Follow the Dead

Having the chance to sit down and watch the 2020 horror comedy "Follow the Dead" here in 2025, as I stumbled upon it by sheer chance. And seeing it was a horror comedy with zombies, of course I opted to watch the movie.

Writer and director Adam William Cahill put together a script that was pretty sluggish. It was a very, very slow narrative, and that made it quite a struggle to sit through. And to insult to injury, then there wasn't a whole lot of anything interesting happening in the story either.

I believed that I was in for a zombie movie, lo and behold my surprise when I was introduced to 95 minutes of a group of Irish people sitting around in a flat doing nothing more than talking.

Now, "Follow the Dead" is labeled as a horror comedy, but it failed in both aspects.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the actors or actresses on the cast list, as Irish cinema isn't what I've been seeing the most of. Usually I enjoy watching unfamiliar talents on the screen, but found it somewhat the opposite here. The acting performances were, for the majority, somewhat wooden and rigid. A lot of the performances felt stiff and unnatural, as if the actors or actresses were just reading the dialogue from held-up cue cards.

"Follow the Dead" was a dumpster fire of a movie. And if you enjoy horror movies, and have a fondness for zombie movies, do yourself a massive favor and stay well clear of this stinker. This is not a zombie movie!

My rating of writer and director Adam William Cahill's 2020 movie "Follow the Dead" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

I must say, I found this flick about the undead to be quite the groovy experience, man. It wasn't like those other zombie movies that shove it all in your face, you dig? No, this flick was more about the everyday lives of five cats - a brother, an ex-wife, a sister, and two cousins. They were just kicking back, you know, living their lives. But the atmosphere was thick with foreboding, thanks to those news clips and social media updates. That's what really gave me the heebie-jeebies, man.

But let me tell you, the dialogue between these friends was just cool, daddy-o. It was like listening to my own group of cats, just shooting the breeze and hanging loose. And the way the camera moved along with their conversation was just righteous, man. It kept the pace up, even when things got funny.

The general banter between the friends was downright entertaining, I tell you what. It was like I was there, man. The way they played off each other and joked around was so genuine. It was like watching a real group of friends, just being themselves.

And even though it was a movie about zombies, it never felt too over the top, you know? It was just the right amount of undead action mixed in with the real-life drama of these five friends. The blend was just perfect, man.

Overall, I thought it was one groovy flick, man. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more from this director. Maybe they can keep the magic going and continue to deliver films that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.

What even was this film? I found it on Amazon prime and thought I'd check the reviews before giving it a watch and the majority of them are positive. Well they're obviously all written by people involved in the film because it totally sucked!

I fell asleep the first time I tried to watch it and decided to give it another go because of the reviews but it was just so bad. The acting is terrible, it literally sounds like they're reading a script as they act and it's barely even a zombie movie. Like what is the plot of the film? I watched it with two other people and they have no idea what the film is about.

TL:DR - watch shaun of the dead because this ain't it.

Plot

As viral videos seem to evidence the fall of Dublin at the hands of the undead, four Millennials in rural Ireland can't discern fake news from real. Has a dependent lifestyle left them too naive to weather their fate?

Cast

A competent bunch I'm unfamiliar with, but Tadhg Devery absolutely knocks it out ofthe park.

Verdict

Surprisingly not the first Irish zombie movies I've seen after the likes of Dead Meat (2004) Boy Eats Girl (2005) and The Curing (2017) but perhaps the best of the bunch.

It sees a group of misfits unprepared for what's ahead, and for the most part it works and is a genuinely funny film. Alas where it doesn't slumps the movie into sheer unadulterated mediocrity and that just broke my heart as when it's good it's really quite good.

Rants

Am I suffering zombie fatigue? Zombies are my favorite sub-genre of the my favorite genre and I can't even begin to tell you how many I've watched over the last few decades. But is that damaging future ones? Has it created an expectation? Has it caused me to have higher standards? I hate to say it, but there's a distinct possibility it has. I've become a zombie snob.

Breakdown

Very endearing Genuinely funny in places Tadhg Devery Falls very flat in places.

I should've known better than to trust the reviews. I didn't check to see whether they were fakes so that was on me. Irish films such as this one tend to really lack all the characteristics of an exciting film we are used to. This is in no way horror, only mildly funny, more drama than anything. My husband fell asleep during the movie and I nearly did too. It was mostly about this guy who left his wife to take care of his siblings and cousins. Most of the movie dosent make sense, it goes back and forth between terrorists and zombies. The characters weren't very interesting. The good part was the dialogue though. It was odd how it was full of wisdom and though provoking tidbits. This whole movie was just a big mixed bag of confusion and mess. If you want a horror movie this isn't it. I would in no way call this horror. If you don't mind the super slow burn drama with a zombie element you might like it though.