“We Are Zombies”
NR/Horror/Comedy/80 Mins
Directed by: François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Written by: Jerry Frissen, François Simard, Anouk Whissell
Starring: Alexandre Nachi (“1991”), Derek Johns (“The Boys”), Megan Peta Hill (“Obsession”), Patrick Abellard (“To Catch a Killer”), Marc-Andre Boulanger (“Brick Mansions”), Benz Antoine (“Get Rich or Die Tryin’”), Rosemary Sabor (“District 31”), Guy Nadon (“L’ange gardien”)
Review: In the horror genre, it feels like everything has been said and done regarding zombie movies. You got your virus infected fast zombies from “28 Days Later”, the grey-colored slow paced braindead ghouls from “Night of the Living Dead” and the grotesque rotting corpses from “The Walking Dead.” Shaking up the genre required some mixing with another genre: comedy. “Shaun of the Dead” is personally my favorite zombie flick and I had great fun with the “Zombieland” duology. Surely there can’t be any more fresh ideas left in this bashed-in-brains genre? That’s where “We Are Zombies” comes in to shake it up once more.
“We Are Zombies” is the latest film from Canadian filmmakers, RKSS (a trio consisting of Yoann-Karl Whissell, François Simard and Anouk Whissell), whose previous films, “Turbo Kid” and “Summer of 84,” are some of my favorite films I have seen in the past 10 years. Their new film is based on the comic book series, “The Zombies That Ate the World” (written by Jerry Frissen who also co-wrote this film adaptation), the film follows a group of friends living in a world where the dead have come back to life. Sounds like a zombie movie, right? Well, what sets it apart is these “living impaired” individuals don’t want to eat brains or cause an apocalypse, they just want to work and live among the living.
This is where the trio of friends comes in. Consisting of nerdy Karl, his best friend Freddy and his half sister Maggie, they spend their days masquerading as “zombie disposal” workers pretending to work for the mega conglomerate “Coleman Corporation” as a means to get money by illegally getting rid of unwanted walkers. This catches the attention of some real employees from the company. Angry and their jobs on the line, Steve and Rocco kidnap Karl and Maggie’s grandmother and hold her for ransom. This leads our main characters on a wild journey through Necropolis doing just about anything to get the ransom money and their grandma back.
My favorite thing about this film was the world building around Necropolis and all the unique people that inhabit it. From an artist using zombie parts incorporated into their artwork to zombie chefs (check your food for ears) and zombie cam girls, it’s a very weird but intriguing world that I haven’t seen in this genre before. Since this is a low-budget film, it feels like they only scratched the surface on what the rest of this world is like. I’m really curious to read the comic book based on this film to see if it goes past this story and more into the ins and outs of Necropolis.
I will say for a world so fresh and new, the story, while interesting, at times, the pacing felt a little off but thanks to the leads, it kept me engaged for the most part. While no performance particularly stood out to me, it’s when these three are together is where they shine as a unit. I did feel that some of the humor throughout felt a little forced and at times it fell a little flat, but I will say this film thrives on the charm and likability of the trio.
Another thing that stood out was the incredible practical zombie effects. From the makeup to the blood-splattering kills, there are some top notch effects work here. One in particular is a zombie-turned-art piece that looks very cool/unique and quickly leads to my favorite zombie kill of the film.
I think compared to “We Are Zombies,” RKSS’s previous films are stronger in terms of narrative. I am, however, really looking forward to their next project “Wake Up” (US release date TBD) that is coming out soon after this one and I’ll be the first in line to see it. RKSS are unique & different and no matter the quality, I will always show up to support original and fresh filmmakers/visions.
Score: 6/10
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