A zombie apocalypse… one of the most ridiculous catastrophic events a person could ever hope to be ready for, but nonetheless, one which some geeks and nerds have presumably been preparing for their entire lives. The debates are endless, spanning from the ideal location to wait it out, to what weapons and supplies are most necessary to one’s own survival. If it were to happen tomorrow though, how many of those same individuals would actually be able to execute a proper plan for survival, much less live up to their own fantastical expectations and unrealistic hype of what a Zombie Apocalypse Survivalist is supposed to be? Battling monsters in gameplay is something quite different when the lives are not endless and weapons cannot be acquired with a simple roll of the dice, as one war-gamer discovers the hard way in the humorous and fun new flick Shed of the Dead.
Opening in Los Angeles on Friday, May 17th through Indican Pictures, and making its world premiere at the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival on Saturday, May 18th, with a Digital Download release available on various platforms in the UK on Monday, May 20th, the boisterous British Horror Comedy written and directed by Drew Cullingham (Monk3ys 2011, A Vampire’s Tale 2009) features quite a cast of actors/actresses.
It stars British talent such as Spencer Brown (The Boy with a Camera for a Face 2013, Nathan Barley 2005) as man-child figurine war-gamer, Trevor; Lauren Socha (Misfits series, Catastrophe eries) as his incessantly nagging wife, Bobbi; Emily Booth (Doghouse 2009, The Reverend 2011) as Bobbi’s slutty best friend and roommate, Harriet; and Ewen MacIntosh (The Bromley Boys 2018, The Office UK series) as Trevor’s technology-hating gaming buddy and loyal best mate, Graham.
Packed with known names, it also featured Horror icons Kane Hodder from the Friday 13th and Hatchet franchises as aggressive vegetable gardener, Mr. Parsons; Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects 2005, Halloween 2007) as the mysterious, murdering cowboy, Doc; and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes 1977, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975) as the horsey-play fetishist, Derek.
The storyline amusingly centers on a 30-something year old Spencer Brown who finds himself “between jobs.” Spending the vast majority of his time shacked up alone in a little shed, on a small allotment of land, creating miniature war-game figurines to accompany the characters both he and his friend, Graham, have developed for their own game. Of course, the characters are that of their heroic, Fantasy alter-egos; Trevor with his ‘Casimir the Destroyer’ and Graham with his knightly ‘Sir Brandt.’
While oblivious to the ruins and chaos occurring all around him, Trevor remains immersed in daydreams starring Casimir and Sir Brandt, whose daring adventures are fueled by an epic soundtrack which he never stops blaring through his earbuds. Meanwhile, the world continues to crumble with the continued rise of the undead, forcing his true bravery to be comically tested time and time again to save those he loves, those he likes, and those he just sort of tolerates, for the most part.
For fans of Horror Comedies, there is much to appreciate about Shed of the Dead, from the dry humor to witty dialogue, to flashes between fantasy and reality. Additionally, there are zombies, gore, special effects, and a multitude of murdering; which coincidentally has one man as excited as a kid on Christmas. At the start of the film, it is initially presumed that much of the gore and violence will be more suggested than shown, but it really picked up the pace and quickly changes from dull to disgusting in the brief snap of your fingers. Eyeballs, brains, blood, bite marks, it is all there; in addition to an overwhelmingly nauseating undead copulation that you wish you could look away from.
Comparable to titles such as 2004’s Shaun of the Dead and 2010’s Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Shed of the Dead is filled with loads of fun, fighting, fetishes, fantasies, freaky stuff, and friendships that will keep you transfixed and entertained by the not-so-common plight of the proverbial hero. This is why Cryptic Rock gives this flick 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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