Filmed on the Isle of Man, this is a low-budget Irish film that obviously tries to appeal to the same demographic audience as SHAUN OF THE DEAD, except with little of the talent behind that movie. It's clichéd from the start, telling the love story between a doomed zombie boy and his affectionate would-be girlfriend, while of course mixing lots of zombies into things. Surprisingly, though, I enjoyed BOY EATS GIRL. Perhaps it's because of the natural humour, or the sense that the cast is having a whale of a time making it, but this is a fun if goofy way to spend seventy minutes of your life.
The film goes about setting up the various characters (jocks, geeks, etc.) that you'd expect from a high school teen flick before introducing the zombie element. About halfway through the plot breaks down entirely, changing to show the running battle between the humans and the zombies. The script focuses on the humour, which is sometimes crude, sometimes obvious, but sometimes quirky and appealing. The zombies themselves are played for laughs although the film is happy to wallow in the gore at key moments. Blood sprays, flesh is torn asunder and various implements are shoved into heads and eyeballs. There's even a little flesh eating for the zombie fans. But the gory highlight is an incredible two-minute splatterfest as the heroine uses a tractor and thresher (shades of BRAINDEAD's lawn mower) to dispose of a zombie crowd. Limbs and entrails go everywhere and earn the film an 18 certificate there and then.
The thing that makes the film likable is the cast list, and there are fine performances from everybody – except Samantha Mumba. Mumba is as bad here as she was in THE TIME MACHINE, wooden beyond belief, and she never convinces as a tough heroine for one second. In comparison, David Leon brings soul to his lovesick zombie hero, and there is excellent comic relief throughout from geeks Laurence Kinlan and Tadhg Murphy, especially the latter, who reminds me of Ron from the HARRY POTTER series. Other supporting cast members also do particularly well. Sara James, for instance, brings a real vivacity to the clichéd role of high school bitch, livening up things no end when she's on screen. In a nutshell, BOY EATS GIRL succeeds at mixing laughs with the expected bloodshed, and while it adds absolutely nothing new to the genre, it remains an enjoyable spectacle.
The film goes about setting up the various characters (jocks, geeks, etc.) that you'd expect from a high school teen flick before introducing the zombie element. About halfway through the plot breaks down entirely, changing to show the running battle between the humans and the zombies. The script focuses on the humour, which is sometimes crude, sometimes obvious, but sometimes quirky and appealing. The zombies themselves are played for laughs although the film is happy to wallow in the gore at key moments. Blood sprays, flesh is torn asunder and various implements are shoved into heads and eyeballs. There's even a little flesh eating for the zombie fans. But the gory highlight is an incredible two-minute splatterfest as the heroine uses a tractor and thresher (shades of BRAINDEAD's lawn mower) to dispose of a zombie crowd. Limbs and entrails go everywhere and earn the film an 18 certificate there and then.
The thing that makes the film likable is the cast list, and there are fine performances from everybody – except Samantha Mumba. Mumba is as bad here as she was in THE TIME MACHINE, wooden beyond belief, and she never convinces as a tough heroine for one second. In comparison, David Leon brings soul to his lovesick zombie hero, and there is excellent comic relief throughout from geeks Laurence Kinlan and Tadhg Murphy, especially the latter, who reminds me of Ron from the HARRY POTTER series. Other supporting cast members also do particularly well. Sara James, for instance, brings a real vivacity to the clichéd role of high school bitch, livening up things no end when she's on screen. In a nutshell, BOY EATS GIRL succeeds at mixing laughs with the expected bloodshed, and while it adds absolutely nothing new to the genre, it remains an enjoyable spectacle.