Cockneys vs Zombies

I guess that's the best described movie title since Snakes on a plane. The movie delivers fully on its title and that's all you can expect from it, isn't it? A year ago Frightfest audiences were treated to a glimpse of some footage from the film. August 2012 the same audience (or whoever came again) got to see the whole film. And I'd say it played pretty well with most people.

I liked it too. The humor is good, you get Cockney language thrown in a couple of times and one the slowest chases you'll see in any film. And it works really good tension-wise. Mr. Ford of course is a delight to watch and he must have had a lot of fun on the set. You can't and shouldn't take a movie like that serious. Otherwise you'd have trouble enjoying this

I've grown quite allergic to the terms zombie-comedy, and especially to the allegedly cool slang name "zomedy", because we horror fanatics are literally overloaded with movies about the Living Dead that are supposed to be horrific and hilarious at the same time. In reality, however, the vast majority of them are just downright dull, uninspired and irritating. Ever since the British cult hit "Shaun of the Dead", it seems like every (young?) aspiring film director assumes that he/she can make a horror comedy even though these two remain the hardest genres to put into a blender together. Therefore I was rather skeptical when I went to see "Cockneys vs. Zombies" at a local horror festival here in Belgium. The idea sounded good, the trailer looked mighty fine and the cast features a handful of names that even make the most mediocre movie tolerable (Alan Ford from "Snatch" and Honor "Pussy Galore" Blackman) but still … it remained a zomedy! It took me more or less five minutes to put all my skepticism aside, though, because the movie starts out amazingly and I immediately got sucked in. The intro sequence and particularly the awesomely animated opening credits, guided by the magnificent song "What's that coming over the hill is it a monster?" by The Automatic, set the basis for an exhilarating, fast-paced and blood-spurting horror adventure. Admittedly the script features many clichés, stereotypes and redundant melodramatic moments, but overall seen is director Matthias Hoene's approach fresh and inventive. In Cockney country, the heart of working class East London, construction workers are building a gigantic apartment complex for which several traditional monuments have to be demolished, including the old folk's home of Granddad Ray Maguire and his friends. His offspring plans to rob a bank so that he doesn't have to move away from the area, but something else also interferes with the construction works… a zombie invasion! When the workers stumble upon ancient catacombs underneath the city, the region is quickly overrun by thousand of zombies. The bank robbers battle their way back to the retirement home as fast as they can, but the old timer prove themselves still tough enough to stand up against the undead. "Cockneys vs. Zombies" (don't you just love it when the title is, in fact, the entire plot?) is a straightforward and largely unpretentious zombie romp that delivers what you expect (or hope for). There are various flaws, like for example the screenplay refuses to sacrifice any real pivot characters and overdoes the melodrama a bit near the climax, but these are widely compensated through ingenious little plot aspects and the excessive gore effects. Certain sequences already qualify as instant classic in my book. For example, you haven't seen a zombie chase until you witness the race between a pensioner with a walking frame and a traditionally slow-sauntering rotting corpse. Or, how to kill a zombie with a metal plate in his head? And then for the obvious biggest trump of the film I'd like to refer to the title. The genuine Cockney characters and the delicious rhyming slang dialogs are the elements that truly distinguish the film from the others. Alan Ford must be the coolest Cockney since Sid Vicious and, as expected, he steals the show in every sequence he's in.

(57%) Very much a movie that owes a great deal of its existence to "Shaun of the dead", and to a large extent that's no bad thing. It shares a super simplistic plot of its predecessor, only here it has got its head in the clouds a great deal more with its comedy bank job scenes and 17th century mummified zombies. The laughs themselves aren't of an equal quality of "Shaun of the dead", and they mostly derive from the very cockney turns of phrase, with the very funny Alan Ford giving it both barrels whenever the opportunity arises, and the sadly no longer with us Richard Briers gunning down zombies with an uzi from his zimmer frame. Overall it isn't a comedy classic, but it does offer exactly what it promises.

A fun filled zombie film. Definitely not one of the best, but highly enjoyable. Loved the dialog and all the actor character portrayals. The gore effects had highs and lows, meaning there were some gore effects that were crazy good and other gore effects that were most likely rushed or they didn't put too much thought into. Alan Ford had me in stitches, he did an awesome job, I guarantee you will like him a lot in this film. Rasmus Hardiker and Harry Treadaway who play the central characters were both entertaining, and I wouldn't mind if the two reprise their roles in a sequel. Lastly I wanna speak about the lovely Michelle Ryan (who plays Katey, the cousin), I sorta fell in love with her in this film and loved her fiery attitude as she helped kick some zombie butt. In closing, I really try my best not to give away any of a particular film, because we usually already know what a film is about, and the only thing that comes next is to watch the film. In my opinion spoilers suck and it takes away from what others may enjoy or dislike about a particular film, that's why I rather that others come to their own conclusion upon viewing a film for themselves. Cockney vs Zombies...I loved it!...and I hope other fans of the genre get to see it and come to love it as well.

So - you liked Shaun of The Dead? The mix of drama, deadpan comedy and in-jokes? You will LOVE Cockneys vs Zombies! There's nothing not to like - great story, well-developed characters, loads of laugh-out-loud moments....

I watched this at the back of the house, downstairs. My daughter was upstairs at the front of the house, listening to music via headphones. And heard me laughing. That's how much fun this film is - I could go into more depth and say how funny Alan Ford is reprising his "Bricktop" role from "Snatch," how great is is to see Honor Blackman kicking ass again - in her mid-80's! and ....oh never mind. Watch, laugh and enjoy....I did! At least a 9/10.....