Night of the Living Deb

Better than I expected remake (of sorts) of 'Shaun of the Dead' starring Thayer playing an awkward but plucky camera operator trapped with her one night stand (Cassidy) after the State is overrun by a water-borne virus that turns victims into flesh eating zombies.

Ray Wise co-stars as Cassidy's connected father, partially responsible for the outbreak, and then Brister is a scene stealer as Thayer's indecorous best friend, in some ways reminiscent of Nick Frost's character in SotD. Sacca is also amusing as the sarcastic military contractor hired to prevent the virus from escaping Maine.

Despite being a loose translation of SotD for American audiences, Thayer is likeable, the pace is constant and although low budget, it's technically well-made with witty dialogue and plenty of visual gags to keep the audience amused. Low on the romcom factor, higher on the gore and better for it overall.

While I wouldn't call it flavor of the month, the last couple of years saw a bit of a rise. Not only of the dead themselves but a rise in zombie comedies with a romantic touch. Some worked better than others, some just try to be a bit funny. And that is what this movie is. It's not an instant classic or anything, but it does what the box says and it's entertaining enough to watch.

It starts off innocently enough, just to turn things up and speed things up a bit. The main actress is what either will draw you into it or appall you. I thought she was really funny and did a great job. Of course it's silly, it's meant to be that way. I mean the title along indicates that (how come no one thought of that before I wonder?) ... It's actually pretty easy to decide if you like this or not, but something I can't do for you of course

If one likes the performance of Deb (Maria Thayer) they will probably like the movie better. The movie starts out with a lot of one liners, which can be hits or misses. While at a bar, Deb is egged on by her best friend to make a pass at Ryan. She wakes up at his place, with no idea of what may have happened. Outside, there are zombies roaming around. Ryan only has a bicycle, being very environmentally conscious, but Deb has a big old Caddie. She agrees to take him to his family's house, as they traditionally have their big Fourth of July get-together. Turns out Ryan is a Waverly, who have the worst polluting companies in the State. It turns out the Ichabod virus was unleashed via their water company. There is political intrigue, and the Governor promised that 4 Waverly's would be rescued by chopper, but there is no room for Deb. I feel the movie is a lot of fun, but the last act seems disconnected from the rest of the movie, as far as decisions go, and that detracts from the rest of the movie. The zombies are played more for humor than as a threat. Especially the person who looks no different as a zombie, but that is because of all her Botox treatments.

Night of the Living Deb (2015)

** (out of 4)

Deb (Maria Thayer) wakes up after a night of drinking in the apartment of Ryan (MichaeL Cassidy). The two quickly try to play off their night but soon they're back together when they realize that a zombie apocalypse has broken out.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB isn't the greatest horror spoof ever created but there are a couple nice laughs that help keep it moving but there's really not enough here for a feature-length film. I think this here would have worked much better as a short film because there's really no plot here as we basically see Deb, a rather nerdy person, falling in love with the good looking Ryan and the majority of the film has her being mistreated or taken advantage of. Oh yeah, the other thing is that she is very sarcastic and this is where the majority of the laughs come from.

Thankfully both Thayer and Cassidy are good in their roles and this certainly helps since we spend the majority of the running time with them. Thayer is the star here and she turns in a nice performance but I still felt that only twenty-percent or so of her jokes actually worked. The film could have benefited had there been something more going on. Perhaps more in-jokes or at least something more to hold the viewer's attention.

As it stands, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB has a creative title but it's too bad the film itself wasn't more creative.

Loved it! It is kind of Shaun of the Dead kind of flick, a romantic zombie comedy, but pretty fresh and funny and entertaining and cool. The actress that plays Deb, the lead character, is fantastic, charming and funny. Ray Wise has a great supporting role. The music, the sound, photography, effects - all together made a very good movie in every level. The director played nicely with clichés, made a very light but exciting movie with zombies, and since there is so much zombies these days, it is a great success to make a movie that can stand out. Well done in every way! I saw it at the closing of Dead Lake festival in Palic, Serbia. Highly recommended.