Dug up (2013) - Why bother?

I know this film was made in 2013 and 'Shaun of the Dead' was in 2004, but either way, both movies were released during the 'renaissance' of the zombie era.  The difference is that 'Shaun of the Dead' was one of the first flicks (of the time) to mix zombie-horror and comedy and it was funny, endearing and well-written.  Jump forward nearly a decade and 'Dug Up' in also a comedy-horror film set during an undead uprising.  And it's not that bad.  It's just not that good, either.

If we say - speaking generally - that 2002's 'Resident Evil' (movie) started the modern obsession with zombies, then now - over twenty years later - we've seen almost every different type of take on the subject matter.  If you want a 'straight' zombie-horror, then you have everything from Romero's films, to 'The Walking Dead' TV series, or '28 Days Later.' Whereas, if you're looking for something similar, but more light-hearted then you'd - most likely - choose 'Shaun of the Dead.' And, let's pretend that 'Shaun' didn't exist and you asked me - now, in 2024 - to name my 'Top 20 zombie comedy films' I could probably do that and give you a load of movies you probably haven't heard of, but all have laughs at the expense of some shuffling ghouls.

And that's where the problem lies.  Even if I had to list twenty zombie-comedies, 'Dug Up' still wouldn't be included.  You'll notice I'm not really telling you much about the plot.  That's because there isn't one.  It's merely one of many similar films which tries to be funny and original, but just can't really offer anything that you haven't seen before.

There's some brief nudity in the opening act, if that's any incentive for you to watch it.  But I found it on a streaming service and happened to pause it to go to the kitchen.  I figured it must be about halfway (forty-five minutes) through and was amazed when I saw I was only twenty minutes in.

Like I say, it's not terrible.  If you really want to watch about 'Number Thirty' in the top hundred list of best zombie-comedy films then this is it.  Otherwise, simply stick to 'Shaun' - chances are you already own a copy in your DVD collection.

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back