NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB. (2015) DIRECTED BY KYLE RANKIN. STARRING MARIA THAYER, MICHAEL CASSIDY, RAY WISE, CHRIS MARQUETTE AND JULIE BRISTER. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
This is a terrific horror comedy from the director of INFESTATION. If I may use a rather witty pun here, it's infested with brilliant, snappy one-liners and hilariously improbable situations and just because a film is a horror comedy rather than a big heavy serious drama, it certainly doesn't mean that the acting can't be top-notch.
The two leads do a great job here, ably assisted by their supporting cast. So what's it all about, then? Follow me, horror fans, and I'll take you on a magical mystery tour the like of which you've only ever dreamed of. Well, I'll tell you a wee bit about the plot, anyway. Sure, isn't it much the same thing...!
Have you ever done the so-called 'Walk Of Shame?' You know, that thing where you have a (most likely drunken) one-night-stand with a total stranger and you wake up in their gaff the next morning with a stinking hangover and exhibiting the phenomenon known as 'panda eyes...?'
And then you have to haul your sorry carcass out of bed and slink home (or worse, straight to work!) in the same sweat-stained clobber you were wearing the night before...? Yeah, that's the Walk Of Shame all right. I've had my share of these in my time. Ahem. 'Nuff said.
This is pretty much what happens to Deb, our kooky, red-headed titular heroine. She gets pissed out of her brains on the night before the Fourth Of July and wakes up with an attractive- and rich!- Ben Affleck-lookalike who, in normal circumstances, would be way out of her league.
But Ryan Waverly, son of the millionaire who owns the water treatment plant in Portland, Maine, had just broken up with his snooty girlfriend Stacey and was probably ripe for a bit of rebound sex. Next morning, though, he's as anxious to get rid of Deb as the smitten Deb is to stay.
When he eventually gets her to leave his house, however, and they each attempt to go their separate ways, the pair make a weird discovery. The inhabitants of their normally nice friendly town have developed an insatiable desire for human flesh. Eating it, that is, not merely admiring it!
Not only that but they've also started to decompose and they now walk all funny as well. The 'cerebral palsy guy' apparently walks about the same as he always did, though. Don't ask. It's just one of the politically incorrect jokes that this NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD spoof has in store for you...!
With only one car and one phone between them, Deb and Ryan are stuck together for the duration of this totally unforeseen zombie apocalypse. Deb is determined to drive to her mum in Virginia, but she agrees to stop off at the Waverly mansion en route so that Ryan can be with his family, who are a small but select bunch of certifiable loony tunes.
Dad is a millionaire businessman who likes to bake brownies laced with drugs in his downtime. Ryan's brother Chaz is just plain cuckoo, but he's endearing and funny with it. Stacey, Ryan's ex-fiancée, is all big tits and fake tan and designer gear and she is a total bitch. She wants Ryan (the millionaire's son...!) back and she's outraged by the presence of Deb, a would-be news reporter, who is her polar opposite in every way. Watch out for barbs as the fur flies between the two...!
So, will Deb ever make it to her mum's place in safety, not a likely prospect given that the zombies are closing in around the Waverly mansion? Will Ryan, whom she's head-over-heels in love with by now, opt to go with her or will he stay behind with the massively-mammaried Kim Kardashian-lookalike that is Stacey?
Will the zombies just kill everyone and be done with it? And why exactly did the townspeople turn into zombies overnight, anyway? That doesn't just happen, does it? Not just like that, surely? It jolly well does not, dear readers. No, there's someone (or something) behind this hideous outbreak and Deb, the budding newscaster, might just be onto the story of a lifetime...
The quickfire back-and-forth dialogue between the free-spirited Deb and the clean-living and
mantra-chanting Ryan is some truly excellent comic writing and a joy to witness. Deb is kooky in an immensely likeable way and not in an annoying way, and I love her cute scrunchie-hotpants-leggings-and-rose-pink-jelly-sandals ensemble, too. She's feisty and ballsy and, in short (she is!), a true heroine for the modern age.
Her conversation with Ryan on The Morning After The Night Before is like something out of BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY. That's a good thing, by the way. This is probably the best and funniest scene of the movie. That, and the busty Stacey's noisy simulation of sex with Ryan. She looks fantastic in a sexy basque and stockings, by the way. No wonder the Un-dead fancy their chances, those randy feckin' cadavers. Well, they always say that the willy is the last thing to go...!
John Cougar Mellencamp gets a mention in the film, by the way. Ruby the friend in the 'awful sweater' would have been a great character to see a little more of, and don't forget to check out the GODZILLA-esque broadcast at the end of the movie. I mean, the GODZILLA with Matthew Broderick in it. Remember the amazing broadcast from Madison Square Gardens with the baby Godzillas milling around in the background? An unforgettable scene.
That was my 'miscellaneous' paragraph, in case you hadn't noticed. I nearly always do one of those. There's an interesting little insight for you into how I operate. I'm sure you'll agree that it's utterly fascinating...!
The film will be out on DVD on May 2nd 2016, courtesy of ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION and FRIGHTFEST PRESENTS, which is great news for all horror fans. If you like a nice zombie apocalypse film, you'll certainly enjoy NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB. If you like quality comedy horror, you'll enjoy this film. And if you prefer your zombie apocalypses to have a romantic storyline running through 'em, you'll definitely enjoy this terrific rom-zom-com. So, what are you guys waiting for? Oh yeah, that's right. The second of May...!
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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