2000s Forgotten Zombie Comedy You Can Stream Without Netflix
Zombie films and television shows have been all the rage in recent years, mostly due to the massive success of the AMC series The Walking Dead. But fans of the genre have a seemingly endless catalog of other zombie entries to choose from, some dramatic and some outright hilarious. One 2008 independent horror movie, Dance of the Dead, gives audiences the perfect balance of a coming-of-age comedy and a zombie fright-fest and can now be streamed for free.
Undead Prom Crashers
Dance of the Dead is the story of the sci-fi club at a small Georgia high school band that is together to save their high school prom from being destroyed by flesh-hungry zombies. The movie follows several different high school outcasts who are dateless for the prom, among them the aforementioned sci-fi nerds, a pizza delivery driver named Jimmy, and a group of stoners who are in a garage band.
Nuclear Powered Zombies
The zombies in Dance of the Dead are the result of a nuclear power plant that is leaking its waste into the groundwater. Of course, there is a cemetery nearby that becomes the prime location for the dead to become reanimated flesh and brain eating monsters. As the different dateless teens survive sudden zombie attacks, they find themselves able to band together to find a way to save their community from the growing hoard of zombies.
The Power Of Rock
Along the way, audiences discover that the zombies in Dance of the Dead can be held at bay by stoner rock, giving an opportunity for the film to capitalize on some great comedic effects that eventually weave their way into a semi-predictable finish. Nonetheless, the movie is a non-stop ride of laughs and death from start to finish.
Dance of the Dead‘s typical teen-comedy tropes collide beautifully with the level of splatter that winds up on the screen. The movie is as funny as it is riveting, though the comedic elements far outshine the terror elements and show that the film has a high level of self-awareness.
Filled With Sight Gags And Brilliant One-Liners
Dance of the Dead‘s Jared Kusnitz, who plays the pizza delivery driver/hero Jimmy, brings a great performance to the production and reveals himself to be a believable protagonist in an outrageous situation. The film’s other players execute terrific comedic timing and elevate the movie’s sight gags to levels otherwise not possible.
Streaming On Multiple Services
REVIEW SCORE
The zombie makeup and special effects are far from anything crafted by Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead), but they nonetheless succeed in giving viewers realistic monsters to fear. Dance of the Dead packs in plenty of jump scares with laughs, too, and it shows that Shaun of the Dead isn’t the only zombie film that can pack in laughs.
Dance of the Dead rightfully should be in the top 10 list of any fan of zombie films. It’s been a noted favorite of horror icon Sam Raimi, who helped with the independent film’s distribution.
You can stream Dance of the Dead for free with Tubi and Roku or rent it On Demand with Prime.
