Dir: Christopher Landon
Scout leader Rogers (David Koechner CHEAP THRILLS) of the American Scouts Society (yes, that is the level of humour one can expect from this film) doesn't have much of a troop. Sure, the fat kid Augie (Joey Morgan) is gung-ho about the organization, but Ben (Tye Sheridan MUD) is ambivalent, and the third and last scout Carter (Logan Miller who also co-stars in THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT with Sheridan) cracks wise and is trying to talk Ben into leaving the troop to free up time for girls. Tonight is the night they camp in the woods so that Augie can earn a badge. Invited to a party by the cool seniors, Ben and Carter plan on ditching Augie and leaving him at the camp site so they can go party.
All plans are ruined though when a janitor unleashes a zombie being studied at the local bio tech facility. While the scouts were in the woods, a zombie plague swept through the town and the army swept in to evacuate survivors. Entering town, the scouting duo of Ben and Carter encounter deserted streets. Seeing that the bouncer is no longer manning the front door of the strip club Lawrence of Alabia (nudge, nudge) and oblivious to the danger, Ben and Carter enter in hopes of getting an eyeful. Instead they are treated to a zombie stripper. Blinded by boobs, the two need to be rescued by cocktail waitress Denise (Sarah Dumont ACID GIRLS). Together they must fight off the zombies and get to the cool kids' party prior to the army dropping bombs and leveling the town in an attempt to stop the zombie horde.
There's a lot of fun to be had with this horror / comedy. Not much tension and the film isn't scary but the zombie makeup looks good and there's plenty of gore. The leads do a fine job and I particularly like how Denise takes Ben under her wing in an effort to bolster his confidence. She knows that they shouldn't be together as a couple so points him in the right direction for when his Mrs. Right comes along. The writers are smart enough to add those little details that really aid in the comedy springing forth from the characters instead of just another punchline tossed at the audience.
Patrick Schwarzenegger puts in an appearance as does Cloris Leachman as a cranky cat lady.
SCOUTS earns a merit badge for bloody good fun.
*** out of ****
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