the undead invade a small town after a series of meteorites blast through the atmosphere, and the only hope belongs to a gun-nut hermit, a former beauty pageant queen, and a very angry lawman.

But unlike other zombie films, this takes an interesting turn when they discover the whole town is sealed up by a giant wall and are being chased by mysterious figures that may or may not be aliens. It’s zombie horror meets alien invasion! It even has shades of the western genre with its enigmatic, paranoid bad-add Marion. The filmmakers have a lot of influences in various genres and it shows in each scene. They pay homage to their heroes without ripping them off.

Anyone remotely familiar with the zombie genre knows that a good zombie film has buckets of blood; Undead does not disappoint. The splatter is plentiful and rewarding, using over 600 litres of the red stuff throughout and is tops with some of the classics. But even better is character of local foul-mouthed sheriff Harrison, who spews some of the funniest shit you’ll ever hear from anyone in the middle of a zombie outbreak! It’ll keep you pissing yourself from beginning to end!

You’ll have a lot of fun with Undead. With ample amounts of gore and giggles, and a side order of the X-Files just to mix things up, you should be pleasantly surprised with this gem. It’s also nice to see a zombie film that is not like other zombie films, which is the sole reason why the genre is dying the first place... but that’s another rant. If you are looking for a fun splatter-filled zombie film with a twist, Undead will satisfy your cravings.

Final Mark: 3.5/5



EXTRA CRAP
The Good: Undead trumps its predecessor Braindead by using over 600 litres of fake blood throughout production.

The Bad: I would rather encounter a zombie human before I encounter a zombie fish.

The Ugly: That’s right; Sheriff Harrison kisses his mother with that mouth.

In A Nutshell: Mental note: make triple shotgun when zombie outbreak hits.

Useless Trivia: The directors edited and did the special effects on their home PC using, of all things, Premiere. It took them nine months to complete it. That’s either devotion, or that’s stupidity… no, it’s just stupidity.

Favourite Quote(s):

• Harrison: When I was a kid, we fuckin' respected our parents, we didn't fuckin' eat 'them!
• Alien #1: [to other Alien without suit] Put you clothes back on.
  Alien #2: I'm comfortable with who I am.
• Harrison: I'll fuckin' finish you off faster than a fuckin' birthday cake at a fat chick's fuckin' birthday party!