30 September 2016

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse 2015 - REVIEW


Zombies, zombies, zombies! Anybody with a crappy camera and some ketchup thinks they churn out an entertaining zombie flick. Of course, maybe if those people had a $15,000,000.00 budget, they might be more successful. Until then, please stop and think... the horror movie world is so oversaturated with drooling, dead things that it's almost impossible to find a good one. Enter the scouts...

Three scouts, Ben (Tye Sheridan), Carter (Logan Miller) and Augie (Joey Morgan) head off to the woods for a night of celebratory fun. Augie is getting a scout award from Scout Leader Rogers (David Koechner) and he wants his best friends to be there for his special moment. Only problem is, Ben and Carter have decided that they are too old to be scouts and want out but they don't know how to break the news to Augie on his special night. When they are unexpectedly invited to the "cool kids" party, Carter convinces Ben to ditch Augie during the night and go. Of course they're busted by a betrayed Augie who tells them to go leaving him alone since Rogers was a no show. Against his better judgement, Ben leaves. Along the way, they stop to change clothes and notice the bouncer from the strip club is suspiciously absent and decide to go in. Along the way they meet Denise (Sarah Dumont), a former classmate turned cocktail waitress, and It doesn't take long for them to realize that zombies have taken over and the town has been evacuated leaving them alone to try and save the day.

It's a refreshing change to see a movie that never takes itself too seriously. Writers Carrie Lee Wilson, Emi Mochizuki and Christopher Landon break all the rules when it comes to zombies but it definitely works in their favor. They managed to take all those "zombies can't do that" things and incorporate them into the film without overdoing it. They've crafted a funny, entertaining movie full of sex jokes, zombie tits, vulgar behavior, an odd Dolly Parton obsession and a horde of zombie cats. I mean c'mon... ZOMBIE CATS! It's a ridiculously juvenile movie that will make you laugh and cringe at the same time (all you men out there will know what I mean after you watch it).

Filmmakers these days rely so heavily on CGI that nothing is done by hand anymore and I always appreciate a movie that goes out of the norm and uses practical effects. Scouts effectively mixes the two creating some pretty spectacular gore. The film is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it is clever and it is fun. Another reviewer called it American Pie meets Shaun of the Dead and I can totally get behind that description. With a talented cast at the helm, I'd have a hard time imagining any genre fan not finding it entertaining in some way. Plus they have guys that scream like girls and who doesn't like that?? One thing is for sure, once the film gets going, watch out for the whiplash because it is full on balls to the wall all the way to the end and it is a fun ride! Definitely check it out and come back to let us know what you think.

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