Zombie Town

The acting is bad. The casting is horrible. Casting 30-year-olds trying to look and act like they are in their teens. The writing is bad. This movie is...just bad. I don't understand how movies like this get approved and gets funded. Have we just given up? Is this what movies are like now? Big budget movies have lost its touch a long time ago. And the only thing we had left was some good low budget independent films that were written well with actors, who actually fit in their roles and can act and look accordingly. 2023 and I have not seen any decent movies and it's sad. It shouldn't be that difficult if this is what you do for a living.

Many reviewers state one has to be in the 'demographic' or target range to 'get' this flick... huey! I'm a man of a certain age and love a great kids/young adult flick! I've watched many series 'targeted' for young adults and wholeheartedly loved the watch.. I watched it 2x, just in case my mood had any effect on my perspective.. Nope, it was still a stinker.. If it were 'intended' for younger viewers, the 2 main teen characters apparently weren't told or even given direction.. their performances were phoned in and just bland. I'd also have to argue and/or point out that Disney and Pixar flicks are 'intended' for young audiences, yet appeal to a much larger audience. So that defense of this flick is imo indefensible. I'd argue the production just didn't know what they wanted the film to be. It wasn't straight enough to be ironically funny, it wasn't wonkie enough to be campy, it didn't even have the bones to be carried by Akroyd and Chase. There will be some that look at it differently or see something the rest of us don't, so if you're unsure what lot you fall into You'll know within a few minutes whether it's for you or not..

I love RL Stine. This was not good, even that feels like an understatement. The plot is terrible or at best terribly executed. The editing was awful. The movie skips things a bit in places. The main characters are not ones you even care to root for (why is the guy always peeing? Why do they have a sweet moment then act like enemies the next second?). The relationship between the 2 is non-existent and very inconsistent, there's no growth. Even the character by Dan Aykroyd is just dumb- he knows what he did, doesnt seem to care then all of a sudden has a "realization"... It's just the worst RL Stine adaptation to date and the director/producer/writers should look into careers outside of film. I don't even leave reviews and had to for this one to maybe save someone else from losing an hour and a half of life to this monstrosity.

Seriously, it was too childish for adults, yet too adult for children. It can't even decide what kind of film it even wants to be. One moment it's taking the story seriously enough to be a charming cohesive film and the next it's complete bereft of any smarts and is cringe to the max. It was baaaad. If it wasn't for those charming moments, there would have been nothing to save this film from being one of the worst ever made.

Next, lets talk about the Goosebumps vibes this film liberally uses to mask it's awfulness. I get that R L Stine created this story, but you either go full on Goosebumps and make it completely kid friendly without the swearing and blood, or ditch that all together. Felt like a cheap knock off in the end, and further confused me as to why this film exists.

I'm not even going to waste my time complaining about the fact that everybody who's supposed to be a teenager looks like they're in their 40s, including the actual teenagers. Embarrassing.

My last comments on this film will be that it is far too long. This honestly would've worked better as a special Goosebumps tv movie on Hulu or something like that. Not that it would make it anything above average, but easier to swallow than what we got. Literally, when I heard the main character say "Let's go back to the bike shop!" I almost shouted "WHAT FOR, TO WASTE MORE OF OUR TIME?!?!" at the screen.

Overall, I couldn't recommend this one. Even for those looking for a nostalgic trip into the Goosebumps days, it's still terrible. This film makes even the worst episodes look like Oscars material.

½ a simple zombie out of 5.

5.7/10

I was hoping that this would be a random, new gem that wasn't really advertised, but that expectation was not met. It's not that this was a terrible movie because I did enjoy myself. It just didn't hit the spot. It felt a little like a B-movie filmed by students just starting out on their filmmaking journey.

The film is described as being a comedy-horror. It definitely has its moments (limited) in how funny it actually is. A light chuckle with a snort here and there. The scare factor is really non-existent as I was caught off-guard, maybe, three times.

The acting felt non-committal. No big, or even little, shows of emotion including fear, happiness, friendship, or love. I liked the actors in their roles. They were definitely suited for them. Just believing they were in the situation and felt something for each other would've been nice.

The story is what intrigued me to check out the film. I never watched the trailer going in so the expectations were purely based on the synopsis. The way the zombies come about are different than what I have ever seen before, as well as their mannerisms, which also confused me slightly.

Overall, I didn't hate the film, but I didn't love it either. I left the theatre feeling meh. Honestly, "Community" (tv series) has done better films in thirty minutes than what this one did in ninety. The story can stay the same, but the acting needs to be better, more passionate. I can't even recommend checking this out on a cheap night as 5/8 people in my showing left before the end. I will admit, slightly, that I may not be seeing it for its full worth, and it may be a nugget, but for now it has to deal with being a middle of the road film in my eyes.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!