It’s an allegory for class divide. That’s basically all “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” is. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good movie, but once you can get past the clumsy symbolism of the way the zombies are supposed to be the more impoverished individuals, while the humans are meant to be the upper echelon, “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” is actually kind of a fun horror comedy musical. You wouldn’t think that they could really pull off a zombie horror comedy for kids, but Disney and director Paul Hoen do a pretty darn good job of it. Even if 2013’s “Bunks” is better.
Fifty years after a zombie apocalypse, society is split in to two fractions. Seabrook, a cookie-cutter community brimming with perky conformity, splits humans in to their own zone while zombies, now posing no threat thanks to high tech watches, Zombietown, an isolated, rundown community with their own customs and rituals. When zombies are finally allowed to enroll in Seabrook High School, the charming, charismatic zombie Zed, who is determined to play football, meets freshman Addison, who dreams of being a cheerleader. Addison takes a lot of flak for befriending Zed and his zombie friends, but comes to learn that zombies and cheerleaders aren’t so different after all.
“Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” is not perfect by any means, as Hoen’s film tends to feel episodic, almost like episodes of a show combined in to one feature. However the whole premise works better as a musical feature garnering some pretty interesting world building. There’s a lot of focus on how the zombies and humans are split apart, and how they work toward building the trust of the humans. There’s not a lot of explanation toward the zombie though. Is main character Zed and his zombie family undead monsters? Were they once alive and were infected?
Did they die and re-animate as brain eating zombies? Did anyone know Zed or any of his family before they turned in to zombies? Did Zed ever eat anyone? In either case, folks like Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Kylee Russell, and Trevor Tordjman are very good in their respective roles. They prove to be fun, and charismatic characters that could have easily been stale, walking cardboard cut outs. I especially found Manheim as charming teen zombie Zed to be one of the more interesting protagonists in the movie series. The riveting dance and song numbers are catchy, and if anything, and I had a good time with songs like “BAMM” and “Someday.”
Disney’s “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S” allows for an interesting gateway in to the more hardcore horror entertainment, should they choose. In the legacy of DCOM’s, you could do a lot worse than “Z-O-M-B-I-E-S,” even if it isn’t the best youth targeted horror that Disney’s ever produced.