Night of the Living Dorks

A lesser version of Idle Hands (1999) due to the pot references and a lesser version of Shaun of the Dead (2004) due to the zombie comedy. This would have been great if they were geeks or nerds but they were dorks and that was just annoying. There are plenty of stoner and drug references which could be a political stab against the brain-dead generation but I really doubt that. I didn't laugh very much and I found my attention slipping quite a lot. It was quite funny, quite entertaining, quite interesting and quite average on all levels. Good idea made without flair.

As others have said this is kind "Revenge of the Nerds" meets "Night of the Living Dead". It's also kind of sweet and romantic in a way. It kind of reminded me of Bob Balaban's underrated horror/comedy "My Boyfriend's Back" released about ten years ago or "Idle Hands" a little more recently. After participating in a hilariously screwed-up graveyard ritual with some half-assed satanists, three nerdy losers are killed in car accident (which results from a hilarious bong-related mishap), and come back to life as zombies. They decide to use their undead abilities to get revenge on their enemies and chase after the girls of their dreams.

To this movie's credit it's very funny, and all the characters, especially the three protagonists, are well-drawn and likable. There's also some subtle jokes like the characters attending "Friedrich Nietzsche High School" (which actually might not be a joke in Germany) and the homosexual gym teacher named "Mr. Stalin". The downside though is it's a little too much like a modern-day American teen movie (which makes it pretty ironic that Hollywood is apparently going to remake this). The teens are ridiculously horny even by teenage standards and there is no end to the gross-out, sexually related humor, yet there is also very little (female) nudity. The main protagonist is in love with an icy Aryan blonde, but in typical Hollywood teen movie fashion doesn't seem to notice that the "goth" girl-next-door who taught him how to kiss is absolutely gorgeous. I also wish it were even more "politically incorrect"--the funniest scenes are the ones Hollywood would have been too leery to put in a teen movie, like the irresponsible dope smoking while driving or the scene where the dim-witted satanists accidentally draw a Star of David instead of a pentagram ("The only thing you're going to summon with that is the Jewish Council!").

If you are going to watch a modern-day teenage movie though, you could certainly do worse than this (a lot worse).

I saw this film as part of the Cinemuerte Horror Film Festival in Vancouver recently, and I have to say that I did enjoy it, as silly as it was.

The characters were affable, the zombie and gore effects were solid, and the storyline was good fun. You actually got to like the three "losers" and the preppy-rich kids were fun to hate. Don't listen to the person who commented on "bad acting", because they don't know what they're talking about. There was no bad acting in this movie at all. The actors were all very natural, and seemed like real teenagers, despite the fantastic situations they were in.

Anyway, when this film will reach DVD on North American shores is hard to tell, but if you like 80's-style teen comedy flicks, and are a fan of zombies and gore (there are some gross and violent scenes, but nothing as extreme as what you'd see in a Romero film, and they're mostly played for laughs), then this film is good for a laugh and worth renting. It's certainly better than most teen flicks coming out of Hollywood these days!

A German horror comedy that successfully spoofs all possible clichés of zombie films without ever paying any disrespect to the real genre classics or ending up as a retarded 90 minutes joke itself??? It's almost impossible to accept such a thing exists and yet here's Mathias Dinter's "Night of the Living Dorks"! I swear, unless you absolutely have no sense of humor in you, you can't but enjoy this silly story about three typical German high-school nerds that suddenly move up the social ladder because they have the strength and advantages of the living dead. In a desperate attempt to conquer a girl's heart (and body), Philip and his friends Konrad and Wurst (what's in a name) undergo a voodoo ritual and become soiled by the ashes of a dead Haitian zombie. There's no result at first but, after a car accident, our jolly trio is immune to pain and has developed an insatiable desire for raw meat. While Konrad and Wurst are having the time of their lives abusing their zombie powers, Philip turns to his loving neighbor girl for a cure. This light-headed and spirited production contains all the necessary ingredients to guarantee brainless entertainment and yet a lot more, too. Whereas other German movies are frequently uptight (no offense to any German readers...), "Night of the Living Dorks" specifically focuses on laughing with stereotypes and even the country's own national history. All the gags and references towards classic films in the script already featured in previous zombie comedies and yet this movie still feels fresh and innovating. Even the jokes that aren't zombie-related, like soft-drug usage or the "crush on teacher"-syndrome, are effective and will make you chuckle. The acting of the boys is pretty good, while the girls all look ravishing and show quite a bit of naked flesh. The gory situations aren't as outrageous as I thought, which is probably due to the German rating system, but there certainly is some nice sloth to enjoy. Many will disagree, maybe, but I think this pleasant German surprise doesn't have to yield much to similar movies like "Shaun of the Dead", "Return of the Living Dead" or "The Dead Hate The Living". Bring out the six-packs of beer!

I recommend this movie to everyone from the age of 14 up to 66, who has a sense for black humor, sarcasm and persiflage. If your language is English, use subtitles, because the English dubbing would take down your rating from 8 to 3.

The movie has several well played and sympathetic characters, a nice story and good camera, actors and cut. It is obviously made like productions from America, but with an unique German approach, so it isn't a copy but a distinct work.

It is simply an enjoying movie, with funny dialogs, silly situations and some slapstick in a positive manner. Of course you can call the humor not very subtly, although it's sometimes almost black, but remember the target audience. And who would call Monty Python subtly ?

The youngster's acting is convincing, especially Thomas Schmieder as Konrad, but also Manuel Cortez as Wurst and Tino Mewes as Philip and the supporting actors.

It is a light-footed and fast comedy with some clichés, but obviously made with heart and soul. The clichés do their work and are not disturbing. The whole team is mastering the task with pleasure for them and for us. It is a shame that this movie didn't get the success it deserves in Germany.