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Ever since Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead made zombie movies fun again, zom coms seem to be crawling out of the woodwork. Earlier this year, there was Fido, a retro zom com straight out of Beaver Cleaver’s worst nightmare. Now it’s Undead or Alive, a zom com western, written and directed by former South Park staffer Glasgow Phillips and starring Chris Kattan and the plumber from Desperate Housewives as zombie-fighting cowboys. With a formula like that, how could I resist?
According to legend, before Geronimo’s death, he concocted something he called “White Man’s Curse”—a curse so horrible that it would repay the white man for the harm they caused the Native Americans. A couple of years later, the curse rears its ugly head in a small western town, where cowboy wannabe Luke (Kattan) and lone stranger Elmer (James Denton) find themselves cooling their heels in jail after a bar fight. In the cell next to them is Ben (Brian Posehn), a farmer who was arrested for sucking the brains out of his wife and daughter.
Elmer and Luke manage to break out, robbing the sheriff before they skip town. As Luke and Elmer head for the Colorado River in an attempt to escape the sheriff and his posse of zombies, though, they’re captured by Sue (Navi Rawat), Geronimo’s beautiful but bitter niece, who’s on a mission to kill the soldiers who were responsible for her uncle’s death.
Undead or Alive is another quirky zom com (or, as the filmmakers prefer, “zombedy”) with a ridiculously creative premise. Just like Wright took a zombie movie and seasoned it with comedy (and even a bit of romance), Phillips adds his own western twist and puts Chris Kattan in a girly cowboy shirt to make it goofier yet. And it’s just that: goofy. You could also substitute words like “cheesy” or “silly” or perhaps “corny.” But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Fortunately, the cast and crew don’t take themselves—or the movie—too seriously. With just a couple of exceptions, they seem to realize that the whole thing is just plain silly, and they allow themselves to play around and have fun with it. The story is far from solid, and the acting is often pretty bad—especially when it comes to Rawat—but it’s all so ridiculous that it’s actually funny from time to time. Let’s call it craptastic, shall we?
Though it’s far from the brilliance of Shaun of the Dead, Undead or Alive is a gruesomely entertaining little b-movie that may just catch you off-guard with its campy (and sometimes over-the-top) comedy. It takes a special sense of humor to appreciate something this corny, but if you enjoy the occasional b-movie, check this one out—though it’s probably best enjoyed late at night, after a couple of drinks.
