Film Review: George: A Zombie Intervention (2009)

SYNOPSIS:

George’s friends have all gathered for an intervention… George’s intervention. You see, George is a zombie and George’s friends are attempting to convince George to stop eating people and to enter ‘zombie rehab’. But the intervention doesn’t go quite as planned

REVIEW:

Can anyone even count the amount of zombie films that have been released over the past several years? I can’t and I still try to watch as many as I can, even though I am slowly tiring (just a little tiny bit) of them. Now there are subgenres of zombie film and the one I am most apprehensive to embrace is the “zomedy”. By far the masterpiece of the subgenre is “Shaun of the Dead”, the standard by which I judge all others. There have been a few other really good ones but that is still THE ONE for me. Lately, there has been a rise in the amount of “zomedies” produced by young independent filmmakers. Most recently, there was “Zombie Ed”, which was a fun film, and now there is J.T. Seaton’s “George: A Zombie Intervention” (aka “George’s Intervention”). After a bit of a slow start, I ended up really enjoying this film.

It’s much easier to play around a bit with a zombies’ mythology. It isn’t quite as clear cut as vampires or werewolves. In “George”, zombies live amongst humans. In fact, they are pretty normal and function like the rest of us. After spores had filled the earth’s air and our lungs, they began to bring the recently deceased back to life. In this film, zombies only begin to act like the ones we know when their brains are destroyed (nope, doesn’t kill them). George (Carlos Larkin) is a zombie, though he won’t admit to it or his behaviors. Ben (Peter Stickles) decides to stage an intervention for him. He gathers together George’s ex-girlfriend Sarah (Michelle Tomlinson), who has to bring along her current boyfriend Steve (the hilarious Eric Dean), and his sister Francine (Shannon Hodson), to confront him about his “addiction” They call in intervention specialist Barbara (Lynn Lowry) to help guide them. George isn’t prepared for the confrontation and things go from bad to worse almost immediately. George can’t seem to help himself when it comes to eating human flesh. Someone is killing off people and every indication leads to it being George, but is he really to blame?

There are some pretty funny gags scattered throughout the film, but what really makes the film work are the performances. The action pretty much takes place in a single location but everyone seemed to get the joke so when it came to deliver, they did. I do have to point out that the scenes between George and Steve were the highlights for me. Their bickering over their love for Sarah is some truly funny stuff. What sets the film apart is that it isn’t all just about the laughs, it’s about the characters as well. Each character has their motivation to be there and we see a bit about what their relationship with George is like. At the core of the film there is some heart, and it goes a long way into making this a successful film.

And if that wasn’t enough, there is a bloody climax!! So this isn’t just a funny film, it has some pretty decent special effects work. Along with Lynn Lowry, you may want to keep a lookout for a couple of other genre veterans to make appearances. We get to see cameo whore Lloyd Kaufman and scream queen Brinke Stevens for a few brief moments.

“George: A Zombie Intervention” is a film that tries to take a different approach to the genre and succeeds. We have a group of likeable characters that we grow to care about in a messed up situation. I’m giving the film ***1/2 out of five stars. Funny, inventive, and (in a sadistic sort of way) rather heartwarming. J.T. Seaton (along with Brad Hodson) created a terrific story that tickles the funny bone and kind of tugs the heart strings a bit. A recommended film and really anxious to see where Seaton takes his career from here.

George: A Zombie Intervention (2009)