Dead & Breakfast

I had this one sitting around for awhile (as I recorded off TV about two years ago), but I heard mainly poor things which made me leave to sit on my shelf gathering dust. Clearing out my copies, I decided to take the dive and in all honesty it wasn't too bad. It might be dumb, but still sorely entertaining. The very low-budget horror / comedy 'Dead & Breakfast' is completely daft, but surprisingly amusing with its tongue-in-cheek pulp send-up of the zombie sub-genre. Its influences are obvious, but it doesn't try to hide it but wears it on its sleeve. After an imaginative get-go, it does fall on the familiar side (small rural town under threat/people boarded in a house with the dead outside) with its running joke beginning to wear thin, but its comic book enthusiasm (and crazy blood splatter) drives it on. It really relishes in the gruesomely squishy make-up FX and oddball pluckiness. However it has some interesting facets like the storyboard illustrations cutting between scenes and linking the erratic storytelling is a singing narration (which does feel longer than it is) with a real country swing. But the leering one would be variation of how the zombies come about. Nicely done. Roaming through is a rock soundtrack, and a score that's got the flair to match. The performances are light-head, but colourfully quirky and sharp with the likes of Gina Phillips (who's perfectly wholesome), Jeremy Sisto, Bianca Lawson, Ever Carradine, Erik Palladino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Brent David Fraser and Miranda Bailey. It was cool to see David Carradine pop up in a cameo role too. Also recognizable showing in minor parts are Vincent Ventresca, Portia de Rossi and Diedrich Bader. Spiritedly goofy, messy fun.