While I was watching the Irish horror/comedy, Boy Eats Girl, I was reminded of the Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th) produced, Bob Balaban (Parents) directed effort My Boyfriend's Back. In a lot of ways the two films are similar: they have a young cast, have the same general tone, and share many plot elements. And even though this movie is different due to the fact it slings a whole lot of the red stuff, I much preferred Balaban's take on "undead love" due to its likable cast and funny humour - something that's mostly missing from this.

The story here is pretty basic as we're introduced to prep schooler Nathan (David Leon) who's been sporting a crush for classmate Jessica (Samantha Mumba) for quite some time. One evening, after deciding to profess his love for her, he thinks he sees her with school jerk Kenneth (Conor Ryan), which leads him to a depressed night of binge drinking - after which he accidentally hangs himself after messing around with a noose.

But for Leon, death isn't final, as his mother has come into possession on an ancient voodoo book, which she found in some hidden caves underneath the Church she was restoring. He's soon back in the World of the living but there's one catch: he's been turned into a zombie.

The rest of the movie focuses on Nathan trying to keep his flesh-munching urges in check while wooing Jessica. But, seeing as this is also a horror film and not just a slender teenage love story, the night of the big school dance all Hell breaks loose as people start getting infected and turned into zombies - giving us a final third where director Stephen Bradley and writer Derek Landy finally bring us the bloodiness we were expecting as there's a video store gut-munch, confession booth maiming, and various other zombie mayhem. A little mulching even takes place!

Despite being made in Europe, Boy Eats Girl isn't really a lot different from its American counterparts. The mild attempts at comedy and soundtrack filled with unknown pop-rocks acts is the same with only the slang the teenage characters spout feeling native to the films origin country. This is a movie that's complacent being a bland romantic comedy for most of its running time and, while the finale does deliver some pleasing moments; it never seems to get rolling in the right direction.

It's not really the fault of the cast either, even if they're a mostly passable bunch. Leon is engaging in the title role looking both forlorn and ravenous, though I can't say I got much of an impression from Mumba in the female lead, even if it was nice to see an inter-racial twist on the love story. Even Sara James, as the bitch Cheryl, isn't that memorable with the ample cleavage she shows off for much of the film being more interesting than her performance.

I think the reason that Boy Eats Girl never rises above mediocre is that it doesn't try very hard at entertaining. It's almost like the makers weren't sure if they wanted to make it more comedy or more horror and the end result is that it doesn't succeed as either. Sure, it's an okay diversion with some decent effects work but when all was said and done I felt more of an urge to throw on My Boyfriend's Back than recommend this to any of my friends. (Chris Hartley, 8/12/09)

Directed By: Stephen Bradley.
Written By: Derek Landy.

Starring: Samantha Mumba, David Leon, Laurence Kinlan, Tadhg Murphy.