DIR Stephen Bradley • WRI Derek Landy • PROD Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe • DOP Balazs Bolygo • ED Dermot Diskin, Ben Yeates • DES Anna Rackard • CAST Samantha Mumba, David Leon, Tadhg Murphy, Laurence Kinlan, Sarah James, Deirdre O'Kane
Boy Eats Girl may be a little too late to be Ireland's first zombie movie - Dead Meat has already been released, and more than a few video efforts have been made in people's back gardens - but it is just in time to be the first Irish zombie romantic comedy.
The title might lead you to expect more of a spoof, but this is a zombie movie with laughs, rather than a parody. The central characters are Nathan (David Leon) and Jessica (Samantha Mumba), two friends who would secretly like to be more. But then there is a misunderstanding, which indirectly leads to Nathan being put in a position where he has to be brought back from the dead. Fortunately his mother (Deirdre O'Kane, playing a more vulnerable part than usual) has been nosing about in a secret burial place for missionaries involved in voodoo. With the help of borrowed book she reanimates Nathan without telling him. At first the signs are not obvious: no pulse, no sense of taste or pain, and by the time he realises there's something wrong with him he's already started to spread the zombie virus.
Going back to the voodoo roots of zombies is a nice idea, and gives the movie a different spin, as does the idea of a protagonist who knows he's turning into a zombie and is trying not to endanger people. The misunderstanding between the two leads doesn't seem entirely necessary - I mean, if they're such good friends, why don't they just talk about it? - but that's a minor quibble; teenagers, after all, aren't known for being great communicators.
The acting is generally good, hitting few false notes, and the characters, if not intricately layered, are at least consistent and entertaining. The zombies themselves aren't as scary as Bryan Murray, playing Samantha Mumba's dad (a character who could have been made more of) or as creepy as the priest guarding the surprisingly accessible crypt of the voodoo missionaries.
The version of secondary school is a fairly typical movie portrayal, and oddly enough it's the only thing that risks seeming artificial, though there are certainly elements that ring true: the unrequited crushes, the 'My door is always open' type of teacher who thinks he's everyone's friend. And, of course, people always seem artificial when you're in school.
The look is mostly naturalistic; the effects subtle at first, but slowly build up to all the spurting blood and dismembered body parts you've been waiting for. The build-up to the appearance of actual zombies is gradual, giving plenty of time to get to know the characters. The effects are good, not over-the-top and not too slick. It's also funny, which is a big help; a straight zombie movie is pretty hard to pull off these days. Boy Eats Girl may not be on quite the same level as, say, Shaun of the Dead, but it's still good fun.
Boy Eats Girl is released on 23rd September 2005.
