Juan of the Dead – A Zombie Comedy From Cuba
Cuba’s First Zombie Horror/Comedy From Director Alejandro Brugues
Juan of the Dead is the first zombie comedy from Cuba. Directed by Alejandro Brugues, the horror film concerns Juan (Alexis Diaz de Villegas), a 40 year old guy who is supremely lazy and hangs out with his just-as-lazy pal Lázaro. When bizarre attacks start happening in the streets, Juan simply shrugs it off as “another stage” of the “Revolution.” The media blames it on dissidents on the US government payroll. But it turns out that these dissidents are zombies, and Juan decides to start a business centered around getting rid of the zombie problem.
Taking on the slogan “Juan of the Dead, we kill your beloved ones,”, he teams up with Lázaro, his son Vladi, and his estranged daughter Camila to take on the zombie menace, for a price.
Here is the trailer to Juan of the Dead
Says Brugues about Juan of the Dead:
“The idea of Juan… simply came from watching the reality around me. Cuba is a country that has been preparing itself for a confrontation with the United States during the last 50 years. So, what if instead of that, have to confront zombies? Cubans have basically three ways of dealing with problems: they try to make a bussiness out of it, they get used to and keep going with their lives; or the throw themselves to the sea to run away from the island. The idea with Juan… is making a completely irreverent comedy, with very Cuban characters, filled with action and adventure.”
Brugues’ second film is the latest attempt to revive Cuba’s sparsely-funded independent cinema industry.
Pics of Juan of the Dead: