Juan of the Dead

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.

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.

Burdened only by a cheesy name, Juan of the Dead is zombiepocalpyse gold. When zombies infest Cuba, Juan, Lazaro, and company see a business opportunity. To give you an idea, Juan answers the phone, "Juan of the dead, we kill your loved ones." For squeamish people like me, rest assured that the zombie violence is comically creative instead of gruesome. Two words: flatbed truck. If for no other reason, see the movie for that HILARIOUS scene. The legitimately funny, light social commentary of Cuban lifestyle is unexpected and makes this movie special. Zombie-run public transportation is "no different than usual," and there are constant cracks about rafting to Miami, but "only as a last resort." The lead actor Alexis Diaz de Villegas oozes charisma and charmed me in the first five minutes. If you're a fan of how Dawn of the Dead mixes zombies and politics, definitely check out this movie.

I didn't know anything about this film going in to see it, and was very impressed! I'll hold my hand up to being very unfamiliar with Cuban cinema, but horror and zombies especially are my thing. However, in general, me and comedy-horror have had a somewhat checkered past. This film, however, works very well and on a few different levels: Being a ZomCom, the comedy violence works well and isn't overplayed; the characters are parodies of what you'd expect, but again only taken as far as the tone of the film would allow; and as for tone, its where this film really comes into its own and makes it well worth seeing, elevating it above the status of most mid-budget horror. The political overtones are just that, and are meant to be taken as very obvious and tongue-in-cheek, and play well with the general idea that the characters know they are being lied to by the government and just play along, and for the audience it's made quite clear that any political subtext is not meant to override the point of the film as mostly a bit of a laugh. The scatological humour is not frequent but is there and can be taken or left depending on your personal tastes, but some of the jokes are genuinely funny and work well, and the interplay of the two male leads is very similar to Frost/Pegg in it's chummy familiarity and is something that hangs the whole films together nicely. The feel of the movie is very interesting, with a good mix of a Dawn of the Dead (remake) apocalyptic desolation, with Spaghetti Western styling, against a backdrop of 50s styling in both scenery (as you'd expect in Cuba), but also 40s and 50s farce in several places. Alexis Díaz de Villegas plays the everyman hero excellently, and with a style that reminds me of some of the world-weary yet streetwise heroes you might have previously seen in older cinema. Think Charlie Croaker in Italian Job (the original, of course). I wouldn't be surprised to see him crop up again in Western-released films before too long! All in all, it mixes to make a very original-feeling zombie movie and totally worth watching.

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.