Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Starring Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont

Directed by Christopher Landon

The Story:
Inside a top secret facility, a zombie is accidentally released, and panic begins to spread.  This, however, is of no consequence to Scouts and BFFs Ben (Tye Sheridan), Carter (Logan Miller) and Augie (Joey Morgan), and the town they live in.  For them, it's all about a super secret popular kids party happening the same night Augie is supposed to earn a special badge.  Logan, who longs to be a part of the cool kids and hook up, wants to ditch Augie's event.  Ben, the leader of the group, doesn't want to hurt Augie's feelings - but he's also tired of being a Scout and being made fun of.

But then the zombies arrive and that all gets thrown out the window (along with some other appendages you see later on), as the boys band with strip club cocktail waitress Denise (Sarah Dumont) to take out the zombies, get to the party, and save Logan's sister Kendall (Halston Sage).  Along the way they come into contact with their zombified Scout leader Rogers (David Koechner) and zombified crazy cat lady Ms. Fielder (Cloris Leachman).  The Scouts must use all their know-how to fight the undead and save the day - before the military blows up the town with them inside.

The Synopsis:
Personally, I love the zombie subgenre.  I haven't gotten tired of it like others have, and maybe it's a bunch of those people who've reviewed this film thus far, because it's basically been universally panned.  While it doesn't really add anything new or exciting to the genre, I personally don't feel it deserves the hate it's been getting.

At the heart of the film is the story of friendship between Ben, Carter and Augie, as well as the pressures of acceptance, growing up, and drifting apart.  Augie is more than content with being a Scout for the rest of his life.  Carter wants to experience popularity and getting with hot chicks.  Ben is tired of being picked on for being a Scout, and wishes to be more than just "a brother" to Carter's sister.  The three actors, who are all relatively unknown (except Tye Sheridan, who's earned critical acclaim for his performances in films such as "Mud"), handle the script with ease, if only because it's rather one-note.  The way I described them is the way they maintain themselves throughout the film.  Only at the end does some of their mannerisms change, so when it comes to storyline, there really isn't any.

The story itself is cut-and-dry within the realm of zombie movies.  Zombies come.  Shoot them in the head.  Military is going to blow up the town.  Must save the girl.  Yes, nothing really new is added (with the exceptions of zombies being able to run, and also zombified animals such as deer and a hilarious zombie cat), but something new isn't necessarily needed for a simple film such as this.

So what makes the film good?  The comedy.  Sure, it's no "Shaun of the Dead," but there were several laugh-out-loud moments.  From Scout Leader Rogers' perpetual dismemberment to Cloris Leachman's deliciously delivered performance as the crazy cat lady (and even funnier zombie crazy cat lady), to Ben's life-saving appendage holding (you'll know it when you see it), the film delivers laughs in spades - even if it's the common, low-brow R-rated humor.  If you don't like that type of comedy, then you probably won't like the film.  But if you do, you'll find it hilarious.

I guess it's all a matter of opinion.

The Summary:
While it doesn't add anything new, "Scouts Guide" delivers a great blend of zombies and humor.

The Score: A-