'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' is a fun little movie that has sadly been marketed rather poorly and was probably doomed to fail from the get go. It's been a box office flop but it isn't a fault in the quality of the film. It's a case of the main characters being scouts (most movies about scouts would generally be aimed at a younger audience) and yet the movie being R rated and alienating the people the title would suggest are going to enjoy it.
If they were going to go with the R rating then they needed to take full advantage of it, which they do in certain scenes but certainly not in an overall sense. This had the potential to be a 'Superbad' type movie with lots of clever and yet vulgar dialogue that would keep the audience (an adult audience) entertained throughout. Yet throughout the dialogue constantly feels like it's making its jokes for a younger demographic. The only time they really make use of the R rating is in the violence and the odd bit of graphic nudity. The dialogue was the key let down in this sense and the only way they could have pulled off the R rating to make this a box office success, and even then it would have been far from a sure thing.
Box office failure aside though it's actually a rather enjoyable film for the most part. While most of the humour might be a little bit tame in nature, it is still often funny enough to keep you chuckling if you buy into it. It never really works as a genuine horror movie (I don't think it was ever meant to either) as there never really feels like a genuine threat to any of the characters. Plus I think most people accept slow moving zombies are rarely scary to anyone in this day and age. There's nothing "must see" about it but if you do find yourself in a position to watch it I think you'll be pleased enough with what you see.
If they were going to go with the R rating then they needed to take full advantage of it, which they do in certain scenes but certainly not in an overall sense. This had the potential to be a 'Superbad' type movie with lots of clever and yet vulgar dialogue that would keep the audience (an adult audience) entertained throughout. Yet throughout the dialogue constantly feels like it's making its jokes for a younger demographic. The only time they really make use of the R rating is in the violence and the odd bit of graphic nudity. The dialogue was the key let down in this sense and the only way they could have pulled off the R rating to make this a box office success, and even then it would have been far from a sure thing.
Box office failure aside though it's actually a rather enjoyable film for the most part. While most of the humour might be a little bit tame in nature, it is still often funny enough to keep you chuckling if you buy into it. It never really works as a genuine horror movie (I don't think it was ever meant to either) as there never really feels like a genuine threat to any of the characters. Plus I think most people accept slow moving zombies are rarely scary to anyone in this day and age. There's nothing "must see" about it but if you do find yourself in a position to watch it I think you'll be pleased enough with what you see.