Juan of the Dead [DVD]

Whilst it seems that there's a new zombie film being released almost every week, the genre was beginning to get as rotten and shambling as the walking dead themselves. So thank you Juan of the Dead for being a great zombie film. In fact not just a great zombie film but a good comedy as well that had me laughing on more than one occasion.

The story follows Juan and his friend Lazaro, a couple of jobless slackers just trying to do what they can to get by from one day to the next. Of course things are about to change when the walking dead start taking to the streets and munching on the neighbourhood. Not one to pass by an opportunity to make some money Juan hits on the idea of starting a zombie killing business whereby he (and a few companions) will dispose of your zombified relatives and houseguests...for a fee of course.

For those that aren't aware, the film is Cuban so you are going to have to read subtitles. For me that's not a problem as I do watch quite a lot of subtitled movies. I didn't notice any problems with the subtitling; they were easy to read and nicely paced so that at no time did I miss what was being said and find myself having to rewind in order to read them again.

I found it refreshing to see a familiar genre from an unfamiliar cultural viewpoint, this being the first Cuban film I think I've ever seen.

There are also numerous references to other movies littered throughout, ranging from Enter the Dragon to Braindead and they're nicely implemented making them seem like they are there because the filmmakers are fans of the films being referenced as opposed to showing them in an attempt to be clever.

The film rolls along at a cracking pace and is consistently entertaining, never getting bogged down in over complicated plot lines or tedious 'filler' moments. The acting is good and the characters are generally believable and likeable. Similarly the zombies are also well depicted.

It's one of those films that once you've watched it you want to tell your friends about it and recommend it to them. In fact it was so enjoyable that I could quite happily have watched it all over again.

In fact...I might do just that.

Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and now we have Juan of the Dead- Cuba's take on the zombie comedy.

Juan is from the same stable as Shaun and America's effort Zombieland. The characters all cut from the same bread- you know, losers and comedians who could do better in life now faced with saving humanity and killing zombies in any way possible.

The characters do take time to warm too, but once they do then you will be rewarded with the effort. Some of the jokes and of course there are plenty are pretty funny, and the script makes no attempt not to poke fun at Cuban life and history.

The downside to films like these are the jokes and scenarios you can see coming a million miles away, and unfortunetly there are plenty of examples of these. There is also I suppose inevitably heavy usage of CGI- mostly used for the zombie kills. CGI still looks videogame fake.

The DVD cover will claim that the movie is AMAZING and AWESOME this is only partially true.

However Juan is way better than the car crash that was Cockneys V Zombies, and I do prefer this to the overrated Zombieland. Is it better than Shaun? Probably not, but it does run it close.

Juan is certaintly worth a view, because the charcaters are quite likable and there is a good sharp wit in the humour that when it works is well worth watching.

Yes another Zomedy and what can be wrong with that, this one sees Cuba finally lurching slowly onto the Zombie comedy bandwagon, and they do so with style and élan. It stars Juan who with best mate Lazaro does fishing on a home made raft, he quite clearly is not a shining example of success from the worlds leading socialist island.

He has a thing for the ladies and he is separated from his wife and his daughter is fairly unimpressed with the ageing Lothario. Then strange things start to happen around the island involving what the authorities call `dissidents' that are clearly sponsored by the US government. It doesn't take too long for extreme acts of dissidents to spread and soon Zombies are appearing all over the place.

Meanwhile Juan and some of his neighbours are holed up in his flat, that clearly needs a lick of paint, and they weigh up their options and decide to fight back and as in all good comedies, hilarity does ensue. The band of freedom fighters are a very Motley Crew indeed which include a Muscle Mary who faints at the sight of blood and they use any weapon they can from nun chucks to boat paddles - genius.

This is a brilliant and refreshing film which although it has Zombies at its core has a great big heart that it wears on its sleeve all tied up with more gags than you can shake a stick at. It has very good sub titles and runs to just over an hour and a half and I enjoyed every minute of it. If you are a fan of comedy or zombies or like something a tad off the beaten track then I am sure you will enjoy this.