Undead or Alive

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My first glance at the cover art for 2007´s "Undead or Alive" caused my heart to sink: a zombie comedy set in the old West starring the least-funny alumnus of "Saturday Night Live," Chris Kattan, plus some guy from "Desperate Housewives" and the painfully untalented Navi Rawat, who almost ruined the otherwise wonderful "Feast." The uninspired cast list aside, I simply didn´t think I could stomach yet another zombie comedy. With the exception of the genre-defining "Evil Dead" series and "Return of the Living Dead," very few American-made zombie comedies have elicited a chuckle from my throat, let alone a bloodcurdling scream. Non-U.S. fed zombedies, on the other, had ten to hit the nail right on the head: Germany´s wonderful "Night of the Living Dorks," Edgar Wright´s "Shaun of the Dead," and Peter Jackson´s brilliant "Dead Alive" are perfect examples of proper zombedies. It´s been years since a homegrown effort has been even worth mentioning. Anybody who has sat through crap like "Dead & Breakfast" knows exactly what I´m talking about. Thankfully, I didn´t let past American efforts and the groan-inspiring box art talk me out of watching "Undead or Alive," because it ended up being far better than I had thought possible.

Elmer (James Denton) is a deserter on the run from the Union Army who crosses paths in the town jail with Luke (Kattan), a lovesick cowboy whose heart was broken by the local whore. Upon escape from the town´s corrupt Sheriff and his bumbling deputy, Elmer and Luke realize they have more to fear than the law on their tail. The town´s been infected by a zombie plague unleashed by Geronimo himself. Upon his death at the hands of the white devils, Geronimo used his Shaman abilities to unleash what he named "The White Man´s Curse." He essentially created a zombie virus, but since the film is set in the old West, the word zombie is as meaningless as the term voodoo; thus, the creatures are dubbed "Geronimonsters." With the creatures, the law, and Union soldiers drawing ever closer to the newly formed duo, all hope seems lost. That´s until the arrival of an unexpected ally, Geronimo´s niece, Sue (Rawat), who not only knows her way around a bow and arrow but the secret to defeating the oncoming horde of Geronimonsters as well.

With star James Denton´s resume listing horrible TV shows like "Reba," "JAG," and the aforementioned "Housewives," it´s not surprising that I was completely unfamiliar with him prior to "Undead or Alive." But after watching him have a blast playing the uniquely cool and slightly inept Elmer, I´m going to keep an eye out for him in the future. He could have played Elmer as the "cool unflappable hero," but, instead, Denton makes Elmer a more believable and likeable character by giving him a few weaknesses.

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