What could possibly go wrong when three buddies (Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan) attend their annual Boy Scouts camping trip? When bloodthirsty, undead ghouls invade their once-peaceful town, it's up to kindhearted Ben, quick-witted Carter and class clown Augie to save the day. With help from Denise (Sarah Dumont), a beautiful but tough cocktail waitress, the boys must put their scouting skills to the ultimate test to save mankind and earn their zombie-killing badges.
Zombie movies are a dime-a-dozen these days and only a few have managed to bring something new to the table since Romero and Russo created the genre back in 1968. Luckily Scouts is not just another body on the pile, but a truly unique and fresh take on a beaten genre.
Director Christopher Landon, son of the great Michael Landon, shows that he can do more than 'haunted house' flicks with this outing. Coming off the highly successful Paranormal Activity franchise Landon brings to the screen one of the most beautifully shot zombie films since the original Dawn of the Dead.
The story itself is one that is both a coming of age story and a no holds barred horror movie. The dialogue is on point and the catalyst for the entire movie is plausible. Carrie Lee Wilson and Emi Mochizuki did an outstanding job with this story and again prove that women are very capable in the horror genre.
The cherry on top to the writing and directing is the acting. Joey Morgan, Logan Miller, Tye Sheridan, Sarah Dumont and David Koechner all give stellar performances with Morgan and Koechner hitting their roles perfectly. Koechner might be the second best zombie to hit the screen behind Bub of Dawn of the Dead. The three leads are very believable as best finds since childhood and Dumont falls into the fold seamlessly as great addition to the gang.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is a film that should be in every zombie fans collection. With nods to many Zombie video games and films its a love letter to one of the best sub-genres in the horror category. Add to that we get a good dose of zombie animals and you can't lose.
**My only complaint is the lack of commentary and special features on the Blu-ray.
Rating: 9/10 Stars
Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1