Writer: Chen Pelf Yeen

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Watch this if you liked: "Local Comedy"

The title "Zombi Kampung Pisang" does not actually mention horrifying zombies, so the confusion can be felt immediately after you realise that the zombies in the movie are just trying-to-be-scary zombies. The movie is actually about missing bodies that turn into zombies at night.

The story begins with Pak Abu's (Zami Ismail) sudden death. Three youngsters, Hussin (Awie), Mat Karan (AC Mizal) and Deris (Que Haidar), are loitering in the street when they witness the incident. They carry Pak Abu's body back to his house. They then report the incident to the village headman who also dies upon visiting the late Pak Abu.

The movie continues with more zombies turning up in the village (I do not know where they come from) and the villagers gather at the community hall when the electricity is cut off. The situation then becomes uncontrollable. The police are informed of the incident but what is the secret behind all these incidents when the policeman is later seen to be a zombie?

Director Mamat Khalid has reportedly chosen a 'talented cast' to play the main characters but they only make the story more ridiculous than it is. It is no use having famous local singers to help make the story funnier if the plot itself is so ridiculous. Mamat should have came out with a more realistic script instead of combining two different genres together. In the end, we get a film that is neither comedy nor horror.

There seems to be no attempt at computerised effects to enhance the scares. It is so obvious that the production is cheap - almost everyone in the movie is wearing the same type of shirt and pants throughout the night, making the story look dull. Probably the director is trying to save cost by squeezing the story's events into one night and hoping that the audiece would not realise it.

Expectations for local movies may drop after watching "Zombi Kampung Pisang" because it has no proper plot. The movie is a mess and even the conclusion is confusing.

We see people screaming from the beginning to the end. I am not sure if you liked it, but I find it so irritating. The movie starts off with the ambulance siren going on for about five minutes and it continues with Nadia Mustafar (as Cikgu Munah) screaming non-stop after she discovers that her father's body is missing. The screaming continues when the villagers discover the zombies. The acting of both Nadia and Ezlynn (as Cikgu Maimon) look fake. They just open their mouth and scream, showing no other facial expressions.

The only thing that is realistic is that the movie is filmed in a village in Kuala Kangsar. It advises people not to smoke and vandalise public property but Mamat should have used a better technique instead of asking Awie to talk to the camera! In conjunction with the 50 years' celebration of Malaysia's independence, he also exhorts us to fly the national flag.

You may want to think twice before considering "Zombi Kampung Pisang" as a horror-comedy.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008