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Directed and Written by Michael James Dean Starring Luke Shaw, Darren Ruston, Tony Cook and Shelley Davenport Short Film Review by Rachel Pullen
It feels ever since the success of shows such as ‘’The Walking Dead’’ the horror genre has been saturated to the extreme with zombies, the un dead and those who just love the taste of brains. Trying to find anything good in this thick sludge of rotting corpses was like trying to find a good teen slasher flick in the 90’s, hard work to say the least. So what is the greatest challenge facing directors who just can’t say no to producing another zombie picture? An original idea of course...this is where Michael James Dean steps in.
Already Dead is a mockumentary style film which details the lives of zombies who, thanks to a new but rather expensive wonder drug, allows them to live among us. The main subject of the piece is zombie George (Darren Ruston), who has been living as a successful member of his community despite being...well dead.
George is a comically awkward character who is not without his charms, in fact he is a character that could come from any street, town or housing estate in the U.K, simply put Dean made a smart move, with a lead focus that is relatable to anyone who has ever stepped outside and so as an audience we are connected instantly to their world.
George and his mannerisms are painfully British but it works, this film oozes the dry wit and subtle humour that British comedy is famous for, Already dead feels like a script that could of been plucked from the realms of Monty Python.
Alongside George is a collective cast of the dead as well as the living who express the positive and the negative of having the un dead walk the streets.
Interviews with the living that have no interest in having zombies amongst them mirrors that of interviews with certain members of the public during the EU elections, confused racism, intolerance and segregation are all on the table for discussion, just executed with some latex make up and comedic timing.
There are at times some questionable acting and make up, but this could largely be put down to what feels like a low budget piece of film, but this does not distract from the general light hearted nature if the film.
Reminding me of films such as Warm Bodies and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Michael James Dean offers up another instalment in the ever popular zombie comedy.
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