Bio-Zombie

I like my zombie movies to be chock full of gore and tension. If it doesn't have those two things it better be funny. The best zombie movies can have all three of those elements that work together. The Hong Kong film Bio-Zombie (1998) is kind of low on the tension and the gore but it’s still fun because of the humor on display.

Bio-Zombie is definitely a tribute to American zombie films as we get a couple of video store slacker clerks who work in a mall who accidentally unleash a biological weapon that turns people into zombies if they drink it. Naturally, the mall is soon running over with the undead and the pair plus their fellow mall workers have to fight for their lives.

Bio-Zombie’s gore is pretty lackluster. So is the tension level as this is more of a horror-comedy than something that is either going to scare you or gross you out. Bio-Zombie uses some of the usual Hong Kong comedy stylings—lots of physical comedy, broad, over the top acting, and general silliness by all the characters. I like that kind of stuff, so I found myself chuckling quite a bit as these people fought off these zombies.

Bio-Zombie is a fun little film from Hong Kong (with terrible subtitles by the way, which kind of adds to its charms) that takes the simple premise of “zombies” and runs it through the Hong Kong comedy blender. Expect to laugh a little but not be scared or disgusted by the low-gore levels.