A friend got me this movie the other day and I was a bit perplexed. As a big zombie fan, I was surprised that a title such as this one had slipped through my fingers. I didn’t know much about it, but just by looking at the cover I knew it was from the UK. Sometimes our cousins overseas have a unique take on zombie films and Gangsters, Guns, and Zombies is no different.
Gangsters, Guns, and Zombies is a horror comedy that follows several “gangsters” as they travel the country in their van. The world has just gone to shit, but survivors are still bountiful. The safest place for the “gangsters” is inside the moving vehicle. Follow their story as they search for a safe house in a world being slowly over-run by zombies. The film is written and directed by Matt Mitchell with Taliesyn Mitchell. The film stars Vincent Jerome, Huggy Leaver (EastEnders), Fabrizio Santino (Captain America), Frank Rizzo (Doghouse), and Charlie Rawes.
I put “gangsters” in quotes because our main characters are far from gangsters, at least by American standards. I actually find them all very likable and interesting, although this might say more about my personality than awkward character titling. Yes, some of them have guns. Yes, some of them are hard asses. But, the “gangsters” are pretty decent guys. With that said, I should probably have put “comedy” in quotations too. Gangsters, Guns, and Zombies is labeled as a horror comedy, but contains very little comedy. It has moments where it tried to be funny, but the theatrics would only seem to please elementary school kids.
There is a lot of unrealistic elements in Gangsters, Guns, and Zombies, but it’s mostly from a production standpoint. Several times people punch zombies, which I think is really unrealistic. You catch a knuckle on a tooth, now you’re a zombie. I’m also not impressed with the make up job on the zombies. I hate when FX artists just slap pale make up on the person, toss blood on their shirt, and call them a zombie. Yeah, for a large group it is the most practical way, but if you’re going to feature a zombie during a scene, make sure they look good enough to be featured.
What we have here is an average attempt at a zombie horror-comedy. It’s nothing too exciting, definitely worthy of one watch but nothing more. Unfortunately with better movies out there like Shaun of The Dead, Doghouse, and Stag Night, Gangsters, Guns, and Zombies just ends up falling short. Great effort though.
