Blu-ray Movie Reviews

I sometimes wonder if the filmmakers behind those cheesy science-fiction/horror B films of the 1950s ever believed that they were creating high art. Certainly films like Creature with the Atom Brain, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and I Married a Monster from Outer Space must have seemed pretty ridiculous to the moviegoers of the time too, don’t you think? And yet since then, those films have been elevated to a near-mythic cult status. Every generation has its own caboodle of low budget sci-fi/horror movies that are so laughably bad that they achieve a kind of perverse immortality and find an extended shelf life when shamelessly lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I like to think that Paramount Studios green-lighted Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse in the hopes of generating a similar cult following. Hey, why not? Zombieland was a huge hit, and even Sharknado garnered enough interest to spawn a sequel. Aim low, hit low, I always say.

For its modest budget, Scouts Guide wisely put the money where it needed to go: into its presentation. The HD picture sports fine sharp- ness and detail in both interior and exterior sequences. Much of the onscreen bedlam takes place in the nighttime hours, and I marked no distinguishable halos around the sources of bright light as it gradated to darkness. Colors and skintones are consistently even and vibrant and the gory makeup details on the zombies, including blood, bone, rotting flesh, viscera, and bulging veins appear lifelike—or in this case, deathlike.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a cornucopia of chaos. Shotgun blasts, flame throwers, explosions, vehicle crashes, breaking glass, and severe head trauma burst through your front and surround speakers with overamped stamina and good directionality from all sides. Interspersed with the auditory carnage are bass-thumping musical interludes that never drown out the center-channel dialogue track.

Extras include a self-indulgent half-hour documentary, three short featurettes that spotlight the makeup, zombie choreography and costume design, and two deleted scenes. DVD and Digital Copy included.

As far as I know, Scouts Guide was never given a theatrical release, and if it did, I’m sure it died a quick death—pun completely intended. The film’s title should tell you exactly what to expect: over-the-top violence, lots of splatter-gore, crude humor, enormous boobs, and teenage boys trying to earn their merit badges and get laid before they get killed. Eat your heart out, Citizen Kane.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Paramount, 2015
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Length: 92 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Christopher Landon
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan