Cockneys vs Zombies REVIEW

Little-known fact: athlete's foot is deadly to zombies.

Release Date: 22 October 2012
2012 | 15 | 87 minutes | £15.99 (DVD)/£19.99 (Blu-ray)
Distributor: Studiocanal
Director: Matthias Hoene
Cast: Harry Treadaway, Rasmus Hardiker, Michelle Ryan, Alan Ford, Richard Briers,

Who would have guessed a British zomcom with the year’s worst title would turn out to be the year’s funniest film?

It might be about as subtle as an axe to the temporal lobe, but Cockneys vs Zombies possesses the kind of comic timing most recent horror comedies would kill for, along with a script that’s equal parts warm-hearted and gut-spillingly hilarious.

When their grandfather’s retirement home faces the chop, East End brothers Andy and Terry Macguire turn bank robbers. But the ducks and geese are the least of their problems when the brown bread start walking the Earth…

Made with a clear passion for the genre that spawned it, Cockneys vs Zombies is the kind of film deadheads will take the most from. Clichés present since the dawn of the dead are largely absent, the kills are unflinchingly gory and the sight of spirited OAPs fighting swathes of shambling corpses offers a genuinely different and witty take on the zombie apocalypse, with Richard Briers’s endearing fogey almost single-handedly stealing the film.

It lacks the directorial flair that zombie movies are so often a breeding ground for (particularly compared to Shaun Of The Dead), and though it doesn’t quite reach the highs of that film’s best-in-league horror-comedy, it’s comes close enough to make recommending this a no-brainer.

Extras:

Just under 25 minutes of unsubstantial behind-the-scenes featurettes, a four-minute “Zombie School” training video, and the trailer.