2013 Fourteen Days of Halloween Part Four: Cockneys vs Zombies (2012)

courtesy of Wikipedia

Director:  Matthias Hoene

Starring:  Rasmus Hardiker, Michelle Ryan, Harry Treadway, Alan Ford, Honor Blackman, Richard Briers, Georgia King, and Ashley Bashy Thomas

Producer(s):  Mark Birmingham, Andrew Boswell, Simon Crowe, James Harris, Matthew Joynes, and Mark Lane

Screenwriter(s):  James Moran, and Lucas Roche

Studio(s): Limelight, Molinare, and Tea Shop and Film Company

Distributor: Aya Pro Company, StudioCanal, and Shout! Factory

Run Time: 87 Minutes

This film was not Shaun of the Dead.  I can’t help but compare it to one of the best zombie comedies of all time due to its country and setting of origin.  The opening minutes of the film did not give me much hope, especially playing the race card with the crazy trigger-happy Person of Color.  Having said that, this film is alright in its own right.  The premise of the film is that a band of mostly working class East End Londoners are robbing a bank.  This is because three of the would be burglars’ (played by Hardiker, Ryan, and Treadway) pensioner grandfather (played by Ford) is being evicted from his retirement home due to eminent domain attempting to gentrify the neighborhood.  Meanwhile, the old folks home is slowly but surely attacked by a mob of zombies.   Although the Cornetto’s Trilogy’s great entertainment comes from Nick Frost’s choreographed fight scenes there is something about retired pensioners whooping zombies that is so delightful.  “Bionic Woman” Michelle Ryan, Alan Ford, and former Bond girl Honor Blackman made the most lasting impression on me in this film.  They were dynamic in the delivery of their roles.   The film also started somewhat slowly for me, but it definitely picked up after the first 30 minutes.  An interesting subtext was the class warfare between the East Enders and the agents of gentrification.  Film was overall funtatsic.  Word to the wise though, the movie is definitely not PC.  In fact, its a live episode of South Park.  Just saying.

*** 1/2