BrideZombie brings new elements to the undead genre

Channel Surfing Productions debuted BrideZombie last week as part of its event, Double Play 2010: Fright Night — an annual event meant to showcase original plays directed by local playwrights.

BrideZombie was particularly fitting for Halloween weekend. The play tells the story of a young man, Derek, whose true love turns into a zombie.

Derek is so in love that when his bride is transformed into a zombie during their wedding, he whisks her away to his basement to try and save her. He will stop at nothing to return things to normal.

BrideZombie brings a lot of unique elements to the zombie genre while staying true to some conventions. The idea of having an intense love for a zombie is original, as is the concept of “popping the zombie,” or returning them to their humanity by appealing to their deep human emotions. These are things you won’t often see in your typical zombie horror flick.

Finally, the inclusion of a “zombie monologue” allows the audience to be able to listen to the thoughts of the bride-zombie as she gruesomely describes her desire to feed.

The characters were well played and complimented each other. Derek’s zany brother, Chad, was pure hilarity, from his Ron Burgundy inspired shirt to his wild mission to punch a hammerhead shark in the face. Veronique was convincing as the zombie researcher who attempts to stay professional while falling hopelessly in love with Derek because of his commitment to his fiancé.

The problem with BrideZombie is its conclusion. Since the whole play is based on the premise of Derek being so in love with his fiancé that he can’t consider living without her, it’s hard to believe he could ever fall in love with Veronique. However the bride-zombie’s rampage and her humanization through one of mankind’s most basic emotions — jealousy — was quite enjoyable.

BrideZombie was hilarious from start to finish. The dry wit and innovation of the play flows is coupled well with traditional zombie lore.