Well, the reasons for why I sat down to watch this 2013 horror movie from writer and director SABU was because it was a zombie movie, and a Japanese zombie movie at that. I do have an interest in all things zombie, so of course I had to watch "Miss Zombie", even without ever having heard about it.
I happened to stumble upon "Miss Zombie" here late in 2022, and just by the title and cover alone, then this movie was something I had to watch. And so I did.
Writer and director SABU delivers somewhat of an avantgarde zombie movie. And it is almost shot entirely in black and white. Now, there are a couple of things wrong with that, at least in my opinion. The concept of the movie was interesting enough, I suppose on paper, but the transition to screen made for a very, very bland and mundane, not to mention monotonous, movie experience. Sure, I get the monotonous and repetitive thing of the zombie unlife, sure, but it didn't make for an entertaining viewing. And movie shot in black and white just doesn't really have a special place in my heart, unless it is a movie so old it was shot before they had the technology of color in movies.
The acting performances in "Miss Zombie" were every bit as monotonous and mundane as the script and storyline, so at least that went hand in hand. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this movie, nor can I say that I witnessed anything memorable or noteworthy on the screen.
Visually then you're not in for a particular treat, as the movie is shot almost entirely in black and white.
While I managed to sit through "Miss Zombie" in its entire 85 minute runtime, I wasn't particularly entertained. But I stuck with the movie, hoping that it would eventually pick up pace and perhaps even take a turn of events for the better. That just never happened. "Miss Zombie" is not a movie that I would recommend to fans of the zombie genre; to fans of avantgarde movie-making perhaps, but not to zombie fans. And this is not a movie that I will ever pick up and watch a second time.
My rating of "Miss Zombie" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
