Once the third and fourth characters are introduced, I immediately think that this film has either done a great job of making fun of these types of people or ... the current college generation is as clueless as the film creators who represent them. Ash and Iris are immediate buzzkills and haughty, and everybody seems to hate each other. It just doesn't get humorous in that regard, the music and the action tells me that this is being taken serious and as soon as Ash hops a counter and disarms her goofy jock boyfriend from accidentally shooting her brother, I knew the scenarios coming from the future action would be outlandish and a cheap display of the modern Marvel/DC generation. BUT once the festival chaos took off, there was a short span of gory fun. Then the drama takes over though it never fully let up. Somehow, Iris and Ash are always talking about their feelings or fighting with one of the obnoxious dudes. Why are these types of characters always focused on in movies like these? Why not show the men that are gonna lay these beasts down, or sacrifice their lives to get others saved? Show the men and women that band together, instead of the toxic sex-crazed viral party seeking brats? The characters here make me feel bad for whoever created them, as if this is the only type of people they associate with. The tired trope of an accident showing that the boyfriend only cares about getting in trouble and the star girlfriend is righteous and strong shows that writers/creators stick to a tired script with no original characterizations coming in. Ash is throwing a fit because she and her boyfriend got separated. Iris is telling Ash she can't think for herself because Ash doesn't agree with her and they actually argue about in-crowd and outcast perceptions while trying to covertly make their way through rabid zombies. The boyfriend wants to leave the kid behind. Three of them want to vulnerably cry or yell over how they feel in a relationship while evading zombies. On three specific occasions, three different people spill their hearts out unrelated to the current plight. The way Iris holds a gun and a guitar lets me know her "badassery" is manufactured without consideration, like how Ash automatically became a sharpshooter and a fighter, though her lifestyle is anything but, and her granddad, the famous one from Night of the Living Dead, died as a zombie well before Ash and her brother were even born.. The drama is cringe. Skip this one.
Review of Festival of the Living Dead
