A little bit Zombie - DVD

Content: It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend Steve (Kristopher Turner) was going to spend with his fiancée Tina (Crystal Lowe), his buddy Craig (Shawn Roberts) and his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Hager) in a small cabin in the woods away from the stress of everyday life. But the very fact that Tina wants to use the time for her meticulously organized wedding planning doesn't bode well. When Steve is bitten by a particularly persistent mosquito, the supposed idyll finally turns into a nightmare. Because before Steve, the mosquito had drunk its fill of a zombie and has thus infected the unsuspecting young man with a nasty zombie virus. While Steve retains much of his humanity, he also develops an unbridled appetite for brains. Of course, this doesn't fit into Tina's plans at all. But when two zombie hunters (Stephen McHattie and Emilie Ullerup) start hunting Steve, a future together seems to be dead for the fiancées. But Tina isn't about to let a little bit of zombie ruin her wedding after all...

With A little bit Zombie, director Casey Walker has delivered an amusing feature film debut that, much like Shaun of the Dead, Fido or Warm Bodies, attempts to wring comedic sides out of the zombie genre. This succeeds with the amusing basic idea then also quite well. To make a human half-zombie out of Steve, who not only has to deal with his ravenous appetite for brains and the two zombie hunters Max and Penelope. But especially with his very bossy fiancée, offers enough potential for amusing and also original moments. However, the rather low budget and some unnecessarily raunchy silliness always get in the way of these, which somewhat tarnish the otherwise absolutely positive overall picture.

When Steve has a nightmare in the style of a 50s sitcom or has his first experience with feeding brains at the butcher's, and when Tina mutates into a combat Amazon as soon as she sees her wedding plans in danger, then A little bit Zombie is really a lot of fun. It's also in these moments that Walker's love of the genre, and of films like the early works of Sam Raimi, becomes palpable. With wonderfully over-the-top humor and over-the-top trashy splatter interludes, A little bit Zombie then also exudes much of the charm that made works like Army of Darkness true cult classics.

Unfortunately, the film as a whole is far from being in the same league as its obvious role models. For that some gags are just too flat and the dialogues are just not clever enough. Casey Walker repeatedly misses the chance to adequately implement his original idea. So his zombie comedy has no cult potential. However, this genre entry, which has won awards at various film festivals, offers entertaining and fun entertainment. If you can overlook the one or other rather low-brow gag and the not always quite polished dramaturgy, this likeable feature film debut can definitely be recommended. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD has some small weaknesses in the detail representation, which are particularly noticeable in the darker scenes. Also with the overall sharpness would have been qualitatively still air to the top. The color mixing, on the other hand, is pleasantly powerful and ensures that the overall impression remains quite positive in the end. The German audio is available in both a decent Dolby Digital 5.1 and a somewhat more powerful DTS mix. Both soundtracks are primarily dominated by the dialogues, only at the very beginning and in the last third do some richer sound effects provide noticeable movement in the surround. Good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film, there are four short interviews with the cast, enriched with some brief footage from the shoot.

Conclusion: A little bit Zombie is an amusing horror-comedy, which consoles over small weaknesses with some very original ideas. True, not all the gags work, sometimes the humor is a bit too raunchy and also the low budget is noticeable here and there. But overall, this Canadian production is a very charming and entertaining genre contribution, which does not come close to comparable works such as Fido or Warm Bodies, but fans of such films can entertain really well. Despite small qualitative hangs and the very manageable bonus offer, there is in the end a deserved: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp