Harold's Going Stiff (2011)

Harold is the first man to suffer a new disease called O.R.D., which brings on a state of rigor mortis rendering the sufferers zombie-like. A well-meaning nurse befriends him but the onset of the disease makes him a target for a group of vigilantes who feel that killing these 'zombies' is a service to society.This mega low budget horror comedy has to be given some credit for at least being a little bit different. Its focus is really on the relationship between Harold and his nurse, as opposed to typical gory zombie mayhem. So much so that this only just qualifies as a horror flick at all. The zombies never really threaten to any proper extent and only exist in the periphery of events. The film utilises a mockumentary format which works in its favour really, allowing for mock-seriousness which contributes to the humour quite a bit. But overall I can't say I found it very funny to be fair and would describe it as more amusing than hilarious. But perhaps the biggest surprise about this one is its surprising emotional resonance. This is certainly helped a lot by the good acting by the two leads; we really go along with their characters and feel for both of them. It's actually even all a bit depressing by the end which is hardly what you're expecting to get going into a flick called Harold's Going Stiff! But if I am honest I would have to rate this one as pretty middling overall. It has originality but it is somewhat slight at the same time, meaning it's an interesting low budget effort but a bit uneven all the same.

I enjoyed this film. It's quirky, different and whilst it is a bit amateurish in a way; I prefer to see it as quaint.I've watched it twice. It reminds me of "I, Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain" with a bit of a "Series 7: The Contenders" slant.Hollywood glitz is all well and good but sometimes it's great to watch something different and appreciate it for what it is, not berate it for what it isn't.There are a few plot holes but this clearly isn't supposed to be a "solid" narrative, the endearing characters more than make up for any inconsistencies for me.I can't wait to see what's next from Keith and the star of the show Sarah Spencer!

Great to watch a British film which has been filmed entirely in Yorkshire. Makes a change from the usual Zombie gore fest and actually has a bit of a touching side to it. Watched it with some great laughs and saw the serious side towards the end. Found myself laughing at the main character to start with and felt immersed into the plot quite quickly. If you want Murder, Blood, Guts and complete gore, this probably isn't the film you're looking for. If you want something a little different, you should definitely give it a try. It's appealed to my Wife as well as I've always had difficulty in managing to get her to watch more than 20 minutes of a film without getting up or talking, she managed to sit quietly for the whole film.

Yes, it's got an original theme and I'm open to any new ideas in the Zombie genre so of course I gave it a try and stuck with it to the very lackluster end. The name says it all, for what it's worth it was funny in the beginning that being the only part that got a serious laugh out of me, the rest of the film has bits of tongue in cheek comedy throughout. It wasn't exciting at all, as it had no "real" action or anything spooky or scary, also zero gore as the story leans more towards a "feel good" message. The plot is simple, a small distant village has a sudden epidemic of the town's men contracting this condition making their joints stiff & eventually making them dumb & violent(so of course they are dubbed zombies). The local police allow these "zombies" to be hunted down and murdered by anyone that feels the need(ridiculous). The bulk of the film is watching an old man & an overweight nurse spend time together forming a relationship while they cut back & forth with news of the current events & the trio of moronic "zombie" hunters bashing people in the head that they determined were in need of it. It was slow & pretty boring so I don't recommend paying to see it & I'm a die-hard zombie fan, but if you like the zom/com genre and have time to kill then I suppose it would be a decent choice. I give it a generous 5/10