This initially promising, if unexceptional, zombie doc loses the plot by its conclusion, once it veers away from the films that sparked the zombie craze and gets bogged down in the cultural ephemera that have sprung up around them.
Borrowing its titular structure from George Romero’s seminal ‘X of the Dead’ films betrays filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe’s obsession with the godfather of the zombie genre, and much of Doc of the Dead’s early minutes are devoted to studying Romero’s early works. This discussion of Romero’s inspirations and subsequent influence yield the most interest that the film offers, in what looks to be a detailed inspection of the pivotal works of zombie fiction. Instead, unfortunately, once Romero is dealt with, the subsequent decades of zombie movies fly by, with scant references to undisputed classics, and any real discussion of seminal works like The Evil Dead or 28 Days Later dismissed based on technicalities of whether their monsters should really count as zombies or not.
Work in other mediums is delved into briefly, with a focus on the recent and popular The Walking Dead TV show – though less attention is devoted to its original comic book form. Video games really get the short shrift here, with classic ‘90s titles like Resident Evil and House of the Dead given throwaway mention, while 2012’s critically acclaimed game adaptation of The Walking Dead (yup, that again) doesn’t even warrant a namedrop.
The film’s latter half is devoted to a rather uninspired discussion of modern zombie fandom, from costumes & merchandise to zombie walks and porn parodies. A sex therapist pops up every now and then to talk about the appeal of zombie sex for no obvious reason, while later Philippe drinks his own urine through a survivalist’s water filtration system, in what must somehow have seemed like a good idea at the time, and surely made the final cut purely so that he didn’t end up drinking his own piss for no reason.
At one point, Romero confesses his own confusion: “What is it that appeals to zombie fans?” Other creators admit bemusement at the notion of the ‘zombie fan’ and the many costumed events that have sprung up over the last few years. Unfortunately, Doc of the Dead does little to convince viewers that this fandom is interesting enough in its own right to warrant discussion above and beyond the pop culture that inspired it.
Special mention must also be given to the frequent skits and shorts that serve as interludes. These range from the embarrassingly unfunny to the downright offensive, especially one impressively homophobic segment at the end, and ultimately do little more than create the suspicion that the filmmakers are playing for time, trying to pad out the brisk 81-minute running time.
It’s not all bad though – the talking heads are routinely entertaining, from Romero himself and makeup artist Tom Savini through to stars like Simon Pegg and Bruce Campbell. A passionate argument over fast and slow zombies brings a lot of fun, and a brief look at the Haitian history of zombie mythology is perhaps most likely to bring new insight to most viewers. Unfortunately, too much of the film remains slow, dull and unnecessary. Neither psychologically compelling enough to serve as an analysis of zombie fandom, nor comprehensive enough in its pop culture selection to serve as a full history of the genre, Doc of the Dead feels stuck halfway, unsure of its own subject matter and ultimately disappointing in two directions at once.
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