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UNDEAD OR ALIVE
* * * (2007, 91 minutes, Rated R)
Warning: Slapstick Zombie Shenanigans Ahead.
Obviously, there’s no other way to start the review than with this video:
* * * (2007, 91 minutes, Rated R)
Warning: Slapstick Zombie Shenanigans Ahead.
Obviously, there’s no other way to start the review than with this video:
 |
It’s pretty common for people to complain about how creatively bankrupt Hollywood is these days,
but despite the existence of movie adaptations from video games and remakes of classic slasher
films, this might be the golden age of genre-bending films. Look no further than the Greatest Film
of the 21st Century, Shaun of the Dead.
but despite the existence of movie adaptations from video games and remakes of classic slasher
films, this might be the golden age of genre-bending films. Look no further than the Greatest Film
of the 21st Century, Shaun of the Dead.
| I happily recommend watching Shaun over anything reviewed here. |
Shaun is a romantic comedy that takes place during a
zombie outbreak, self-described as a “zom-com.” Undead
or Alive ups the ante with a zombie/comedy/western hat
trick. I can only imagine that a
zombie/documentary/gangster/musical is in the works.
There is something of a faux historical element to the
backstory of the film, one that explains not just the existence
of zombies but the reason for setting the film in the Wild
West: According to the film’s opening text, after years of bad-
assery, Geronimo unleashed the “White Man’s Curse” upon
the land just before being taken out by the U.S. Army (never
mind that he surrendered to the U.S. Army and lived another
13 years before succumbing to pneumonia).
I’m sure that Geronimo would be thrilled that, 100 years after
his passing, we’re blaming him for zombie outbreaks.
zombie outbreak, self-described as a “zom-com.” Undead
or Alive ups the ante with a zombie/comedy/western hat
trick. I can only imagine that a
zombie/documentary/gangster/musical is in the works.
There is something of a faux historical element to the
backstory of the film, one that explains not just the existence
of zombies but the reason for setting the film in the Wild
West: According to the film’s opening text, after years of bad-
assery, Geronimo unleashed the “White Man’s Curse” upon
the land just before being taken out by the U.S. Army (never
mind that he surrendered to the U.S. Army and lived another
13 years before succumbing to pneumonia).
I’m sure that Geronimo would be thrilled that, 100 years after
his passing, we’re blaming him for zombie outbreaks.
So thanks to Geronimo, zombies ensue. Because this is
also a western, the zombies stumble around old sets from
“Little House on the Prairie.” Because this is also a
comedy, the zombies do things like get a foot stuck in a pail
and getting whacked in the face from stepping on a rake.
And those are some of the rare gags not lifted from Jackie
Chan’s Shanghai Noon.
The film stars James Denton of “Desperate Housewives”
fame and Chris Kattan of “SNL” fame as mismatched
partners who meet when, naturally, they get into a bar fight
with each other.
Yes, Chris Kattan is still appearing in movies. Score
another point for the Atheists. But in the interest of full
disclosure, the real draw to this film for me personally was
James Denton, whose presence in this film gives me the
chance to make lots of cheap shots at “Desperate
Housewives.”
also a western, the zombies stumble around old sets from
“Little House on the Prairie.” Because this is also a
comedy, the zombies do things like get a foot stuck in a pail
and getting whacked in the face from stepping on a rake.
And those are some of the rare gags not lifted from Jackie
Chan’s Shanghai Noon.
The film stars James Denton of “Desperate Housewives”
fame and Chris Kattan of “SNL” fame as mismatched
partners who meet when, naturally, they get into a bar fight
with each other.
Yes, Chris Kattan is still appearing in movies. Score
another point for the Atheists. But in the interest of full
disclosure, the real draw to this film for me personally was
James Denton, whose presence in this film gives me the
chance to make lots of cheap shots at “Desperate
Housewives.”
| Geronimo (above) is also responsible for the home mortgaging crisis, VH1’s “Rock of Love” and halitosis |
| To the Nominating Committee of the Emmy Awards: Please note that "Desperate Housewives" is not a comedy. It is not funny. At all. (I know the same could be said about "Two and a Half Men," but at least that show makes an honest attempt.) The fact that "Desperate Housewives" has been nominated for 25 Emmys in "... a Comedy Series" categories is violently offensive to actual comedy shows. Please stop. Immediately. -- Nolahn |
Denton plays Every Drifter To Ever Appear in a Western, and Kattan is a cowboy who is, you’ll
never believe it, comically incompetent. Because this is a western, there’s a jail break, a robbery,
male bonding over the names of their guns and hot pursuit from a posse. But because this is
also a zombie movie, it’s a zombified posse.
You can imagine how well the public hanging of a zombie goes over.
This is the kind of movie where our duo meets up with a Hot Native American Girl, who turns out
to have been raised in a boarding school, speaks fluent English and is named Sue (as in Susan,
not Sioux Nation). See? I told you they reheated a lot of the gags in Shanghai Noon. At least I
can’t accuse the filmmakers for trying too hard.
never believe it, comically incompetent. Because this is a western, there’s a jail break, a robbery,
male bonding over the names of their guns and hot pursuit from a posse. But because this is
also a zombie movie, it’s a zombified posse.
You can imagine how well the public hanging of a zombie goes over.
This is the kind of movie where our duo meets up with a Hot Native American Girl, who turns out
to have been raised in a boarding school, speaks fluent English and is named Sue (as in Susan,
not Sioux Nation). See? I told you they reheated a lot of the gags in Shanghai Noon. At least I
can’t accuse the filmmakers for trying too hard.
| The very definition of "trying too hard." |
But that doesn’t mean the movie doesn’t
provide some quality moments, like the
argument our heroes have when they catch
sight of the majestic Grand Canyon and the
strangely sweet final scene. In the end, this
film hits all the notes a “western zomedy”
should hit: a good amount of zombie fighting
and zombie gore, lots of genre-bending and
even a really big explosion.
Geronimo would only be mildly offended.
provide some quality moments, like the
argument our heroes have when they catch
sight of the majestic Grand Canyon and the
strangely sweet final scene. In the end, this
film hits all the notes a “western zomedy”
should hit: a good amount of zombie fighting
and zombie gore, lots of genre-bending and
even a really big explosion.
Geronimo would only be mildly offended.
