Dead Shack (2017)

Colin, Summer, their parents, and Colin's best friend Jason all go to a remote cabin for a weekend getaway. The parents want to get drunk and the teens just want to have fun, but their unhinged neighbor has other plans for them.

Dead Shack is a zombie horror comedy that features family at its center. Colin's family on the surface is pretty dysfunctional. The parents struggle financially and seem to be stuck in their college years with binge drinking and partying all the time. Summer and Colin don't get along with each other or their parents. It all seems like a mess. In contrast, the nameless neighbor woman is taking care of her zombified family which includes finding food for them. Colin, who has pretended to be poor almost the entire film, reveals that his parents are rich, but his dad is abusive to his mother. Colin's family has what the other families don't: genuine love and care.

The comedy of the film is the strongest element next to the heartwarming family aspect. The whole concept of taking care of a zombie family is played hilariously here, especially the neighbor in her full body armor to keep herself safe. The children being more responsible and logical than their parents and going a step further to protect them from zombies plays off well as well. The physical comedy is on point along with the balance between the comedy and sappiness. My favorite scene is when the father tells Colin how much he loves and cares about him while Jason and Summer are beating in zombies heads close by. I personally didn't like the crude teenage boy humor of Colina and Jason, but it was a fairly minor part of the film.

Dead Shack is a pretty hilarious, light zombie comedy. It's a simple formula in an isolated location that works rather well. The only lacking part was the stepmother being completely stereotypical and one dimensional as an Asian woman only with the dad for financial gain. She has no redeeming qualities or character development and becomes a zombie. In contrast, Summer is the most resolute, strong character of the film. At least there is some variance in the female characters, but it's still disappointing to see this gross stereotype. Other than that, this is a really fun watch.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins