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Dan's Review: "Scouts Guide" lacks brains

Oct 29, 2015 05:28PM ● By Dan Metcalf

Tye Sheridan, Joey Morgan, Logan Miller and Sarah Dumont in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - © 2015 Paramount

Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse (Paramount)

Rated R for zombie violence and gore, sexual material, graphic nudity, and language throughout.

Starring Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, David Koechner, Halston Sage, Cloris Leachman, Niki Koss, Hiram A. Murray, Lukas Gage, Drew Droege, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Blake Anderson, Elle Evans.

Written by Carrie Evans, Emi Mochizuki, Christopher B. Landon and Lona Williams.

Directed by Christopher B. Landon.

GRADE: C-

REVIEW:

Zombies are everywhere, it seems. Since Victor Halerin’s White Zombie opened in 1932, there have been 435 zombie-related films released, which includes 401 zombie titles that have hit theaters (or video) since George Romero’s quintessential Night of the Living Dead creeped out audiences in 1968. The bulk of most zombie movies (261 total) have been released since 2000, leading up to present day, as #436 on the list, Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse, hits theaters just in time for Halloween.

Tye Sheridan stars as Ben, a shy teen who often hangs out with his best friends Carter (Logan Miller) and Augie (Joey Morgan). The trio are part of their local generic “scout” troop (having no reference to the actual Boy Scouts of America), spending evenings and weekends doing outdoors-y stuff like camping and tying knots, with the guidance of their overenthusiastic Scout Leader Rogers (David Koechner). The trouble for Ben and Carter is that they want to transition away from scouting and into cooler territory with cool kids as they are about to begin their junior year in high school. They also feel obligated to hang out with the nerdier Augie. In an attempt to ditch Augie during a camping trip and sneak in to a senior-class rave, Ben and Carter discover that their town is crawling with zombies. They also meet up with a stunning stripper named Denise, who happens to be handy with a shotgun. The boys and Denise eventually meet up with Augie and vow to save all the kids at the secret party, including Carter’s hot sister Kendall (Halston Sage), who Ben happens to have a crush over. In order to accomplish their mission, the boys and their hot new friend will need to muster all their scouting skills.

Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse is long on gore, violence, sexuality/nudity and stupidity – and short on brains. There are a few laughs, but it’s mostly nothing more than an assortment of hormonal boy gags strung together, making for an incoherent gross-fest.  

Do yourself a good deed and avoid Scouts Guide like you would poison ivy in the wilderness.

You’ll thank me later.

Scout’s honor.


Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Trailer