When
Tolstoy wrote “every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” he was surely
thinking of circumstances like those in this film. Jason’s family is cold and
emotionally abusive. His best bud Colin’s family are loud and sloppy, but they
are still a lot of fun to hang out with. The lady in the closest neighboring
home to the cabin Colin’s dad rented has a zombie family living in her cellar. To
her, Colin’s family and friend look like supper time in Peter Ricq’s Dead Shack (trailer here), which releases
today on DVD.
Jason
will be joining Colin’s family for a weekend of stupid horseplay. Nobody will
be more irresponsible than their divorced father Roger. Of course, he has
brought along his young Asian party-girl girlfriend Lisa, giving rise to much
eye-rolling on the part of Colin’s older sister Summer, whom Jason carries a
torch for.
While
Roger and Lisa waste no time getting wasted, the three kids go out for a little
exploring. Inconveniently, they happen to spy the “neighbor” serving up two
meatheads from town to her feral undead family. Thanks to Colin’s stupidity,
she also knows that they know. Jason and company are in big trouble, but they
don’t have much adult supervision to rely on.
Dead Shack passes a major
test for horror comedies. It would still be funny without the zombies and gore.
Ricq and co-screenwriters have penned some razor-sharp dialogue and Roger’s
familial relationships are rather endearing in their own idiosyncratic way. In
fact, this is one of the most realistic and believable families immortalized on
film in years. That is pretty sad to say, but true.
Donavon
Stinson is outrageously funny as Roger, while Valerie Tian is terrific as Lisa,
the degenerate diva. Obviously, there is no way she’s going to be the “final
girl.” Lizzie Boys also sets a new standard for acid-tongued sarcasm as Summer.
As Jason, poor Matthew Nelson-Mahood is overshadowed by them all but that is
his character’s lot in life. The real mind-blower is Lauren Holly portraying
the psycho cannibal-zombie-enabling neighbor, but frankly, the mindless undead
are probably more pleasant to live with than Jim Carrey.
