(2009) ***
The tale of Romeo & Juliet, re-told with remarkable faithfulness to the original script, in modern times, where the Montague family is a family of zombies. In this world, humans and zombies are all citizens, co-existing in suburban New Mexico. The zombies don't speak, but they do hold down jobs as dish washers, waiters, etc. Somehow this works out. Juliet's family has a party. The Montagues found out about it because they ate the messenger. At the party, Juliet & Romeo fall for each other of course, but Juliet's friends and family tend to be very anti-zombie - kind of like the minutemen with illegal immigrants.
This movie was extremely low-budget. Most scenes were filmed at a public park, or indoors in a small 3-bedroom house. The dialogue borrows heavily from Romeo and Juliet, with modern flourishes thrown in. "I have brought thee barbecue to fortify thy courage." It ends up sounding a lot like a Renaissance Faire. I was impressed though with the fresh set of rules the filmmakers came up with for how zombies function, live, move, etc. It doesn't subscribe to the Romero or Boyle rules at all. Also, how do you deal with a play whose characters each commit suicide, when one of them is already dead throughout the whole movie? The resolution was an especially witty approach. Not a great movie, but it was fine for 83 minutes on a plane.
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