{"id":332,"date":"2017-05-06T07:27:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/2017\/05\/06\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsscouts-guide-to-the-zombie-apocalypse-movie-review\/"},"modified":"2017-05-06T07:27:24","modified_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:27:24","slug":"httptheblurb-com-aureviewsscouts-guide-to-the-zombie-apocalypse-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsscouts-guide-to-the-zombie-apocalypse-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse – movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

An inane American action horror comedy, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse<\/em> [note: that’s the title, punctuation error included – Ed.] focuses upon three teenagers\u2019 attempts to hold at bay a horde of zombies who have all but taken over their small town. The trio – Ben, Carter and Augie (played respectively by Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller and Joey Morgan) – are scouts. Notwithstanding the enthusiasm of their scout leader, Mr Rogers (David Koechner), their collective endeavours to sign up others to the movement constantly falls on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

\"Scouts-Guide-01\"The three are supposedly best mates and yet two of them are ready to give scouts the heave ho because Carter recognises it is holding them back socially. But their timing is off as Augie is about to receive yet another accolade by way of a patch to add to the collection already on his uniform, so they decide to go through the ceremony first. Little do they realise though that their scouting skills are about to be put to the ultimate test when zombies take a bite out of anything that moves. Their unlikely partner is a busty cocktail waitress, Denise (Sarah Dumont), who works at the local strip club and whom they bump into while trying to illegally purchase alcohol. Incidentally, the reason the zombies came to prominence in this locale is because a curious, slacker cleaner inadvertently awakens the undead in a laboratory.<\/p>\n

Director and co-writer Christopher B. Landon grew up watching movies like The Goonies, Monster Squad<\/i> and Gremlins<\/i>. He liked the fact that they had such a playful and quirky energy and wanted to bring that same spirit to Scouts Guide<\/i>. But to push things a little further, Landon added a dash of Sam Raimi (Evil Dead<\/i> series) to the mix. He wanted the movie to have an 80s type of charm about it that he felt had been missing from the mainstream for some time. In fairness, there was also a personal connection between Landon and the three scouts because he had a hard time letting go of childhood, knowing he was a bit of an \u201coutsider\u201d. He enjoyed exploring the theme of wanting to fit in but also trying to stay true to oneself.<\/p>\n

Sarah Dumont\u2019s was the trickiest role for him to cast. He created the persona because he wanted to see a strong female in the picture. Landon was basically looking for \u201ca cool dude in a hot girl\u2019s body\u201d and found that person in Dumont. As he puts it, \u201cshe\u2019s grotesquely beautiful, but she has the mouth of a trucker and the swagger of a rock star.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it though, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse<\/i> is no Shaun of the Dead<\/i>. It is based on lowest common denominator laughs. It is about nerds with hormones racing, so boobs and sex jokes are prominent. And yes, there are zombies doing their best to sink their teeth into the unsuspecting populace. These are the ugly critters much like we are used to them. You basically have to shoot them in the head and splatter their brains everywhere to be rid of them.<\/p>\n