Aziz (Yahya Gaier, 2005’s HET SCHNITZELPARADIJS) hates his job working as a low-level nothing, where he answers phones and takes insults from his boss. He needs some excitement in his life, whether in the form of long walks on the beach with high-heeled office babe Tess (Nadia Palesa Poeschmann, 2012’s ALS JE VERLIEFD WORDT) or partying hard with his brother Mo (Mimoun Ouled Radi, the television series SHOUF SHOUF!).
Aziz may have been better off hitting on Tess, though, since it’s one mishap at a poolside bash hosted by Mo that winds both up in jail. Back at the office, Aziz’s boss has a clear view of the city skyline, complete with skyscrapers, stars and a Russian space station. Seconds after it’s spotted, the space station crashes into the building.
The next morning, the cell is unlocked and Aziz checks his voicemail, which contains messages like, “There are monsters everywhere, please hurry.” Out on the streets, cars have been destroyed, clouds of smoke rise and helicopters speed towards the city center. And then there’s the old woman who has been turned into a zombie.
The team, which consists of Aziz, Mo, a tough blonde officer (Gigi Ravelli, 2013’s VERLIEFD OP IBIZA) and two men from the party, holes up in a house until it’s no longer safe. Then they hit the streets, which are far from secure. Aziz makes it his goal to save the girl he longs for. It’s all played less for the gore aspect (although it’s abundant) and more for laughs.
The zombie comedy has been done so many times at this point that it’s hard to keep track of where exactly the most recent attempt has stolen the most from. That’s not the case, though, with KILL ZOMBIE! (known as ZOMBIBI in its native Netherlands), which makes every attempt to lift from the reigning champ of the zom-com, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The similarities are so blatant that it’s clear the filmmakers have made it their mission to forego playing off of any other classic zombie movie and instead focus on making some sort of quarter-brained remake. Even the way the movie is edited calls to mind Edgar Wright’s genre essential.
But the problem here is that KILL ZOMBIE!’s idea of humor is hitting a partygoer in the face with a soccer ball and having a heavier man get his fingers stuck in a bowling ball. It’s simply not funny. Screenwriter Tijs van Marle (2012’s MEES KESS) writes some relatively amusing modes of damage (like taking the blades of a standard oscillating fan to a zombie’s face), but there’s nothing here that can keep the laughs steady and there’s only so much that green blood can do for the audience.
Directors Martijn Smits and Erwin van den Eshof, as well as the cast, must have had a blast making KILL ZOMBIE!, but that doesn’t help the viewer forget that a pint with Shaun and Ed would have been much more fun.
Video: 2.35:1 in 1080p with MPEG-4 AVC codec. KILL ZOMBIE! looks quite good on this Blu-ray release, with strong, stable colors and excellent details for the duration.
Audio: Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio. Subtitles in English. The audio transfer is also strong, with clean dialogue and sound effects that put the viewer right in the carnage.
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