Little Monsters is a common zombie movie that’s been inspired by contemporary horror comedies (especially Shaun of the Dead’s slacker humour).  The reason it doesn’t fall into obscurity among the wash of other copycats is because the film stays light and merry while balancing morbid laughs.

Dave (Alexander England) is a poor musician who refuses to grow up and, inevitably, weighs people down.  His priorities are rooted in the past, deeply effecting his ability to commit to new relationships and responsibilities.  However, he reconsiders his life when faced with an undead outbreak while chaperoning his nephew’s field trip to a local farm (which is inconveniently located beside an experimental base for the U.S Army).  He teams up with a sweet educator, Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o), and a popular children’s entertainer, Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad), to keep the kids safe from being zombie chow.

Little Monsters has a lot of fun with its R-rating (which, to my surprise, was assessed less harshly in the film’s homeland of Australia).  The zombies are a bloody mess, their mutilations are nasty, and Gad is in “full-on Death to Smoochy mode” as a raging, inappropriate narcissist.  And, the adorable kids (who have all graduated from the “Kindergarten Cop School of Acting”) are exposed to everything.  But no matter how cynical the movie may seem to be, writer/director Abe Forsythe stays consistent to the story’s goofy enthusiasm with the help of Nyong’o’s wonderful performance as an encouraging guardian who fuels the film’s bubbly optimism.

Little Monsters has a big heart any zombie would love to sink their teeth into.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie