Juan of the Dead

Welcome to zombies, Cubano style! This movie was effective on many levels. It's a good comedy, with tips of the hat to other films in the genre, like Braindead or Resident Evil, and with refreshing humour. It is also a zombie film, although the horror is minimal. But more than this, it is a social commentary on Cuban life style, with great quotes like "It doesn't look that different to me", when zombies roam Havana.

Unfortunately, afflicted by international isolation, Cuban culture is not something many people are familiar with, including myself, so I can't say if Cubans are really like depicted in the film. I can tell you that, placed in a small seaside town in Spain, the movie could have had almost the same effect. The heroes are ordinary, stupid and selfish, but they grow on you.

Bottom line: If you like zombie flicks, comedy and/or Spanish film, then you will love Juan de los Muertos. I enjoyed it and recommend it.

Alright, well this is the first Cuban movie I have ever seen, so it being a zombie movie just made it all the more glorious to watch. I had some initial doubts about this movie, but being a zombie movie, I just couldn't let the opportunity pass me by. And now that I have seen it, I must admit that I am more than pleasantly surprised. This movie was really great.

I assume that it would be the Cuban equivalent to "Shaun of the Dead", probably there the name came from as well. This movie combines humor, political satire and zombies in a very nice mixture, and it just worked out nicely.

The story is about Juan (played by Alexis Díaz de Villegas) and his friend Lazaro (played by Jorge Molina) who get on day by day in a not all that glamorous life, when the living dead start to overrun the city, sending the entire island into chaos and destruction. The story was actually quite good, and it was nice to see this approach to the zombie genre.

The characters in the movie were really nice, and they had very distinct and unique characteristics and personalities, which were nicely portrayed on the screen. So aside from being a zombie movie, the director gave the actors great chances to let the characters grow and develop on the screen. The group of survivors was made up of very different people, each with their own unique characteristics, which was really great, because there was something for almost everyone's liking here; heroic leader, funny sidekick, tough woman, muscular man who is scared of blood, über-gay guy, and much more.

"Juan of the Dead" was actually nicely made. There was a very nice sense of authenticity to the movie, as if you were there in Cuban with the people in the movie. And the zombies were actually quite nicely made as well, in regards to make-up and prosthetics. However, what really made this movie work was the humor, and the way it was used. I was thoroughly amused throughout the movie, and I loved the sense of humor that Lazaro had, he was just beyond cool.

There were some nice new ideas introduced in the movie as well, stuff that haven't been seen in zombie movies before. I especially liked the scene with the pickup truck with the harpoon and the tow cable. That was awesome. I will not give away the detail here, just watch it for yourself.

If you like zombie movies, then you definitely do not want to miss out on "Juan of the Dead", because it is indeed great fun, and with "Juan of the Dead" director Alejandro Brugués has put Cuba on the world map of the zombie outbreak. This movie was even far better than so many of the American produced low budget zombie movies out on the market. So "Juan of the Dead" is really a zombie movie to take notice of. Even if you are reluctant to foreign language movies, then you should sit down to watch "Juan of the Dead" if you like zombie movies, trust me!

Two rotten thumbs up for this movie.

The movie tries to combine serious matters (of political nature and I'm guessing there are even more stabs at the current political situation hidden in the dialogue if you understand it), with some very silly antics (almost slapstick territory). The lead actor will not be to everyones taste and the obvious comparisons to Shaun (of the dead) might do the movie more harm than good. But this is still a very decent effort/stab at comedy zombie movie.

I liked the performances and quite a few of the bits (and pieces, if you'll excuse the pun) in the movie. One particular "dance" scene was quite nice. Also the very first encounter of Juan and ... the other "group" (as named in the title) is quite funny (at least I thought/felt so). It might be uneven at times, but it's a fun ride that you can enjoy

The Cuban / Spanish production "Juan de los Muertos" is one of those pleasant surprises every day more difficult to find in the entertainment world. For those familiar with the Cuban regime and people, the movie is a very hard critic to both. In fact it seems the movie was only show on cinema festival but was never released in Cuba. For the rest, this is "SHAWN OF THE DEAD" style comedy / satire with some elaborated special effects and surprising production and technical values. Without any explanation Zombies appears in La Habana, Cuba and start eating people. Juan, a lazy fisherman; a "survivor" on his own words finds a way to make money, charging people to kill next of kin that became undead. With the help of his best friend and son, his daughter and a gay couple start a business called "JUAN DE LOS MUERTOS" or "JUAN OF THE DEAD". Obviously things get more complicated than them or the Cuban government expect. The language could be a limitation for not Spanish speakers; some puns are almost impossible to translate; even worse not knowing Cuban idiosyncrasy. In one of the most celebrated jokes, Juan is asked to kill a cow but he refuses because it is too dangerous. In Cuba killing a cow is worse crime than killing people. The other problem with the movie is that attempting to mock every dramatic cliché in movies (like daughter hating father, friend about to die, farewell , even MATRIX style fights) drags the pace down for some moments. Behind the comedy there is serious critic to the Cuban regime (the zombies are call "DISSIDENTS" , the news are always accusing USA of an attack and stating that everything is controlled even when nothing is being done). However the worst criticism goes to the Cuban society main defects; their selfishness (nobody helps anybody and less for free), their arrogance ("we are invincible" is stated many times), laziness and lack of interest in fighting (let's take a boat and move to Miami seems to be the only solution). In brief; if you are Cuban or with Latin roots; you must see it; if you are not, give it a try; will not be disappointed.

It probably helps to have a degree of familiarity with the troubled socio-political landscape of Cuba to fully appreciate certain aspects of zombie comedy Juan of the Dead, but even if, like me, you don't know your Castro from your Che Guevara, this neat little flick still packs enough decent laughs and scares to make it a fun time for fans of the living dead.

Juan of the Dead's strongest suit is its disparate cast of somewhat shady characters who still manage to be an extremely amiable bunch despite their dubious morality and, in some cases, a general lack of compassion for fellow human beings. The film also benefits greatly from lots of frenetic zombie killing (enhanced by impressive practical and CGI special effects), several outstandingly funny moments that thankfully require no knowledge of Cuba's complex history (the funniest being a 'touching' rooftop scene between Juan and and his 'dying' friend Lazaro), some cool visuals (an underwater shot of zombies on the seabed being my favourite) and a hot heroine in the form of Juan's sexy daughter Camila (Andrea Duro).

The plot might not be anything particularly memorable, offering up the usual gruesome encounters between the living and the flesh-eaters, with the survivors' number steadily dwindling as a result, but it is refreshing enough in its execution to definitely warrant a watch.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the awesome harpoon and cable mass zombie slaughter scene.