Horror Movie Review: Die and Let Live

Die and Let Live

Starring: Josh Lively, Zane Brosby, Sarah Bauer, Ashley Goddard, and Jonas Dixon

Directed by: Justin Channell

Written by: Justin Channell, Zane Crosby, Kris Kave, and Josh Lively

Production Company: IWC Films

Release Date: December 1, 2006

Zombies seem made for comedy. They are popping up everywhere, and really have been for a while. For instance, in 1941, Monogram advertised King of the Zombies as a horror comedy and in 1945 RKO released Zombies on Broadway with Bela Lugosi. These two films used Haitian-styled brainwashed zombies.

More recent Zombedies include Return of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Fido, Dead and Breakfast, and Braindead. We've looked at some Zombedies here at Horror Movie Night Orgy including Boy Eats Girl, Zombie Strippers, and briefly, My Dead Girlfriend.

When talking Zombedies, everyone talks about Shaun of the Dead, which I felt was a poor entry in the Zombedy genre being bested by B-Movie entries such as My Dead Girlfriend. Another Zombedy has come to show us how a Zombedy should be done...Die and Let Live.

Looking for a shot to hook up with his love, Stephanie, Benny tries to throw a small party. But Benny's best friend Smalls has another plan and Benny's amorous attempts are ruined by annoying Liz who has a crush on Benny, a large party with obnoxious drunkards...oh, and zombies. Can Benny win the girl AND save the day? By saving the day I mean, of course, rescue the Bambino's pizza dropped on the other side of the fence.

The comedy here is perfect. College antics, ribbing, and natural tomfoolery rather than forced slapstick. The very clever script supports this film that contains your standard B-Movie flaws: poor acting, poor effects, poor cinematography.

As for my 3 Essential B's pf B-Movies:

Bwahaha - in spades. The comedy carries the film, and really, the script should be the most important aspect of any film.

Blood - They use gore, but not too much. Having a low special effects budget but still using a lot of gore could have had a negative impact on the film.

Breasts - Lacking any nudity...but by the time the movie's over, you will have enjoyed the film so much you'll forget about the lack of breast.

Related Movies

These guys have all worked together on various projects...Here's the only other movie whose trailer I can find.

Raising the Stakes

Steve and Bob are two guys who enjoy their fanboy role-playing lifestyles a bit too much. Their obsession with vampire role-playing games leads them to decide to become vampires and get revenge on a world that doesn't understand them. Unfortunately for them, it takes a bit more than cheap Halloween makeup to scare people, so their attempts just lead to even more ridicule and physical harm. But that all changes when they discover a dealer of the occult named Maxwell Selwyn who can give them want they want: a potion that will turn them both into vampires. They fork over the money and sure enough, their dream comes true. They set out to finally get revenge on the world that rejected them... only to find they were better off with the cheap makeup.

Outtake of Lloyd Kaufman/

An outtake from Lloyd Kaufman's cameo...

King of the Zombies

During World War 2, a small plane off the south coast of America is low on fuel and blown off course by a storm. Guided by a faint radio signal, they crashland on an island. The passenger, his manservant and the pilot take refuge in a mansion owned by a doctor. The easily-spooked manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by zombies and ghosts. Exploring, the 3 find a voodoo ritual in the cellar, where the doctor is trying to acquire war intelligence by transferring personalities into his zombies. But the interruption causes the zombies to turn on their creator.

Return of the Living Dead

When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food, brains.

Fido

Timmy Robinson's best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when FIDO eats the next-door neighbor, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family. A boy-and-his-dog movie for grown ups, "FIDO" will rip your heart out.

Dead and Breakfast

Six friends on a road trip stop for the night at a Bed and Breakfast in the sleepy town of Lovelock. After a night that leaves both the Inn's owner and chef dead, the gang finds themselves under suspicion by the local Sheriff. But that's only the beginning as nearly all of the town's quirky residents become possessed by an evil spirit and pin down the friends inside the B&B.

Braindead

A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.

Boy Eats Girl

A boy declares his love for his girlfriend, only to die the same night. He is brought back to life by his mother as a flesh-craving zombie, who sires more teen undead while trying to control his, er, appetite for his beloved.

Zombie Strippers

In the not too distant future a secret government re-animation chemo-virus gets released into conservative Sartre, Nebraska and lands in an underground strip club. As the virus begins to spread, turning the strippers into "Super Zombie Strippers" the girls struggle with whether or not to conform to the new "fad" even if it means there's no turning back.

My Dead Girlfriend

College professor Steve plans to propose to his occult-loving, vegetarian girlfriend Amy. But after he accidentally kills her, he uses an incantation book to bring her back. They drive to a cabin in the woods in order to wait for her to get better. But when his friends show up to party at the cabin, Steve has to keep them from figuring out that Amy's now a zombie.