Cockneys vs Zombies

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.

You've seen 'Shaun of the Dead' and most likely almost every other zombie spoof as well if you're now looking up this zombie comedy. Well, I'll tell you that you're havin a bath if you spend more than a film on this, not that I condone half-inching dvds either! It's good, it has so many laugh out loud scenes and hilarious dialogue, and then it has Michelle Ryan, who I quite like.

So, Terry and Andy are two brothers planning to rob a bank, with the aid of cousin Katy, nice but dim friend Davey Tuppence and local nutter Mental Mickey, all because the council is allowing the demolition of their granddad's retirement home. When the job goes bad, they're spared being shot by the police, when a sudden zombie outbreak lays waste to London's East End.

Banded together with the bank robbing gang and the hostages they've taken, Terry and Andy must find a way to rescue granddad, with the £2 million they stole in tow. That's it in a nutshell and the rest comes down to the silly fun they have taking the gypsy's kiss out of every cockney stereotype in existence.

What really sells it for me is Alan Ford as granddad Ray and his fellow retirees defending the nursing home from the undead. Foul mouthed cockney pensioner gangsters are always a bit of a laugh, but when he's backed up by Honor Blackman and Richard Briers, you're up for levels of ridiculousness you never thought you'd witness, and it's worth it.

The special effects ain't half bad, I've seen many worse attempts taking themselves way more serious, and I've seen comedies with less laughs. Give it a go, by all means!

(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.

Old people vs. Zombies, now that's a twist for ya.

My favorite part of the movie was the beginning. It reminded me of Return of the living dead, which is one of my favorite movies ever. It's rare to get an origin story of where the Zombies come from.

Ray Macguiren was a cool character. An old army vet a bit angry at the world who gets back in the battle by saving his fellow senior citizens from the zombie infestation. One cool concept was Mental Mickey, a deranged war vet who has a metal plate in his head so when he turns into a Zombie you can kill him like the rule book tells you to.

Overall the movie was pretty funny and enjoyable. Glad I watched it. It's not Shawn of the Dead, but the Brits made another great Zombie flick.

First, it's a movie about zombies and it's English, so don't go in expecting some grandiose academy award winners. What we have is a film that is meant to be watched and enjoyed. It's purpose is to entertain us with zombies, gore, and the best type of dry Brit humor one can find. A job it accomplishes rather nicely.

It never takes itself seriously but doesn't go full on to cheeky parody mode either. I have to agree that like Shaun of the Dead or Tucker & DAle Vs Evil, this one has successfully blended a great comedy with a good horror flick. though I'll warn it's more about the good gore one finds rather than scares.

By far the strongest actor would be Alan Ford who fills the character role of "Grandad" brilliantly as the cantankerous grandfather of the two leads and the caretaker of an old folks home. He has some of the best lines- most of which you simply don't expect or at least won't know what the heck is gonna be said next. right from the get go with opening credits you have the idea it's gonna be a fun, somewhat satirical ride and indeed it is. In all, the plot isn't that much of a stretch(it's zombies) but the actors and director make it work. it has a decent music score too. after viewing it may not be in some horror fan's top fav list, but it will certainly not disappoint. (also if you like crass British slang you'll like this movie)