We Are Zombies Review: A Slacker Comedy For The Living Impaired [Fantastic Fest 2023]
In "We Are Zombies," the team behind 2015's stunning low-budget dystopia "Turbo Kid" and '80s killer-thriller "Summer of 84" asks: what if zombies were real and non-cannibalistic? Filmmaker collective RKSS uses zombies as a marginalized minority to impart social commentary in a world where they're harmless, law-abiding citizens viewed as a festering scourge. We eventually reach a bloodthirsty conclusion brimming with gonzo gore, but that's not the norm for "We Are Zombies." Instead, RKSS frames a slacker comedy around an alternate universe where walkers flip burgers and pay bus fares. It's morbidly cute and curiously endearing — even if less successful juvenile jokes sometimes hinder momentum — all leading to a ravenous third act that delivers the flesh-tearing gore horror fans crave.
The film centers on three bumbling scam artists: D&D dork Karl Neard (Alexandre Nachi), the teddy bear wrestling fan Freddy Mercks (Derek Johns), and Karl's tech wiz half-sister Maggie (Megan Peta Hill). Their operation revolves around posing as Coleman Retirement Services collectors who remove the living impaired for a fee, flipping the zombies to dealers, and stealing contracts from the megacorporation. Through a series of boneheaded events, the trio finds themselves owing Coleman their missing profits and on a mission to retrieve the Queen of the Dead herself, Zelvirella, for eccentric artist Otto Maddox (Stéphane Demers delivers scene-stealing flamboyance). Nothing goes according to plan, and chucklef**k chaos ensues, leading to the discovery of a Coleman conspiracy against the otherwise docile living impaired population.
When it's gory, it's great
RKSS has never had an issue with world-building, and that holds true with "We Are Zombies." Zombieism feels natural in this metropolis, where the walking, talking, and remembering undead treat death like a second chance (although death by suffocation might ruin vocal abilities, for example). Living impaired activists preach equality while Tucker Carlson types wage social warfare against the zomboid class, which isn't exactly cutting deep representative satire, but feels lived-in as an Earth variant. The schtick of decaying citizens living harmoniously among everyday humans can be funny as zed intestines gunk up Freddy's front tire, with the now bisected living impaired man narrating his inconvenient predicament like 'tis but a flesh wound.
Unsurprisingly, RKSS emphasizes practical effects wherever possible in "We Are Zombies." Perhaps that's Maddox's deranged living impaired artwork (turning them into hacked-apart installation pieces), spinning a festering grandfather's head like it's attached to a lawnmower motor as sparklers fizzle from behind. Maybe that's a sleazeball criminal torn open and devoured by living impaired hordes doped up with a secret chemical. RKSS are fiendishly creative, which shows through Otto's collection, including a mini-boss giant who looks like Goro from "Mortal Kombat" pushed through "Thir13een Ghosts" and "Hellraiser" filters. When "We Are Zombies" is allowed to be graphically violent, blood flows and organs flop around like you're watching a George A. Romero movie.
Slacker comedy comes first, action second
The problem is that "We Are Zombies" is predominantly a bumbling buddy comedy with a penchant for masturbation humor. There are some banger gags throughout — shout out to zombified Mother Teresa and the ZILF massage parlor owner — but also an imbalanced success rate regarding situational humor. Derek Johns' Macho Man impression as masked wrestler Wild Gringo is a hoot; not so much is his continued pining over Karl's half-sister. Alexandre Nachi is stuck playing a dungeon master caricature who rolls a 20-sided die while reading Choose Your Own Adventure paperbacks, whose best work is with his undead internet hottie crush Jane (Rosemarie Sabor). Sight gags like Karl and Maggie's grandmother teaching a meathead Coleman collector recreational dance steps or Freddy's self-knockout while kneeling are worth a chuckle — less so corporate humor inside Coleman's walls, excluding glossily overproduced infomercials that try and hide Coleman's classified objectives. It's a real back and forth between big laughs and silent acknowledgment, but at least Maddox's obsession with gold confetti is dependable for a laugh.
"We Are Zombies" is an uneven zom-com until the third act's elegant gala backdrop becomes a living impaired feeding ground. You'll have tons of fun with the gore once circular saws spring geysers of bloody juices, and will laugh heartily throughout. There's just less to get excited about in certain scenes, like behind closed Coleman doors. Thankfully, RKSS muster "Turbo Kid" energy in enough bursts to power the charmingly oddball "We Are Zombies," offering an exotic zombie take along the lines of "Fido" or "Warm Bodies" (with more butt munching).
/Film Rating: 7 out of 10