Dead & Breakfast

A group of friends has to go to a wedding, and decide to take a drive trough the American Midwest to get there... but they get lost...have to spend the night in a bed and breakfast, in a little Midwestern town. Soon the whole city turn into zombies, and start killing everyone. Let's face it, you should not expect a great scenario, but who would expect a great scenario in a zombie movie. This one is a especially good. Cut into chapters, separated by country songs, the whole thing is well directed and well played (in context : this is a zombie film, not the next Oscar winning blockbuster), and blood is dripping all over the place, a bit of humor, and bits and pieces of bodies. A future classic of the genre. And you should watch the remix of Jackson's "Thriller" while the zombies are attacking : hilarious. Another highpoint is the presence of Carradine (Bill in Kill Bill), yeah! Zombie Rocks.

Horror comedies are usually much better on paper than on film, which Dead & Breakfast wholeheartedly proves. The first half is a mish-mash of self-consciously 'witty' dialogue and 'hilarious' situations as a group of yappy twenty-somethings throttle in a Winnebago towards Texas for a wedding. But an overnight detour leads them into a den of hillbilly zombies and handmade shotguns, and some semblance of fun, whether it's comedic or not.

With its unnecessary close-ups, terrible acting, and abhorrent hand-held camera use, Dead and Breakfast has all the charm of a first feature by a fanboy with too many ideas and too little experience. (Note that this is actually writer/director Matthew Leutwyler's third feature.) This isn't to say that the movie's bad – there's plenty of gore and creative death scenes to tickle your attention span for 88 minutes. But as a horror film it never finds its voice, and as a comedy, it tries far too hard to ever provoke a good chuckle out of me.

Early on, the lead is taken by Christian, a pill-popping but level-headed mediator played by the always wonderful Jeremy Sisto. But his premature nixing leaves the scattered cast without a den mother. Sara (Ever Carradine, who amazingly looks nothing like a Skolnick) should be leading the pack, but she spends the rest of the film bellowing, 'you've got to be kidding me!' as she wards off zombie attacks. Hardly a leading heroine. The rest of the cast – much better than the headshot-cast prats I see in studio horror pics these days - simply squabble amongst themselves about personal issues while under attack. Then there's the 'comedy': look, drunk guys aren't funny, rude French people aren't funny, and while slipping around in a puddle of gore is funny (see Shaun of the Dead's off-screen tumble by Simon Pegg), when the scene lasts upwards of 30 seconds, one feels pandered to. Even hillbilly zombies aren't funny – isn't that a little too on the nose?

You could do worse than Dead & Breakfast, but if you're looking for a genuine laugh with a good smattering of gore, check out another of Lions Gate's indie horror acquisition, Monster Man. And if you want a good zombie gorefest, stick with Dead Alive or Evil Dead II, which Dead & Breakfast aspires so painfully to be. Because there's nothing funny about desperation, is there?

People who compare this to Evil Dead and Braindead should be ashamed! I'm not saying this movie is bad but those two movies are so much better. I gave this movie a 6 because I enjoyed it the whole way through.

The comedy aspect of it was the worst part. The actors wasn't that funny and the jokes was usually a bit tired and took away too much from the vibe of the movie. I would have liked the humor to be a bit more sinister. And the gore a bit more visual and extended.

Everyone who likes splatter will probably enjoy this but don't expect a masterpiece like Evil Dead or Braindead.

I had to post a comment as the previous one was far too harsh on this film.

I saw this film with quite a lot of expectations of it and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't let them down too much. That's not to say it is the greatest horror comedy, but it it really entertaining.

Caradines appearance seems to have more to do with having a famous face, than anything, but his appearance it welcome.

The "crazy" songs in the film vary from being a reasonable narrative device to being incredibly grating, but i guess in the spirit of how the film is presented they are okay. They could put people right off the film though, if they are too humourless.

So it's no Evil Dead 2 or Bloodsucking Pharoahs, but it a good watch for your horror fans and your non horror fans looking for a light horror romp to kill an evening.

I just watched this one last night with my brother-in-law we both got allot of chuckles out of it and a few good laughs.

This movie is a cross between "Evil Dead 2" and "Shawn of the dead" with a touch of "kungfu Hustle" style dance scenes thrown into the mix, but not quite as good as any of the above mentioned movies.

It starts abit slow but picks up pretty fast.Lots of gore in the second half so if you have a weak stomach...

Some of the funniest bits in the movie are the song interludes, listen to the words,as it is funny stuff.

The acting is all pretty good,and the special effects well above average.

Highly recommend this one.