If George A. Romero, John Hughes, Sam Raimi & Broken Lizard spliced together their genes, DeadHeads may indeed be the love child of this labor.
Reading the plot summary before selecting this flick, I thought it was going to be "My Boyfriend's Back" shifted forward a few years. I liked that little sleeper, and would have been happy with a similar track.
However, from the first scenes, this story was clearly pure camp, with heart.
We open with Mike (Michael McKiddy), a newly awakened zombie. He is self-aware and intelligent, except, of course with regards to his current state of being. He soon meets Brent (Ross Kidder), who becomes his goofy sidekick. Brent is grounded more in the reality of their situation, and his loyal friendship helps Mike along.
Mike has unfinished business - he is carrying an engagement ring meant for his high school sweetheart, Ellie (Natalie Victoria). Unfortunately, he's been dead 3 years. He doesn't know how he got where he is, or why he's one of few 'intelligent' zombies around, but this quest is his only thought.
Unfortunately for the guys, there are 'unchanged' folks ready to call them out & kill them. Also, there's the little matter of the corporate types hunting them down for extermination. It seems they may have something to do with the situation Mike finds himself in. They've hired a sure-shooting, experienced zombie slayer, Thomas (Thomas Galasso).
What follows is your typical A to B road trip. We meet many characters along the way. Beloved "Cheese" (Markus Taylor), is the slow, but mostly harmless zombie who tags along like a puppy. Cliff (Harry Burkey) is the doper who picks them up and helps get them closer to Ellie's door. And, of course, super-fuzz wannabe McDinkle (Benjamin Webster), who seems to be suffering from a combination of suppressed homosexuality and roid rage.
At times, this flick had a very "Tommy Boy" feel w/Brent being the Chris Farley to Mike's serious David Spade. The music and almost cartoonish delivery from Kidder's Brent also called to mind the newer Scooby Doo cartoon features. Add to that the naked sincerity of Mike's love for Ellie, and a high school reunion to boot - we have a Zombie John Hughes movie.
I discovered part way through the movie why there was a Bruce Campbell quote in the trailer - they watch clips of Evil Dead. But, I was OK with that. The snippets fit in with the campy nature of the film.
This movie manages to fill many niches at once, as well as hearkening to some 80s nostalgia (there is a Goonies reference at one point). The story, direction, music and acting are overall pretty good. Even Kidder's exuberant offerings don't quite tip to the side of absurd. The lighting is a bit weird, trying to keep it dark, but for the most part it's forgivable.
As we head toward the climax, Mike gets flashes of memory revealing pieces of how he got where he is. When he finally reaches Ellie's door, he is just as resigned, though prepared not to have his fairy tale ending. She makes the decision for him & Brent encourages them to 'give the audience what they want' amid a throng of the corporate scientists and assassins who have followed them the whole way.
Overall, I really liked this film. It was entertaining, and the characters were sympathetic. They played a far-fetched storyline, with enough humor and drama to keep my attention to the end. There are plenty of gags and caricatures, but they add to the fun of this adventure.
My rating: 7 out of 10.
Reading the plot summary before selecting this flick, I thought it was going to be "My Boyfriend's Back" shifted forward a few years. I liked that little sleeper, and would have been happy with a similar track.
However, from the first scenes, this story was clearly pure camp, with heart.
We open with Mike (Michael McKiddy), a newly awakened zombie. He is self-aware and intelligent, except, of course with regards to his current state of being. He soon meets Brent (Ross Kidder), who becomes his goofy sidekick. Brent is grounded more in the reality of their situation, and his loyal friendship helps Mike along.
Mike has unfinished business - he is carrying an engagement ring meant for his high school sweetheart, Ellie (Natalie Victoria). Unfortunately, he's been dead 3 years. He doesn't know how he got where he is, or why he's one of few 'intelligent' zombies around, but this quest is his only thought.
Unfortunately for the guys, there are 'unchanged' folks ready to call them out & kill them. Also, there's the little matter of the corporate types hunting them down for extermination. It seems they may have something to do with the situation Mike finds himself in. They've hired a sure-shooting, experienced zombie slayer, Thomas (Thomas Galasso).
What follows is your typical A to B road trip. We meet many characters along the way. Beloved "Cheese" (Markus Taylor), is the slow, but mostly harmless zombie who tags along like a puppy. Cliff (Harry Burkey) is the doper who picks them up and helps get them closer to Ellie's door. And, of course, super-fuzz wannabe McDinkle (Benjamin Webster), who seems to be suffering from a combination of suppressed homosexuality and roid rage.
At times, this flick had a very "Tommy Boy" feel w/Brent being the Chris Farley to Mike's serious David Spade. The music and almost cartoonish delivery from Kidder's Brent also called to mind the newer Scooby Doo cartoon features. Add to that the naked sincerity of Mike's love for Ellie, and a high school reunion to boot - we have a Zombie John Hughes movie.
I discovered part way through the movie why there was a Bruce Campbell quote in the trailer - they watch clips of Evil Dead. But, I was OK with that. The snippets fit in with the campy nature of the film.
This movie manages to fill many niches at once, as well as hearkening to some 80s nostalgia (there is a Goonies reference at one point). The story, direction, music and acting are overall pretty good. Even Kidder's exuberant offerings don't quite tip to the side of absurd. The lighting is a bit weird, trying to keep it dark, but for the most part it's forgivable.
As we head toward the climax, Mike gets flashes of memory revealing pieces of how he got where he is. When he finally reaches Ellie's door, he is just as resigned, though prepared not to have his fairy tale ending. She makes the decision for him & Brent encourages them to 'give the audience what they want' amid a throng of the corporate scientists and assassins who have followed them the whole way.
Overall, I really liked this film. It was entertaining, and the characters were sympathetic. They played a far-fetched storyline, with enough humor and drama to keep my attention to the end. There are plenty of gags and caricatures, but they add to the fun of this adventure.
My rating: 7 out of 10.