(2006)Anyone who dies comes back to life. The reanimated dead walk, talk and go to work. They seem to pose no threat to the living other than their offensive looks as they continue to rot. Angela is murdered by her angry obsessive boyfriend Josh when she tries to end the relationship. As Angela tries to get on with life as a zombie she realizes that people are treating her differently. After being let go from her job due to her living status, she tries using a makeup ‘Look Alive’ to hide her rigor mortis. In the meantime, Josh has joined a vigilante group that has made it their mission to kill all zombies. Angela joins a self help group for zombies and meets some interesting dead folks like herself. She winds up meeting a group of rebel zombies that have learned that eating the flesh of the living makes them feel better and slows the rotting process. Both groups eventually engage each other in a bloody battle with Angela & Josh right smack in the center of it all.
I was seriously avoiding this film due to the title. I had thrown it in my queue out of curiosity but I kept pushing it back. After AC and Mr. AC tackled “Astro Zombies” I thought I owed it to them to tough this one out. In my mind I saw whiny zombies at 12 step meetings trying to cope. Boy was I wrong! This is a fresh take on zombies and I really enjoyed it. Yes, another original idea. Think about it, you get murdered and wake up to living the same pathetic life you had before. Only now you're dead and slowly rotting making your life just that much more miserable. The zombies are treated like the dregs of society by the living. A homeless beggar has more status than a zombie.
Beyond the general concept there is a real story going on here as well. Josh ran off after murdering Angela. So Angela is now the walking dead and her murderous ex is running loose alive and well. Why she never went to the cops is beyond me, I would think having the victim as an eye witness to murder would be proof enough. Although, since she is walking and talking is she technically dead at all? Maybe it isn't even considered murder anymore. The film raises a lot of speculations and a whole new world of possibilities in the rules of zombieness. Add to that a decent amount of gore and some pretty good fight scenes and you have a pretty solid flick. I give ZA a big thumbs up, after watching a bunch of zombie flicks it was really nice to see a whole new take on an old friend.
