The
Zombie Apocalypse is a lot like the Spanish Inquisition. Nobody expects it.
However, Lone and Yeung are better prepared than most. They already have their
superhero alter-egos, plus their talent for designing exotic stage prop
weaponry will be applicable to their new challenges. There is a bit of
Darko-esque unreliability to our husky focal hero, but there is no denying the
gleeful madness of Alan Lo’s Zombiology:
Enjoy Yourself Tonight (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.
Of
all the days for Lone’s disgraced father Wing to be released from prison, it
happens on the eve of the Zombie uprising. Technically, it is a giant toy
chicken that looks like a cousin of SpongeBob Squarepants who is behind the
zombie infestation, but Lone and Yeung do not know anything about it or its
exploding eggs yet. They have been busy packing up “Aunt” Shan, who was badly
injured in the car wreck Lone’s dad took the fall for. She long tried to
maintain her Cantonese opera performance space, but she finally sold out to the
predatory real estate agents and developers, whom the film not so subtly
suggests are worse than zombies.
Lone
and Yeung are both agog over MMA star Yee-sue, but Yeung really carries a torch
for Shan’s niece Yit. She is also unusually prepared for a Zombie apocalypse as
a member of an amateur Men-in-Black organization. She has gear too. Yet, the
lads will end up teaming up with Yee-sue when they find her crying in the
streets, nearly oblivious to the zombies, after she was jilted at the aisle.
Zombiology is nuts in every
way possible, but whether it is real or whatever, the characters are insanely
likable. They put up a heck of a fight too, not quite on the level of Don Lee
brawling through a train-car-load of zombies in Train to Busan, but still pretty darn impressive. In addition to
the chicken with zombifying breath, there are animated interludes in which Lone
and Yeung transform into their superhero identities to fight mecha-kaiju. While
the animation is cool, the live action zombie-stomping has a decidedly low fi
look that actually suits the film.
The
responsible adults, Alex Man and Carrie Ng are terrific as Wing and Shan. As
Yit and Yee-sue, Cherry Ngan Cheuk-ling and Venus Wong show off all the action
chops, but fans aren’t likely to object. Michael Ning and Louis Cheung
Kai-chung develop decent buddy chemistry together, but the former really
deserves credit for selling the WTF ending.
Whatever
you want in a movie, Zombiology has something
a lot like it that’s just as good. Frankly, it is rejuvenating to see such a
deliriously freewheeling film. Highly recommended for fans of zombies and
go-for-broke filmmaking, Zombiology:
Enjoy Yourself Tonight screens Saturday (7/15), at the SVA Theatre, as part
of this year’s NYAFF.
