#160 -- Deadheads (2011)

Directors: Brett Pierce & Drew T. Pierce
Rating: 4/5

Finally! I've found another truly remarkable movie. So, On Demand isn't all bad after all. I wasn't really sure how to feel about this one going into it. There are tons of zombie horror-comedies out there, so I figured it would be just like all the rest of those. But it really wasn't, because is was a romantic zombie horror-comedy. Sounds weird, right? Well, I guess it's pretty weird on paper, but it actually really worked. It's about a guy named Mike who wakes up one night to discover that he's a zombie, and he's been dead for three years. Before he bit the bullet, he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend, Ellie, but that didn't work out too well. Right after he wakes up, he runs into another zombie named Brent, who's a little on the strange side. While Mike was murdered, Brent died from auto-erotic asphyxiation. But Brent wants to help Mike find Ellie, so that he can tell her how he feels and finally give her the ring he's been keeping in his pocket for three years. They go on a little zombie road trip, meeting up with a crazy old man who gives them a ride. Oh, Mike and Brent are "smart" zombies. Apparently there was some sort of military experiment (isn't there always?), and a certain few people were injected with a different strain of the virus. While Mike and Brent still have their minds, all the other zombies are the mindless sort we've grown to love. They pick up one of these such zombies, name him Cheese, and keep him as a sort of pet. Cheese is a big dude, and he acts like their body guard. So when the fuzz starts chasing them, trying to take them down, they've got to deal with Cheese, who is much stronger than the average man. They encounter some things that set them back a bit, to the point that they feel they can't go on. They meet a bunch of rednecks in a bar, and they almost don't make it out once everyone realizes they're zombies. They meet a cop out in the woods, but Cheese takes care of him with the quickness. And there's always the government officials on their trail. We eventually learn the true nature of Mike's death, and it ain't a pretty picture. But he overcomes all that, finds his girl and spills his guts to her (fortunately, I don't mean that literally).

I've never seen a movie quite like this. Sure there was My Boyfriend's Back, but that wasn't quite the same. This one was actually very funny. Brent was a crazy character, as was the old man they hitched a ride with. Cheese was cool, and I was sincerely sad to see him go. There are a few other-celebrity look-a-likes in here too. The old dude looks a bit like Adam West; Mike looks like Jared the Subway guy, and Brent reminded me of Beetlejuice, for some reason. So, a zombie romantic horror-comedy. Who would'a thunk it, right? It sounds weird, it is a little weird, but it works. It's a great movie with humor, romance, and zombies. It's a chick flick you can watch with your boyfriend without him getting pissed at you. Everyone wins! Oh, the effects in here were pretty damn good too, and the acting was wonderful. It was well planned, well made, and just...it's awesome. I loved it. So fellow zombie lovers, watch this movie! I'm sure you'll all love it too.