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Credits

Director: Gregg Bishop Starring: Lucas Till, Jared Kusnitz, Carissa Capobianco Screenplay: Joe Ballarini Country: USA

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But does this film manage to bring the two together?

In Dance of the Dead, a group of geeks led by misfit Jimmy take matters into their own hands when a nuclear power plant causes the dead to rise and threaten their high school prom.

Simple enough setup, and thankfully it's handled well. Wisely the film takes the time to amusingly introduce the characters during a regular day. It proves to be solid entertainment even before the zombies arrive. This is in no small way due to solid casting. Jared Kusnitz is just right as Jimmy, the likeable class clown who thinks life's a joke before he watches his classmates losing their's. Another standout is Justin Welborn as the punk bully Kyle, who may or may not be as anti-social as he acts. The likeable characters draw you in and have you hoping they survive (a real rarity). Kudos to writer Joe Ballarini for keeping them from straying too far into cliché. 

If you were wondering if Dance deliverers the goods in the horror department the short answer is yes. Blood and gore abound, driven by some decent moments of suspense. Director Gregg Bishop knows that some of the horror needs to be handled with seriousness before giving us the next gag and it pays off. He really struck the right tone with this film and managed to maintain it. Dance of the Dead exhibits a sense of effortless fun while still delivering scares. The violence, while occasionally graphic, is done with a dark sense of humour. While it does lessen the impact, the film aims to entertain rather than shock, so it's completely fitting and lends itself to some great moments.

Dance of the Dead is fairly ambitious. The independent nature of the film means it budget didn't always match its ideas. This isn't a major problem for the most part because it's directed so creatively. The scene where seemingly hundreds of the dead rise from a graveyard is a standout. It's only in the occasional effects shot that you may wish they had a larger budget but really, it's hardly a major issue; some viewers may even find it endearing.