Yummy follows a buxom woman, her boyfriend and mother as they go in for an appointment at a plastic surgery facility for her breast reduction. After an age-defying experiment within the facility goes awry, they must try to survive the zombie outbreak and escape the building.
Yummy Review
When push comes to shove, Yummy struggles to separate itself from any other zombie film. It carries with it many of the same gruesome gags (though a few are taken to a new extreme), ethical/moral dilemmas, and post-apocalypse-induced character development. The effects work is in one of the higher tiers of zombie horror, which gives it an entertainment edge. It isn't afraid to let its gruesomeness cradle the line between horror and comedy, though sometimes it misses the mark on the humor front.
Despite the film taking place in a plastic surgery facility, the satirical opportunities seemed to be fruitless or non-existent after the first 20 minutes or so, which was a major disappointment. The film felt like it had a great opportunity to have a voice for a semi-controversial industry, or at least play the ambiguous satire card, but instead it turned rather generic for a majority of the runtime.
The zombies themselves are well done, but there's nothing unique about their approach at the end of the day. It is good execution with little originality. The characters have decent progression throughout the film, but struggle to fill into unique roles and end up slotting into predictable and familiar cookie cutter shapes of the zombie genre. We have the two timid protagonists who break out of their shells, the untrustworthy scientist involved in the outbreak, the selfish womanizer with tinges of heart, the helpless damsel, the panicky rich guy...it's all paint-by-numbers at this point.
At the end of the day, Yummy, which is mildly entertaining, manages only to prove that the standard zombie film is actually growing stale. Like found footage, it has become an unoriginal ploy to build a story around, rather than a vehicle to drive a unique concept or set of characters. Yummy's setting had the potential to break new ground, however shallow that break would be. But instead, it played it safe too often and the finished product suffered for it. I would by no means consider it a waste of time as a fan of lighthearted horror, but it wasn't special or able to differentiate itself in any major way. It simply is. And some Friday nights, that's all it takes to have a fun time with a popcorn flick.
Horror Rating System
Horror Qualifier: 8/10
Horror Quality: 5/10
Film Quality: 5/10