Undead - When aliens meets zombies

Yes, zombie movies have been done to death these days, but back in 2003 you could actually make one that was - almost - original.  Because 'Undead' is hardly a 'straight' horror film, choosing instead to make it more of a horror/comedy.  However, due to choosing these two genres, it does draw a lot of comparisons with the far more well-known 'Shaun of the Dead.' This is kind of unfair, as they are very different from each other and, although 'Shaun' is indeed probably the much better of the two, it doesn't mean that 'Undead' isn't worth a watch if you're into the zombie genre.

Instead of London or America, 'Undead' is set in a small fishing town in Australia which suddenly falls foul of a ghoulish uprising.  However, the unfortunate townsfolk don't just have to watch out for the usual slow-moving 'walkers' shuffling towards them and trying to eat their brains, but also a fleet of flying saucers piloted by those 'X-files-like' grey spacemen with the big heads and skinny bodies.

The characters are all the usual stereotypes you'd expect to find in any horror film (whether the 'comedy' element is added, or not) - you have the strong dependable female, the crazy authority figure, the weasel-like one who's always going to sell his colleagues out just to stay alive.  So, nothin new there and you probably won't remember any of their names by the time the credits roll, but the question you need to know is... is this funny?

And the answer is yes.  It never tries to take itself seriously and spoofs the genre nicely, plus the story adds a few new elements to the tried and tested tale courtesy of the alien menace and there are definitely some plot developments that you won't see coming.

Despite definitely being a comedy, there's actually a decent amount of gore here.  Most of the 'red stuff' comes in the (most welcome!) form of 'practical' effects (the aliens and spaceships are all CGI and they're not that bad considering this film is hardly 'big budget') and the gore is pretty well done, plus many inventive and funny ways of despatching the undead.

Yes, the title is hardly inspiring, but if you like tongue-in-cheek horror films, or 'zom-coms' then you should definitely give this one a try.  Just make sure you get a version with the subtitles enabled as the funniest line is actually written and comes near the end of the movie - don't miss it!

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one