Review – BIO-ZOMBIE (1998)

I remember seeing an ad for Bio-Zombie in a 1998 issue of Gamepro magazine (R.I.P.). Looked interesting but it would be nearly twenty years before I got around to watching it. And man, I’m glad I did.

Woody Invincible (Jordan Chan, billed as Siu Chun Chan) and Crazy Bee (Sam Lee, billed as Chan Sum Lee) are two wannabe tough guy slackers who work at a fledgling VCD store in the New Trend Plaza, a shopping mall. After picking up their boss’s car, the two hit a man who is carrying a soda containing a biological chemical that turns the drinker into a flesh eating zombie. After thinking that the man wants the drink, the two pour some down his throat and toss him in the trunk. They return to the mall. The man, now a zombie, escapes from the trunk and begins attacking others and turns them into zombies. The mall closes for the night with our heroes, and some other mall employees, still inside. Looks like it’s gonna be a shitty night for all – including Loi (Emotion Cheung, billed as Cam Ching Cheung), a zombie who attempts to romance beauty shop worker Rolls (Angela Tong).

Straight-up, Bio-Zombie is crazy, zany fun. The characters are likeable or hateable and are developed enough to where you’ll actually care about who lives and who dies – and might even feel a trifle sad when one you particularly like bites the dust. While it’s not the comedic gem that Dead Alive is, it’s still pretty damn funny especially when it comes to Woody and Bee. Seriously, they could make a whole series of horror/comedies with these two. The two actors have great chemistry and it wouldn’t be hard to believe that these two are great buds in real life. The other characters are great and distinguishable as well, and this all stems from everyone giving it their all. Nothing about this flick feels phoned-in in the slightest.

And how can we forget Sushi Boy’s attempt to romance Rolls? Not since Bub have I actually felt a little something for a zombie. You will too if you’ve ever been rejected by someone you had the hots for.

The comedic scenes involving zombies are golden as well. One that particularly sticks out is when Woody and Bee subdue a zombie with a chair and a coat rack. Another involved a zombie getting whacked over the head repeatedly with a wrench. It was so unexpected and executed perfectly that I was laughing my ass off. You will be too – assuming you have good taste in comedy.

About the only thing I could fault Bio-Zombie for is being a bit skimpy on the gore. Sure it’s there, but given what we normally expect from Asian films some viewers might feel a little bit cheated. Oh, and the zombie make-up is a bit on the weak side. This ain’t Fulci’s Zombie, folks. But no matter. Those are minor gripes and the comedy more than makes up for them.

Final Thoughts:

Bottom line, Bio-Zombie is worth spinning. With top-notch slapstick and zombies-a-plenty, this makes the perfect antidote to The Talking Dead. Check it out. And if you don’t like it, then we can’t be friends.