Is the Zombie genre being resurrected from the dead? The Walking Dead ran Zombies (back) into the ground with eight seasons. We’ve seen a couple of spinoff shows this year: The Ones Who Live and Daryl Dixon, Zelda Williams’ Lisa Frankenstein was a hit this summer and streaming now on Screambox is RKSS’ We Are Zombies.

But these aren’t your grandma’s Zombies…

Roadkill Superstars, also known as RKSS, is a Canadian director collective consisting of François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell. They are known for the action film, Turbo Kid (2015), and the horror-mystery film, Summer of 84 (2018). The latter of the two is what put these directors on my radar. It came out shortly after the premiere of Stranger Things and at a time when the popularity of an ’80s aesthetic and synthwave was at a high. RKSS’ latest movie is a horror comedy that takes a creature feature direction but exemplifies a similar tone to their other films using synthesizers and charming characters.

Based on the comic book series, The Zombies That Ate the World, the movie takes place in the near future. The city is overrun with, strangely enough, non-flesh-eating Zombies, also known as the “living impaired.” We follow friends Freddy (Derek Johns), Karl (Alexandre Nachi) and his half-sister, Maggie (Megan Peta Hill), as they make a living by illegally posing as workers for Coleman Retirement Services, disposing of your Zombie loved ones.

Our main characters sell their stolen Zombies to Don, an art gallery manager. The head of security at Coleman finds out about their operation and decides to hold Karl and Maggie’s grandmother captive for ransom money. The real action starts here, as we see what lengths the trio will go to save grandma while also discovering a conspiracy behind the doors of Coleman Industries.

RKSS did a great job of immersing us into this post-apocalyptic world, moving the story along at a steady pace with few moments where I felt uninterested. Even though it’s not explained why the undead aren’t flesh eaters, it makes sense in this metropolis they have created. The humor is really clever and had me laughing several times over the course of 80 minutes. The comedy reminded me of a sitcom: not every joke will land, but you can smirk and appreciate it.

For example, a Zombie works at a fast-food place flipping burgers, and an ear ends up in someone’s French fries. Simple, yet effective comedy! There is some juvenile humor sprinkled in, such as a penis laser pointer that could turn some viewers off, but I personally find it hilarious, in that Superbad way.

The pace falls a bit flat with scenes inside the Coleman corporate building, but they aren’t too drawn out, so don’t let that deter you.

The three leads are a well-chosen cast that bring the film to life (Please forgive me for the puns). Freddy and Karl are reminiscent of Ed and Shaun from Shaun of the Dead with a buddy-cop chemistry and amusing banter. Maggie is the no-nonsense boss who balances out this threesome. Their personalities made the story fun and added a familiarity to pull you into this Zombie storybook world.

The most notable element is the practical effects. I am always impressed and appreciate when a lower-budget movie utilizes practical effects and can pull it off well. It shows the passion that goes into a project. Like I mentioned earlier, the art dealer, Don, who buys the stolen Zombies, uses them in his art show and it is a riot. The final act of the movie is the most impressive with a giant Zombie, circular saws and gore being spilled all over the place. If you watch this movie for anything, it is this moment.

Overall, I really enjoyed We Are Zombies and found it well worth my time. It would be a nice weekend watch when you just want to kick back, have a few beers and some laughs. It doesn’t necessarily have the rewatchability factor, but I have to praise how lucky we are to get good quality flicks straight to streaming and this is definitely one of those.

I recommend it for fans of Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies and Zombieland!