Attack of the Herbals

Director - David Ryan Keith (The Redwood Massacre)
Starring - Calum Booth, Steve Worsley (The Suppressor), and Richard Currie (Dead Funny)
Release Date - 2011
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Putting the tea back into terror"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Most people prefer to take their horror seriously with buckets of gore.  I enjoy a bloody flick but I need a story to hold me to the film otherwise it is a waste of time.  That is why I tend to favor the horror comedies or black comedies.  They tend to have a decent story all while making me laugh.  Last month I was able to check out the amazing slasher The Redwood Massacre.  The film was very impressive and serious in tone.  Director David Ryan Keith let me know that he had directed the horror comedy from 2011 titled Attack of the Herbals.  I asked if I could check it out and he was nice enough to send me a link to the online screener.  Thanks David!

     The film follows two friends who discover a crate that has washed up on the shoreline.  They open it and start selling the contents as tea to the locals in their small village.  The tea is a hit and people all over the small village start seeking them out to buy it in bulk.  However, as they approach the last of their supply they learn that the tea was put there by the Nazis during World War II.  They quickly learn that those that drink large amounts of the tea turn into the undead and start killing at will.  This forces the two unlikely heroes, along with a beautiful young woman, to fight the undead before they succumb to their bloodlust.
     I love horror comedies, however, they are never able to combine equal amounts of horror and comedy.  Most go overboard with one or the other and never give the viewer the perfect mix.  Some, like Evil Dead II, gives the viewer more horror than comedy.  While other films, like Shaun of the Dead, gives the viewer more comedy than they do horror.  Attack of the Herbals falls under that second example with the comedy far outweighing the horror.  With that being said. I really enjoyed the laughs the film offered even thought it did skip on the horror.  The acting in this film is top notch and adds a lot of fun to the film.  Calum Booth and Steve Worsley are the stars of the show and for a good reason.  They have amazing on screen chemistry and they both feed off each other making each scene they are in a joy to watch.  The rest of the cast is great as well and that makes this film amazing to watch.  They all are able to give the viewer characters of different backgrounds.  They are all quirky and animated.  The story for this one is something we have seen before but never with this spin or done in the comedy format.  I have seen so many films featuring Nazi experiments creating zombies but never done with tea.  This was a fun concept and added a sense of absurdity to the already humorous story.  Finally, the film has a few on screen kills but they are not as bloody or as gory as I would have liked but considering this film is a comedy instead of a horror flick, it is only fitting.  Sadly, the film lacks any real practical effects and skips on making the zombies look like zombies.  I think this film was attempting to make the zombies more of the rage infected zombies that can be found in 28 Days Later but skipped on the violence.  Overall, Attack of the Herbals is a fun horror comedy that has a ton of laughs and can be enjoyed by fans of any genre.  However, if you are looking for a direct horror flick then this one is not for you.  I highly recommend this one!