Writers Whannell and Brennan, who also have the two funniest roles in the film, donвЂ™t stray too far from the filmвЂ™s obvious genre influences (CronenbergвЂ™s The Brood also resonates here). Producers: Daniel Noah, Josh C.Imagine David CronenbergвЂ™s Rabid relocated from a drab Montreal metropolitan locale to an elementary school in small town USA, add a bucket or two of Romero-esque siege mayhem, then cram in some broad splatstick comedy and a frenzied, ADHD pace, and the result is this hit-or-miss kiddie zombie movie from debuting directors Milott and Murnion. Screenwriters: Leigh Whannell, Ian Brennan Production Companies: SpectreVision, Glacier FilmsД¬ast: Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad, Jorge Garcia, Leigh Whannell, Ian Brennan VIDEO: 10 Moments That Rocked the Sundance Film Festival A side plot involving a school security guard ( LostвЂs Jorge Garcia) who witnesses the outbreak from afar while tripping on mushrooms is underdeveloped, but offers just enough laughs to justify its presence in the final cut. SUNDANCE VIDEO: Aaron Paul Talks вЂBreaking BadвЂ™ SpinoffД®ffects work is excellent and receives just the right amount of attention from Milott and Murnion Lyle VincentвЂs lensing is pleasingly poppy without drawing attention to itself.

WilsonвЂ™s alpha-male act (never derivative of his character on The Office, who fills a similar slot in that groupвЂ™s dynamics) supplies just enough anger to keep things uncomfortable even when thereвЂ™s no bloody-faced pre-adolescent banging at the door. The central non-lethal issue, of course, is the escalating competition between Clint and Wade over Lucy, whoвЂ™s the groupвЂ™s stay-positive cheerleader. Clint canвЂ™t stop talking about his novel (a demon-possessed boat travesty titled Keel them All) Tracy ( Jack McBrayer) is repeatedly forced to deny his alleged homosexuality and a socially inept sex-ed teacher (amusingly played by Whannell) finds that his unconventional interests make him well equipped to get to the bottom of undead-related phenomena.

While the action adheres knowingly to the zombie-siege template, the script (by Saw and Insidious franchise veteran Leigh Whannell and co-writer Ian Brennan) keeps plenty of running jokes and developing characters going in the background. Flaring tempers and panic threaten their solidarity, while each new safe place seems further from a possible escape route. Her disease spreads quickly among classmates, setting a familiar chain of events in motion once the playground has become a giddy George Romero nightmare: Those adults who survive the initial carnage barricade themselves in the teachersвЂ™ lounge, are forced to flee to a safer room, develop some theories about whatвЂ™s happening around them, and so on. SUNDANCE VIDEO: Watch Kristen StewartвЂ™s Story About Meeting Robert Redford coach Wade ( Rainn Wilson, excellently cast).Д¬lint has bigger worries than a tracksuit-wearing romantic rival, though: A girl in his class has eaten tainted chicken nuggets (a meat-processing intro sequence is as revolting as any of the eviscerations to come), and when her sallow-faced queasiness draws too much attention from the class bully, she leaps into feral mode and chews off part of his face. Clint clearly retains his high-school crush on Lucy, but soon learns sheвЂ™s dating boorish P.E. Starting a gig as a substitute teacher at his old school, he recognizes former classmate Lucy ( Alison Pill) among a teaching staff packed with colorful personalities. Star-stuffed, well paced and very funny, Jonathan Milott and Cary MurnionвЂs debut is closest in commercial terms to 2009вЂ™s Zombieland, and should easily connect with auds beyond the genre-buff faithful.Д®lijah Wood leads a well balanced ensemble as Clint, a would-be novelist who recently moved back to his hometown after failing to make it in New York. ItвЂ™s been a while since the zom-com genre saw an entry as strong as Cooties, which sets its flesh-eater outbreak at a white-bread elementary school and forces faculty to stay a step ahead of the now-zombified kids they once tried to teach.

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