Choking Hazard

I saw this at the Tribeca Film Festival and it was great fun. Bloody, funny, and smart. An intellectual twist on the "secluded retreat" idea - a group gathers at a hotel to do a weekend course about the meaning of their lives. And of course, they're overrun by zombies.

I especially love the way it weaves between existential exploration and hilarious gore-fest. It works on so many different levels - while your first reaction to it may be mostly visceral, the more you think about it the more you notice how clever the jokes are, how interesting the characters are, and how joyfully it plays with film conventions.

This is a rare and unusual film to come out of the Czech Republic. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend that you do!

I just returned home from cinema and I can surely say one thing about this film: It's interesting in a specific way.

The plot is quite simple. Group of people of different characters are in a hotel deep in the forests on a meeting leaded by Dr. Reinis -the blind philosopher- to search for the sense of life. Their meeting is interrupted by hunt of zombie-huntsmen (in Czech: "Zombivci" - zombie-myslivci ^_^), who are hunting weaker individuals.

Characters I liked the most were Jan Dolanský's character and Kamil Svejda's character. They were very funny and acted brilliant. Dobes and Kopøiva made up some very original ideas- using a camera to "rewind" the plot or series-like credits in the beginning of the film. Some of the gags (e.g. the one with the eye)were hilarious, but on the other hand, there were some boring moments...

So, the final judgement is: quite good but not so funny as "I Was A Teenage Intellectual"

I saw the movie in a theater and it is pretty clear that it deserves the theater even though it is evident that it had a low budget. I was really satisfied! I enjoyed the film for the whole 80 minutes and it had not a one boring spot. One crazy idea is followed by another (the most obscure is entrance of jehovist who happens to be blue movie actor, skating on a livers or scene with the eye are good ones as well), one witty line goes after the other and makers have put in it a good measure of gags. Yes, Choking Hazard is low budget, but so what? It extremely funny. Every fan of good (not only grim or zombie) comedies should attend as this movie. Choking hazard is absolute in its own way. I mildly recommend it!!

Running in the same vein as "Shaun of the Dead", "Choking Hazard" turns out to be a bloody good time not taking zombies seriously.

A professor takes a group out to a lodge in the woods, where they will be holding a seminar on the discussion of the meaning of life. The group is a lively bunch of conflicting personalities who house some interesting views on life. Before the real seminar can begin, however, the group is set upon by a pack of bloody-thirsty Woombies (woodsman zombies, get it). Chaos and existential pondering ensues.

More comedy than anything else, it is fortunate that the jokes are both cynical and effective (in particular I like the Jahova's witness porn star). Beyond those, the horror elements are properly schlocky; copious blood flow, creative zombie-death, the obligatory sex scene, and even a dance sequence featuring electrocuted woombies. There are also some nice directorial touches in the film, like using a camera to rewind the movie, that add some artsy flare.

The problems are small, but noticeable. The pacing is a little off, making some scenes seems short and others too long. While the acting is fitting, it isn't always great and for a film about the meaning of life it never makes a clear point.

Horror fanatics, zombie fans in particular, will scream with glee. Everyone else, well...why are you reading this review to begin with?

8/10

I bought the DVD on a whim because I was asking my cousin in Prague for some films he enjoyed. Knowing that I like horror, enjoy zombie flicks and have a penchant for films that look utterly ridiculous, he suggested Choking Hazard.

A little bit of philosophical commentary mixed in with some excellent laughs and a lot of zombies. It has a bit of the bad B flavour but it's one of those films that realizes that it has the potential to be terrible and just cracks jokes on the fact and has fun. If all else fails you, some of the zombie scenes are excellent and some of the running jokes are just hysterical.

If you like horror/comedy, especially of the zombified variety, I highly recommend this one.