Film Review: DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011)

 DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) USA 1hr 24mins

Director: Gary King

"They're eating her, then they're gonna eat me... oh my god!!!" Hysterical onlooker.

"I just want a little bite of brains is all." Cut in half ninja zombie.

"Wanda, we're halfway through the montage and you're just as terrible as ever!" Master Sensei.

Wanda (Christina Rose) may be a bit of a nerd but she certainly tries her best at everything she does. Being that she is an uncoordinated mess means her best is just awful.  Her chosen activity of karate is the only thing she looks forward to and her weird, creepy, perverted mentor and sensei tries to discipline her in this delicate art, but it turns out he is not much better. Still he endeavours to support her through a tournament with their arch rivals The Killer Ninjas. After suffering an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the ninjas a disgraced Wanda goes running home. The Killer Ninjas victory is short lived as their bus crashes into some scientists who are trying to dispose of a questionable serum deemed too dangerous to be used. This turns all the evil karate creeps into ravenous blood thirsty zombies with sick ninja skills. They then go on the rampage turning all they bite into ninja zombies as well. The only person willing to try and save the day is Wanda, who undergoes a transformation of sorts with the help of a magic belt. This gives her the skills she needs to succeed and get her own back on the zombies as well as those who have wronged her. I wonder how much of the town will be left after this?!!!

Horror/comedy DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) only wants to know one of three things. 1) Do you like ninjas? 2) Do you like zombies? 3) How about ninja zombies? If you have answered yes to any one of these questions then this movie will appeal. This also depends on how low budget you like your B movies too as DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) is made on a real shoe string budget but I will let you in on secret...the director is well aware of this and  just really goes for it. With a title like DEATH OF THE DEAD and a synopsis as bat shit crazy as this is,  you know it's not going to be played straight either. It's pretty much a constant stream of boob gags, ball gags, bodily fluids, sex toys and zombies... think Troma meets the NAKED GUN movies. The dialogue is not quite as clever but when you least expect it something will happen that will make you giggle.

The plot is absolutely ridiculous but they make it work as best as they can. More importantly they make it fun. The characters are meant to be awful, so you expect it straight away but there is a drop of humour in every character. The opening scene with cheerleaders named Cinnamon, Bambi and Hoochi, to name a few, sets you up straight away for a multitude of dumbness and innuendo. Christina Rose is great and pretty funny as Wanda, however it is obvious that she is not an unattractive person so is still pretty hot as plain Wanda. Jack Adele and William Lee as Master Sensei and Evil Sensei have the bulk of the one liners and awkward gags but they pull it off fairly well. For a B movie it has quite a big cast yet I noticed a few of the actors played multiple roles.

To begin with I thought the zombies were a bit of an afterthought as their make up doesn't look that great, plus it does take a little while before the first zombie appears. Yes, it's low budget but as we already know, low budget does not mean that you can't make your zombies look good. All it takes is a little imagination of which they could have done better with. They start off with a slight discolouration and a few pustules which is a bit of a cop out but they do ramp it up a bit more as the movie progresses. As they are zombies with ninja skills they are the faster type and they fight no differently to normal uninfected people. They also talk normally which I personally do not like but it could be worse. There are a few tributes to classic zombie movies squeezed in as well. One notable one being a nod to RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) and the half lady. DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) is pretty action packed with numerous fight scenes which holds the attention. The practical effects again get ramped up as the movie progresses and it goes from a bit of blood, pus and dodgy bite shots to people getting ripped in half. There is an effective decapitation moment and an inventive scene involving testicles as a weapon, which is highly amusing!

The bonkers plot is littered with a few odd continuity errors but it is all done with tongue placed firmly in cheek. The humour is mixed with the usual bad taste, toilet gags but there is also some funny wordplay and a very funny stunt double scene. They seem to love a good cheesy montage too which is never a bad thing. DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) is really dumb but great fun and takes zero brain cells to figure out. It has good entertainment value and provides a surprising amounts of laughs. I score DEATH OF THE DEAD (2011) 2.5 brains out of 5. I did enjoy this movie more than I thought I would but they could've done a little bit more with the zombies!

DEATH OF THE DEAD  was originally released in 2011 so for those of us that missed it the first time around Bayview Entertainment have re-released DEATH OF THE DEAD via streaming services such as Vudu, Amazon Prime and other advertising - based video on demand channels. So it is available to watch right now.