Juan of the Dead, (2011)

It has been my experience that as a general rule of thumb, Zombie Comedies, (or "zomedies,") tend to suck. 

Oh sure, there are a couple of notable exceptions, like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Fido wasn't bad. But almost all of the others seem to have forgotten that a successful zomedie is a scary movie with comedic elements. There are many serious horror movies with humorous characters, and a good zombie-comedy simply shifts the balance a little.

Juan of the Dead, (yet another in my "Just Read The  Subtitles" series,) is just such a movie with just such a balance.

The story revolves around Juan, a forty-something Havana man and his best friend, Lázaro, along with a few others from the dog-eat-dog streets of Cuba's capital city's seedy side.

When reports of "dissidents paid by the US government" foreshadow the outbreaks of violent riots in homes, our hapless heroes accidentally incapacitate one of them, (by shooting him through the chest with a fishing speargun.) When this does not diminish the creature's drive, they test him for vampirism, (with multiple wooden stakes,) demonic possession, (with a wooden crucifix and some holy-sounding chants,) and would have tested for lycanthropy is they had silver to make a bullet. Or a gun to shoot it. 

It is out of frustration and dumb luck that they stumble upon the Romero rule of 'destroy the brain.'

Being opportunists and low-level con-men, they decide to start a business: "Juan of the Dead - We kill your loved ones." And for a while, business is booming.

Important note - This is NOT Shaun of the Dead, or anything like it! Many jokes here have a real raunchiness to them and a lot of the gratuitous killings are strictly for shock value, (but in a good way!)

Also, every now and again, one can find a subtle gag attacking the genre itself. During an orientation training for recruits, one student states that some are fast and some are slow. Juan replies with, "True! Does anyone know why that is?" When no one responds he turns to Lázaro and says, "What a pity. I was eager for someone to clarify that to me!"

So, there is a real darkness to the humor, but through it all we see Juan's connection with Cuba. He relates to its stubborn persistence and stoicism. He clearly loves his country and his life there. This really adds an element of sincerity among the dirty jokes and cartoony killings. It is almost as if this is the underlying love story of the film. Very touching.

So, obviously, I am a fan of this movie. (The subtitles didn't put me off a bit.) And according to my cold, robotic, grading system, the Zombie Movie Rubric, Juan of the Dead rang up a bang-on solid 3.5 out of 4.0, (Points, stars, skulls, whatever. Three and a half of them!) Which puts this right up there with the "Just go see 'em!" crowd.

For a teaser, here is the "official" trailer on the 'tubes: JUAN OF THE DEAD