Filthy Review - 'A Little Bit Zombie'

A Little Bit Zombie (2012)

Review by Jude Felton

When it comes to blending horror and comedy, it would appear that zombies lend themselves to humor far more than, shall we say, vampires. This is evident of the numerous zombie comedies that have appeared of late. Of course, that Granddaddy of them all is Return of the Living Dead, but over recent years the comparisons have always been made to that wee English flick that came out a few years back. You know the one I mean, kind of like Macbeth is the ‘Scottish’ play, well this particular English film is the ‘zombie comedy’.

If anything, the Canadian movie, A Little Bit Zombie sits alongside the terrific Deadheads, in terms of content and humor, and humor is the main ingredient here. There are horrific moments, and plenty of gross-out scenes, but it is the humor that pulls A Little Bit Zombie along, and I will say that for 90% of the time it worked for me. Hell, I was laughing like an over the hill hyena for a lot of this film.

The film opens with a zombie hunter, played by Stephen McHattie, and his daughter laying waste to a multitude of the undead. Before the last one hits the deck though, a mosquito takes a good long drink from one of the shamblers.

A hop, skip and a jump over to Steve, his fiancé Tina, sister Sarah and her husband Craig, who are heading out to a remote cabin. Three of the four want a relaxing break, but Tina has other plans; she wants to finalize all the plans for Steve and her wedding, and she isn’t going to let anyone, or anything get in the way of it. Enter the mosquito from scene one.

Yes, yes my friends, the little bastard decides that Steve would make a tasty stop, and this scene itself is funny as all hell! So, Steve has been bitten and now he joins the ranks of the undead. Of course, he isn’t a grunting shambling non-entity; he’s pretty much the same as the rest of us, except of course he craves brains.

Laughs are the name of the game here, and they come thick and fast. More often than not the jokes work, even when the script does take a few predictable and familiar turns. Hey, not every film can reinvent the wheel, sometimes you just want to have fun with a film, and this is one such film.

The cast all commit to their roles and give solid performances, even if McHattie seems to be doing his best Lance Henriksen impression. It doesn’t matter though, because it’s all in the name of a good time.

Chances are, if you liked the Pierce Brothers’ Deadheads, you’ll get a kick out of A Little Bit Zombie. Shit, they would make a great double-bill, that’s for sure! With as many zombie movies out there that there are, A Little Bit Zombie is one that I recommend you check out when given the opportunity.

So, yes I enjoyed A Little Bit Zombie a hell of a lot, it’s a comedy that made me laugh out loud, and still managed to throw in a good portion of blood and guts. Good times for sure!

Phase 4 Films will be releasing A Little Bit Zombie in the US.