FINALLY! a zom-com that can match up to the comedy of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB is one of the six Frightfest Presents VOD titles hitting the download sites by storm, and this is a great example of what Frightfest brings to the table each year. I LOVED this film, i thought the comedic moments flowed well here and the acting was spot on. Maria Thayer played the role of quirky Deb, the socially awkward girl with dreams of being a news anchor, really well. Ray Wise makes yet another appearance in a random horror film and Micheal Cassidy plays the role of Ryan.......he's a bit of an annoying, uptight son of a bitch and the main love interest in the film. The Ryan character does grow on you near the end though
Will this film be to everyone's taste? I doubt it. This style of comedy will always divide an audience. I have read a handful of reviews saying that the Deb character is annoying and unrelateable, but I disagree I thought Deb was a well rounded Kooky character, a luckless romantic trying to find her way in the world while being held back with her wild and out there personality who finally gets a break...be it in the middle of a zombie outbreak. The character of Ryan on the other hand, he grated on me.
As zombie comedies go NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB ticked all the boxes, and there are so many awful zombie films about now that seeing this has reignited my faith in the zombie genre. Is it fair to put this film up against possibly one of the best zombie comedies out there? I think so yes, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is the overall benchmark people need to reach when making a zom-com and this isn't a bad thing. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB is funny, clever and has some great lines that will have you in stitches.