Dance of the Dead

This teen-populated zombie comedy, inspired by Shaun of the Dead, among others, contains just enough head-shattering, limb-severing and gut-munching to satisfy the 18 to 25 target audience, although in some places, it seems oddly restrained. That old standby—nuke plant contamination—is responsible for the reanimation of dead people who march en masse to the local high school and lay waste to the prom. The unlikely hero is nerdy Jimmy Dunn (Jared Kusnitz), who wasn’t trapped with the others because he couldn’t get a prom date, having just been dumped by gal pal Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick), whom he’s determined to rescue. Obvious budgetary restrictions notwithstanding, Dance maintains an effective balance of horror, action and comedic elements.

Shelf Talk: Despite a no-name cast, Dance will be marketable because it meets the undemanding requirements of zombie films established in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and its innumerable sequels and rip-offs. It can be touted as a variation on Shaun of the Dead, though it’s not nearly as witty as that film.