Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, 2023

    Akiro Tendo is a zombie. Oh, not an ‘undead, flesh-eating’ zombie, but a corporate drone - an over-worked, bullied slave to the company. Once a hope-filled optimist who thought he landed his dream job, a year later he is just another burnt-out cog in the machine who dreads each morning.

And then the Zombie Apocalypse happened. And with his exploitative job gone, no one has ever enjoyed an apocalypse more.

Soon, however, horror, loss, & loneliness grips him and Tendo decides to do what he’s always wanted to do before he joins the undead: Hence, the '100 Things Bucket List.'

And so, Tendo sets out to do the list items: Ride a motorcycle, light off a fireworks display, go shopping without regard for cost, you get it. In doing so, he teams up with an old buddy, and a young woman who simply does not understand his motivation. And they embark on a road trip. A quest to the relative safety and fresh food supply of a famous aquarium. Kinda like Tokyo's equivalent of SeaWorld.

Zom 100’s actually undead zombies are great! Not so much runners, (as that would imply coordination,) but quick, twitchy, white-eyed menaces. They provide some good gore and a coupla’ decent scares. And a new element added: Stand motionless and silent and the Zs can’t detect you - Almost like a T-Rex! Interesting new twist, used effectively!

As far as ‘ZomComs’ go,  Zom 100 an optimistic, fresh take on the whole sub-genre. It’s fun and funny and has its share of scares, mostly. However, there are some SERIOUS hammed-up acting scenes littered throughout, cartoonish villain-types that might as well be wearing “EAT ME” t-shirts, and a good number of plot-holes and raised eyebrows. Still, these are mostly forgivable because the main protagonists are engaging and likable.

And then, well, from the arrival at the aquarium on, things get a bit difficult to watch, and the biggest WTF moment, and utter suspension of reality waddles in. Surprisingly, the film embraces thing new element and really prolongs its screen-time despite its improbability and sheer ridiculosity! (Yeah, I said “ridiculosity!”) 

    The entire third act seemed like it undid a lot of what the first two set up, and left me feeling a bit lukewarm on the film, and a bit frustrated in general.

And then, whatever the hell this thing is.

So, I just left the grading up to the Zombie Movie Rubric to do the dirty deed. Surprisingly, the ZMR served up a 2.33, (out of 4,) stars, which translates to a recommendation to watch.  I, however, NEED to provide a caveat: Extreme silliness does ensue! 

Perhaps I need to addend my rubric.

In short, goofy fun, but definitely not to be taken too seriously. 

Anyways, there is a YouTube Trailer that provides enough spoilers for you to make an informed decision on ‘to see, or not to see.’   

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