"Undead or Alive" Review - Written by Kelsey Zukowski

Undead or Alive
Review By: Kelsey Zukowski
Starring: Chris Kattan, James Denten, Navi Rawat, Matt Besser, Chris Coppola
Directed By: Glasgow Phillips
Written By: Glasgow Phillips, Scott Pourroy
Released: 2007
Grade: B+

After, seeing Undead or Alive, it is clear that there will always be something new you can do with the zombie sub-genre. Sure, we have the traditional zombies, than we have zombies in 1950’s suburbia, and even zombies on a plane. Many zombie films fall in to the traditional category with the typical formula. However, there is still so much that can be done with this that hasn‘t even been touched yet. Undead or Alive definitely gives us something new, to say the least. It is a satirical zombie western that calls itself a “zomedy”, and I must agree it takes a very comedic take on the zombie movie. It doesn’t even stop there though, there are elements of Native Americans and the U.S. army that come in to play as well. Sure, it can be pretty campy, but overall the blending of all of these seemingly very different things come together wonderfully to make a very funny and entertaining film that comments on all of these subjects.

Luke (Kattan) is a very caring and sensitive man living in the old west who desires to have the life of a cowboy. He thinks that he has a committed girlfriend that he will marry soon and start a life with. Unfortunately, this girl that he has such high hopes for is a whore. As he sees her dancing on stage, being ogled by practically every man in town, Luke starts a fight with the piano player, Elmer (Denten). This lands them both in jail by the greedy and power driven Sheriff Claypool (Besser) and his idiotic yet loyal sidekick, Cletus (Coppola). This becomes too much when Elmer’s money is stolen by them and they have a zombie in the cell next to them who ate his wife and daughter’s brains out. Elmer is able to pick the lock, as a former soldier in the U.S. army and a future dentist. Elmer and Luke turn the tables by making Cletus the prisoner in the cell and steal all of the Sheriff’s money. They then flee town and attempt to head for the Colorado River.

Luke is very torn up about his unfaithful ex-girlfriend now, but this journey he is going on almost makes it better. He has now found a partner and is on the run, living the lifestyle of a cowboy at last. It isn’t long before further troubles start though. Not only is Sheriff Claypool and his gang after him, but they wake up one morning as captives of a young Indian girl, Sue (Rawat). Her parents were killed by the U.S military as well as her uncle, Geronamo. So she has made it her mission to kill every man in that military for killing her family. This is what caused Luke and Elmer to be captured since Elmer’s gun is clearly property of the U.S. military. Elmer agrees to guide her to the post that they were headed to when he deserted them. However, Claypool and the others come closer and closer to them. When Luke, Elmer, and Sue attack them, they simply won’t die. They kill them over and over again with no luck at all. Sue comes to the conclusion that they have caught the “white man’s curse” that her uncle had spoke of. The three of them attempt to kill Claypool and his men as well as the newly affected army unit, who want to kill them too. Soon the zombie hunger catches up to them and if they will end up having this same fate, then they need to decide how they can save others who are yet to be infected.

Chris Kattan brings his comedic spark back in this that hasn’t been this strong since his days of Saturday Night Live. He plays the more sensitive guy who wants to be a tough guy who can get the girl. He does this very well and produces more laughs than nearly anyone else in the film. James Denten works well as the opposition to Kattan. Their characters even start fighting and are in jail because of the other. Yet Elmer learns to embrace Luke and they end up making a pretty good team. Navi Rawatt gives a good performance as the female lead and the only Native American character in the film. She also serves as a romantic interest to Kattan, which isn’t completely one-sided. She also shows a certain amount of strength, knowledge, and ends up being multi-cultured, which not only helps to show her depth, but to discredit prejudices of a typical Indian character.

One very interesting thing about this film is that I don’t believe the word zombie is even used once. What has happened to the living dead walking the earth is from the Indian chief, Geronamo. He was credited with supernatural abilities and was said to have made a recipe for the “white man’s curse”. The reason for zombies is attributed to Indians due to the plagues of murder and disease and the destruction that white men brought to the land that originally belonged to Indians. Now, you have to admit that is a new aspect in relation to the zombie and a creative historical connection. I also appreciated that different views and stereotypes were provided. Sue shows Luke and Elmer that she is smart and knows about their culture as well as her own. There are some disputes about the grudges between their people, but as they learn there is more to Sue she also learns that not all white men are her enemy.

The zombies themselves are more advanced than they are usually portrayed in films. All of them at least have the ability to talk. The Sheriff and Cletus describe the most wonderful smell, similar to cinnamon. They talk about how is brings them back to their childhood. This sweet smell that should mirror their innocence and youth actually does the opposite since of course they are talking about human flesh. They smell out the girl in particular and she is thought to be the most tasty. In this moment not only is their innocence gone, which seemingly has been long gone even before they were infected, but they set out to do whatever they can to take away the innocence of others as well. Also it takes more skill to defeat these zombies. Usually, if you shoot them in the head that will kill them. The zombie who killed his family is hung for his crimes. The sheriff can’t wait to see him die. During the middle of the priest’s prayer, the sheriff shoves the convict off, plunging him to a humiliating death. Of course, this is not enough to kill a zombie and he comes back to life. This served as a reversal of the cruel act of hanging that occurred all too much. It appears that the only way to kill the zombies is to completely detach their head from their body, which can be pretty difficult when a whole mob of them swarm right at you.

The gore in the film is very well done as well. The opening scene is a man coming home to his family. As his wife is shouting at him asking him if he is drunk, he turns around as he is chomping away at a chicken’s head, then he chases after them as well. Later in the film there is a shot of a man eating what seriously looks like red tapioca pudding. As the scene comes in to view more it appears that it is really just a chunk of brains that he is eating from a split open head. There is even one part where Luke’s trusty horse, Frisky, is reduced to a meal for the zombies. The longer they are in this state of the living dead they more you see it on their face. At the end, two character that we care about face each other, and the resolution to this was very well done. The dialogue is very well written here. There are many very humorous lines that poke fun at the westerns, zombie films, Indian‘s traditional role, the government, and even the whore who betrayed Luke in the beginning of the movie. Of course, Undead or Alive is not the scariest zombie film. The scariest elements come with the zombie’s strength, durability, and that they are intelligent enough to have communication. The scenery, atmosphere, and even some of the characters are so bizarre though that the scares are mostly replaced with the laughs and overall enjoyment that the film produces through historical notions and figures as well as different genres and characteristic all brought in to one film.