A Plague So Pleasant – Movie Review

by | Nov 9, 2015 | Movie Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

MV5BMTA5NDMzMzE1OTheQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU4MDAzNTQ4MTYx._V1_SY317_CR2,0,214,317_AL_A Plague So Pleasant
Directors: Benjamin Roberds, Jordan Reyes
Starring: Eva Boehnke, David Chandler, Maxwell Moody
Wild Eye Releasing
September 29, 2015
Reviewed by Jess Landry

Here’s the thing about zombies: they’re supposed to be a threat. The whole point of the dead rising from the grave is to become a virus to humankind, to eradicate the weak, to have a little fun with the whole ‘survival of the fittest’ thing.

But what if the undead were not so threat-y?

This is the idea behind A Plague So Pleasant. The dead have risen, and after a mentioned-in-passing 12-hour zombie apocalypse, humans and walkers live copacetically. Sort of. Some of the undead wander the streets, blocking traffic like a paddling of ducks trying to cross the road while others have been herded into fenced areas and, much like a petting zoo, citizens can enter and visit their dearly departed. But there’s a catch – as long as you don’t provoke the zombies, they won’t attack, which is why all violence towards members of the living dead has been outlawed. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a movie if something didn’t happen to offset the flimsy sense of peace and balance.

The story follows Clay, a young guy trying to break his sister, Mia, out of her dating funk. Her boyfriend is part of the undead crew but she just can’t let him go, so Clay takes it upon himself to get rid of the boyfriend once and for all.

The film begins in black and white; a sort of experiment with tone. It takes a while for the story to get to a steady pace but once it does, the black and white flips to colour. I get it, but it’s an odd transition nonetheless as the film looks pretty decent in the monochromatic world, whereas the full colour spectrum brings out some of the flaws in make-up and over-exposure. Once the film’s turning point is reached, it flips yet again to black and white ultimately breaking up the film into three distinguishable acts.

While the idea is something new in the zombieverse, the movie itself never quite reaches its full potential. Budgetary restraints do play a key factor, and the script does suffer from awkward scenes, weird bouts of dialogue, some not-so-great performances and slow pacing during the beginning. But once the second act kicks into gear and the colours burst from the screen, the film goes from slow to action-packed in a matter of seconds.

The undead featured here are nothing new to the genre though; they’re just your usual flesh-eaters that waddle around until the break out into a full-speed run. Don’t go into this movie expecting Walking Dead-calibre effects and story – A Plague So Pleasant is simply a low-budget zombie movie that made do with what it had.

Bonus features on this bare bones DVD include two trailers for the film itself plus an assload of random ones.

While A Plague So Pleasant uses an unconventional idea, the movie ultimately falls flat in its overall execution. That being said, it’s not the worst low-budget zombie flick out there, so if you enjoy watching independent film, give it a shot and see what you think.

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