20140314: Horror Review--Cockneys vs Zombies

Cockneys vs Zombies

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. British live action feature length film, 2012, NR, 89 minutes, horror, comedy.
2. IMDB: 5.9/10.0 from 10,032 audience ratings. Estimated budget,
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 70% on the meter; 45% liked it from 6,807 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.4/5.0 from 107,823 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Matthias Hoene.
6. Starring:  Rasmus Hardiker as Terry, Harry Treadaway as Andy, Michelle Ryan as Katy, Jack Doolan as Davey Tuppence, Georgia King as Emma, Ashley Thomas as Mental Mickey, Tony Gardner as Clive, Alan Ford as Ray, Honor Blackman as Peggy.


2. Setup and Plot
1. First thread: twenty somethings in the East End of London plan a bank robbery.  Second thread: two workers at a construction site discover a walled up site dating back to Oliver Cromwell.  They break in in order to steal whatever they can get.  Unfortunately, there is a still active zombie inside.  Third thread: one of the construction managers calls up his girlfriend at the bank.  They touch bases about a massive theft they have planned using bogus paperwork.  Fourth thread: a home for pensioners is being shut down, and the tenants will be shipped off soon.


2. The first and third threads collide soon in the film: the girlfriend thinks the bank robbers are her boyfriend's underlings come to pick up the three million plus pounds of cash.  The robbers do not have the correct paperwork, so she signals the police.  The amateur robbers finally get the bills ready to go to the getaway van, but the police are there.  Then the zombies show up.


3. Running in parallel, the second thread unleashed a zombie apocalypse.  The retirees are gathering to do regular activities, but the zombies trudge in on their neighborhood.  The bank robbers and the police are overtaken by the zombies.


4. The survivors from the bank try to get to the retirees.  Some of them have relatives at the retiree home.


5. So, who will survive this comedy of errors?  Will the apocalypse be controlled?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Relatively light hearted treatment of the zombie apocalypse in East London.
2. Three stars of five


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 8/10 Quite good.  There were places where gore and splatter were emphasized (whole frame) over other actions that show motivation, body English, reactions, and the like.


2. Sound: 7/10 No particular problems except for sound leveling on the music.


3. Acting: 6/10 It was good to see Honor Blackman again.  Except Harry Treadaway, no one was really bad in the film.  Several performances were pleasant.


4. Screenplay: 6/10 I did not expect the subordination to PC, but there it was.  If Michelle Ryan tries something, it always works.  If any of her male associates tries anything, it has a good chance of failure.  The criminal female bank employee seemed to get everything right, while her male superior got everything wrong.  Tiresome.  On the other hand, I got some laughs out of the film's dialog, and was glad to see family members actually caring about each other.