DeadHeads (2011)

It would seem to me to be an obvious irony that every time people think the zombie subgenre has been done to death it returns with a film that proves there's plenty of life in it yet. The zombie comedy, especially, has been doing well in recent years although not every attempt is successful. Thankfully, DeadHeads is a good one. In fact, it's the best that I've seen in the past few years.

Things begin with Mike Kellerman (Michael McKiddy) waking up and not realising that he has been zombiefied. The situation only becomes clear when he bumps into Brent (Ross Kidder). Well, his arm falling off helps to emphasise the point. Zombie or not, Mike has a ring in his pocket and a woman he loves and he decides that he must go to her and tell her exactly how he feels. Brent decides to help him. Perhaps along the way they can figure out just why they are smarter than the other groaning, shambling, flesh-eating zombies. Or perhaps they will just be happy if they avoid the company men who have been sent out to capture them and get them to a lab.

Brothers Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce wrote and directed this movie and they prove themselves to be majorly talented on both fronts. The film may be slightly rough and ready in places but there's a lot put onscreen that outshines many other horror comedies with bigger budgets than this one. The script is full of great exchanges, fun one-liners and numerous pop culture references while the practical effects are consistently superb.

The acting is also very good from most of the cast. McKiddy and Kidder are fantastic in the main roles, Markus Taylor does well in full-on zombie mode as Cheese, Thomas Galasso makes a great badass, Greg Dow and Benjamin Webster are both very funny and Harry Burkey is immensely likeable as Cliff, a man willing to pull over and help a couple of hitchhikers, even if they're looking a bit poorly. Natalie Victoria is suitably adorable as Ellie, the lady Mike is trying to reach, while Leonard Kelly-Young is perfectly acceptable as the villain of the piece. The only irritation comes from Eden Malyn, stuck with portraying her character like some kind of mousey, nervy woman who has wandered on from a children's TV show.

It may be a bit silly in places, obviously, and it may have some gaping plot holes but DeadHeads is a fantastic, funny film with some decent gore moments sparingly spread throughout and I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the likes of Wasting Away.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Heads-DVD-Michael-McKiddy/dp/B004YJZAHG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393758790&sr=8-2&keywords=deadheads