Over the years, I have established quite a fondness for Asian horror. Maybe it’s the allure of a culture that’s thousands of years old, that is steeped with mystery and mysticism. All of which is completely unknown to me. Whatever the case may be, I am completely enamored by the genre. So, let’s pop some popped corn, crack open a cold one and dim the lights. IT’S MOVIE TIME!
Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight (2017)
Synopsis
Two young friends that are suffice it to say dorky anime fanboys, go about their daily lives with immature delusions of being manga or anime heroes. Dubbing themselves, the “Double Dragons of Heaven and Earth”. The ‘heroes’ are soon thrust into a situation that neither could fathom. A zombie outbreak. With the aid of a young and beautiful supernatural hunter, the three battle the undead to save their families. Can these ‘heroes’ rise above their fears and save the day for real?
When I first received the screener for Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight, I do what I customarily do. Watch the trailer first. After viewing said trailer, I got pretty fucking excited. Sure, on the surface it may look like just another zombie film, but something intrigued me despite that. It felt different in some way. It also helped things, knowing Dread Central Presents and Epic Pictures had a hand in the releasing of the film as well. So, let’s see if DCP and Epic have the right formula again that helped make Terrifier an indie success.
First time feature film director Alan Lo tackled an interesting film style meshing together different genres. He and his crew did an excellent job balancing the popular Hong Kong-style fighting action with all the bloody gore of the horror genre. It was a really nice mixture. The fight scenes were choreographed with an almost clumsy feel, which only added to the personalities of the characters. The visual effects were composited by Alan Wai-Lun Cheng, who put the bloody icing over the gory cake. The “Double Dragons of Heaven and Earth”, Chi-Yeung (Louis Cheung) and Lung (Michael Ning) were fantastic as best buds for life in their fight against the undead. Their performances were only topped by veteran actors’ Alex Man (Dad) and Carrie Ng (Shan), with their sad and forlorn friendship.
Zombiology at times, plays out like a stage play in the second act. Building the tension and character interactions. As the third act zooms in, we find out that the zombies aren’t the only things to worry about. Where we see an original yet, very bizarre twist that involves large deadly eggs and a mysterious chicken. …Yeah, you read that right.
On the surface, Zombiology is an over the top, run of the mill horror zomcom with fast and brutal zombies. Often times with slapstick and downright goofy humor. But under the slapstick surface, interlaced throughout, we are given truly likable characters that have emotionally-charged relationships. There are incredibly endearing moments that I did not think this kind of movie was capable of.
This flick is not for everyone. I will need to see it again soon, for anything I may have missed. Because as with a lot of foreign films, it is possible some of the meaning behind the film was lost in translation. But that did not keep me from enjoying myself. There were a couple of occasions, where I couldn’t contain my glee and shouted, “fuck yeah!”.
IMDb: 4.5/10
ZombiSurvivor: 6.0/10
“Arrogance is the zombie within us…”
Thanks for reading boils and ghouls and remember…
STAY SCARED!
-ZS
