Deadheads

Deadheads is both a zombie movie and a love story about two zombies who go on a cross-country road trip to reconnect with a girlfriend from their waking life. It is far better than one might expect from the premise.

I am not particularly interested in zombie movies so I was pleased to find that Deadheads had characters with very human motivations; several times during the film I found myself caring for Michael McKiddy's character, despite his zombie appearance.

One great thing about the film is its self-awareness. The directors, and actors know they are making a zombie love story, and they embrace the ridiculousness of that fact completely. The movie is all about fun--there are many pop-culture references, references to other movies, and a lot of extremely vulgar humor and absurd situations that could only happen in an independent film. There is however, just enough sentimentality to keep it human and down to earth. In other words, if you make your girlfriend watch only one zombie movie this year, make this the one--it has enough echoes of romantic comedy to appeal to a larger audience. With that said, I am confident I am the target demographic: a male who grew up loving 80's movies.

There are several scenes that seem a little too long but overall the pacing is good, the action is exciting, and the length felt right. Deadheads is not going to change the world. But if you have an interest in humor, gore, and want to be entertained for an hour and a half it is worth your time.