By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.6
Director: Alejandro Brugués
Starring: Alexis Díaz de Villegas | Andrea Duro | Andros Perugorría | Jazz Vilá | Jorge Molina
Original language title: Juan de los Muertos
Country: spain
Year: 2012
Running time: 92
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1838571/
Bruce says: “I’m probably not the right person to review a zombie film and I certainly would not do so had I disliked JUAN OF THE DEAD. But like LET THE RIGHT ONE IN which I loved, a film that is outside my typical viewing range can be a joy and delight if it is good enough. (I did not see SHAUN OF THE DEAD so I cannot make any obvious comparisons should there be an to be had.)
“Juan (Alexis Diaz de Villegas) and his best friend Lazaro (Jorge Molina) wake up one day to find Havana has been invaded by zombies. The political metaphors start right then and there. The first is the suggestion that it is the US behind the invasion. And a few jokes are made about boats of Cubans headed for Miami. While the United States is the butt of jokes from time to time, it is the Castro regime that is skewered over and over. The director claims that his film is not about politics but no doubt that is said to keep the government away from his door. Who is he kidding?
“The TV and radio stations are spouting propaganda, denying all zombie reality. Juan and Lazaro decide to become capitalists and set up a zombie-killing business. From the looks of things, only about a handful of Cubans have not been converted into zombies. Juan and his gang of friends seem to be battling the zombies on their own. The zombie count is astronomical – they kill them by the hundreds. But it isn’t just the zombies that are a grave concern; the entire Havana infrastructure seems to be crumbling around them as well.
“A little romance is thrown in among the bloodshed. Juan’s daughter Camilla (Andrea Duro) has captured the eye of Lazaro’s son Vladi California (Andros Perrugorría). And for laughs there is La China (Jazz Vilá), a drag queen and her muscleman sidekick El Primo (Eliecer Ramírez) who is terrified of blood. How unfortunate for him to be caught up in a zombie bloodbath. When a prank late in the film appears at first to be homophobic, the presence of La China reduces the moment to political incorrectness. JUAN OF THE DEAD is beautifully filmed. Director Alejandro Brugués is a talent to watch. 3 1/2 cats
“(JUAN OF THE DEAD screened at the 2012 Miami International film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film.)”
Jason says: “JUAN OF THE DEAD, like many recent zombie flicks, falls into the category of horror movies that are far more glib than scary. It occasionally feels like it misses opportunities for going that route, but thankfully it is more often than not able to make the gross out gags and satire work.
“A pair of middle-aged Cubans, Juan (Alexis Díaz de Villegas) and Lazaro (Jorge Molina), are on a raft just outside of Havana, but they are fishing rather than fleeing – although when Lazaro hoists the weird corpse, fleeing might have been wise. Instead, they return to their poor neighborhood and are there when the zombie outbreak begins in earnest. While rescuing his daughter Camila (Andrea Duro) – in town to visit her grandmother and definitely not him – Juan discovers that he has a knack for dispatching the undead, and soon he, Lazaro, transvistite China (Jazz Vilá), China’s hulking boyfriend who faints at the sight of blood Primo (Eliecer Ramirez), and Lazaro’s son Vladi California (Andros Perugorría) have started a business, helping people dispose of their former loved ones for a price.
“JUAN may not be the scariest zombie movie ever made – it’s far more likely to use its splatter in the service of slapstick than shocks – but it can lay some claim to being among the funniest. Writer/director Alejandro Brugués fires a steady stream of
lowbrow humor at the audience, and while the jokes themselves are generally unsophisticated, the execution is quite often clever, with the physical comedy especially well-choreographed. Brugués also has a good knack for when it’s more funny for people to be fed up and when taking things in stride works best.
“That is to say, Brugués and his cast have a handle on making that work. Alexis Díaz de Villegas is not exactly being
called upon to reinvent the wheel, but he does find a nice spot between Juan being mercenary or indifferent toward the death and chaos around him and being sentimental and attached to his friends and neighbors. Jorge Molina is good at earnest buffoonery as Lazaro, while Jazz Vilá and Eliecer Ramirez make a fun and funny odd couple as China and Primo. Andrea Duro and Andros Perugorría do well in cute couple mode and when play off their characters’ parents.
“Production values are, admittedly, a little stretched at times – there is not, I’m guessing, an especially robust visual effects industry in Cuba – but for the most part, it’s something one gets used to. The gore effects are capable though not bar-raising, and while the CGI is a bit rough, it looks good enough to sell the jokes that it is mostly used for.
“Of course, part of what makes Juan work is that it’s not just about hacking apart the undead in amusing ways. It works well enough on that level, but what gives it a little extra bite is how it satirizes the reality in living in a place like Cuba. Things fall apart even while the state-run media tells you that everything is fine or the fault of foreigners and dissidents, and the smart, rational thing to do is leave like Camila’s mother has, but how is one supposed to do that? This is home, after all, regardless of the dictators or the living dead.
“That gives it just enough kick to be interesting while other zombie comedies are just screwing around. It’s rough at times, but
forgivably so, and more entertaining than some of its polished contemporaries. 3.75 cats
“Seen 20 July 2012 in Concordia University Theatre Hall (Fantasia 2012, digital)