Wasting Away (2007)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

So glad I stumbled across this film, it's funny a nice spin on the old classic zombie tale.Love the switch between black and white to colour. To emphasise the zombies and the real world, reminds of the old b movies in black and white.A good tale and lots of laughs on the way, good actors in the main parts.In parts this is very sweet like when one of the zombies goes to ask the parents of the girl zombie for her hand in marriage.Well worth a watch if you haven't seen it

I am so sick of seeing the same tried and worn out story lines in Zombie movies. This movie is a much needed kick in the head to all movie writers. Stop feeding us the same old garbage.From the beginning this movie is sharp, funny original and far better then 90% of the low budget Zombie flicks I watch. Kitty Go Boom is the best line in Years. No reliance on flashy effects or over shocking blood and guts. This movie moves on the story and character development.I now feel bad for all those Zombies I cheered being killed in the thousands of movies I wasted my time watching before this one.Zombies need love to.

Brain margaritas—anyone?Four friends at a bowling alley are infected by "toxic leftovers from a misguided military project designed to create a new breed of supersoldier" when the green liquid from a canister spills into a box of ice cream which is in turn mixed with beer and ingested turning them into zombies. What is different about director Matthew Kohnen's movie as it relates to the genre is that we are privy to the point of view from the zombies as if the humans they once were still remain, seeing a skewed world perspective where uninfected people seem to be "monsters" while they are "super soldiers".Colby French is "Private First Class" Nick Steele, the one responsible for the canister which falls from an army truck carrying barrels of toxic substance to be dumped in San Francisco. His intention was to halt the truck and keep it from its destination. Matthew Davis, Julianna Robinson, Michael Grant Terry(the television show BONES), and Betsy Beutler are the four who taste the "toxic ice cream" and become members of the undead.The punchline of this zom-com is that they don't know until much later that they are zombies! Davis has an absolute blast in his role as Mike, a cut-up who doesn't take things too seriously, motivating Terry to admit his love for a girl he's been friends with for over ten years, Beutler. Terry is timid and kind, and this zombie situation actually leads to his courage in telling her his feelings. The foxy Robinson is preparing an application for a position with a lawyer, meeting him for an "interview", not heeding the advice of Davis(her former boyfriend) that he's only wanting to "bone her". The crux of the matter as it pertains to their survival is that even though we see them as they once were(the director shoots them this way in color, as zombies in B&W), the group are still the undead and suffer the difficulties which derive from being such. Kohnen shies away from flesh eating—although, Davis has an affinity for brains. That will certainly raise the ire of zombie-philes who want their blood shed. This movie is designed to earn our sympathy and heart for those inflicted with the virus, perhaps the reason Kohnen and company decided to show them, for the most part, as if they were still human, their personalities and human traits intact. Kohnen does, however, show them from time to time, especially when they confront humans, as the walking dead, rotted corpses unable to speak, stumbling about, vulnerable to attack. In this film Kohnen plays with the formula by having humans understand the zombies when they're drunk! And, the scientist responsible for the invention of the virus(Jack Orend)does find a way for humans and zombies to communicate by way of brain waves in a contraption he created. Richard Riehle is Colonel South, the military leader who headed the "super soldier" project, the main nemesis of Steele. A severed hand and head figure into the comedy, both at the misfortune of Davis who finally gets a chance to let loose from the handsome straight parts he's normally saddled with, girls ogling him, the silent, sinister edge he carries is completely absent . Davis becomes a vocal leader even after his body had been taken away from him! This movie could've been rated PG-13, to tell you the truth, it's almost harmless and isn't that gory at all. There's hardly any blood, even when Davis' hand is severed, no arterial spray or squirting to be had, and the damage which we would normally see when Terry takes a shot gun blast to the chest doesn't leave that much of an impression. French's flag-waving patriotism, the American way, the bravery of a soldier, the heroism and duty of a man in uniform, is played to perfection, and his bravado is charming. I can't really say I was blown to smithereens by AHH!! ZOMBIES mainly because my once beloved attachment to the genre is waning, and I really need a jolt or a punch to the gut to derive any excitement for the movies anymore. The special effects(the skin and limited gore that is shown)leaves much to be desired, although I imagine zombie fans will giggle at the "scalp" gag that is a constant thorn in Terry's side. The cast works wonders, each member of this rag-tag bunch has plenty of personality and likability which can only benefit a zom-com desperate for laughs.

I saw this film as part of the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco. It was not only the best film I saw at the festival that year, it was the best I've ever seen at that festival! This was definitely a Zom-com, like Shaun of The Dead and Fido, only much lower budget. It manages to take a unique perspective in an extremely well explored genre. The visual effects really enhance the storytelling, which is not something I could say about most zombie flicks. While it's true that many of the visual gags, and just about all of the characters were zombie movie clichés, I was left with the impression that this was intentional. The film maker seemed to be riffing on stereotypical zombie movie attributes, and using them to create a movie that is both original and, pays homage to the great zombie films that went before it. I don't always go into indie film festival expecting original ideas and solid storytelling, but this flick set the bar pretty high! I think this is what George Romero's Diary of the Dead wishes it was!