MOVIE REVIEW: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Horror, Comedy

Directed By: Christopher Landon 

It's no secret that we have been over saturated with zombie movies and TV shows ever since The Walking Dead first aired. The insane popularity of the show led to a massive resurgence in the horror sub-genre and for better or worse we are still in the wake of that explosion. This undead renaissance has definitely birthed its share of flop movies and cheap cash grabs but peppered throughout them are a handful of quality, inventive zombie flicks that offer up something different. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse may not be something entirely new but it offers some clever twists to the fun kind of zombie flick we all love to see. In the vein of something like Zombieland this film blends slapstick horror and comedy to create a ninety minute romp that is worth the price of admission. 

The end of their sophomore year of high school is approaching and these three best friends are beginning to question their commitment to the scouts. Despite all the good times they have had they are starting to realize that the uniform and way of life aren't the easiest way to grow in popularity. On the night of their last campout, where they plan on ending their days in a neckerchief, two of them sneak away from camp to attend a secret party but along the way they come to realize their town is in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Now they must set aside their petty high school problems to try and save the ones they love from certain death. The knowledge they have gained from years in the scouts now pays off as these young kids effectively fight off hordes of zombies, proving to them that maybe all of these years weren't as wasted as they thought.  

Scouts Guide doesn't do much to change the genre or even offer up something new, instead it takes something that has worked before and slightly builds off of it to make an entertaining and fun zombie flick. The film takes advantage of the massive popularity of zombies to create a self aware horror comedy where our characters are aware of exactly what their enemy is and how to kill it. I think we have reached a point where movies in which the characters don't know what zombies are have become tired, they are so ingrained in our collective conscious that it's hard to convince audiences of this. This is a large part of what worked for me in this film, they aren't afraid of the "Z" word (Like some popular shows...) and this allows the film to move into the action of the story much quicker.

They key to the success of any movie about the undead is the creatures themselves, lackluster zombies can kill a film with the best of casts quicker than anything else. This is where Scouts Guide succeeds the most, they managed to make their flesh eaters differ from the usual style. The zombies in this movie have personality, they allowed them to keep a sliver of their former self even after they have "died". This makes the encounters the characters have with them much more entertaining and original and is shown best in the strip club scene where an undead dancer gives a nice pole performance before attempting to eat the flesh of our young would be heroes. 

Maybe the filmmakers were scared of being labeled as a rip off but I think they missed an opportunity to enhance this film my incorporating the "scouts guide" in a similar way to the "rules" in Zombieland. They do a good job of making it clear that their training had prepared them for this disaster but I thought with the name of the movie the actual guide would play a small part. This is hardly noticeable though as the comedy of the film keeps you laughing out loud throughout. Its slapstick, and at times a little low brow but it's more than enough to keep you entertained for an hour and a half. 

I enjoyed seeing Tye Sheridan in another leading role, I have been impressed with what he has done so far in his short career with films like Joe and Mud and this is further proof that he will be a popular face in the future. Bit parts from David Koechner and Blake Anderson are a welcomed sight and only add more credibility to the humor of this film. Though it offers up nothing that will change the future of zombie filmmaking, Scouts Guide is ninety minutes of horror comedy fun and since we aren't getting Zombieland 2 anytime soon this will curb that craving for a little while longer.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!