I appear to be a sucker for zombie comedies. It seems like any zombie comedy that’s coming out with a somewhat clever premise or a somewhat interesting aspect to it will inexplicably be added to my Netflix queue. Unfortunately, most of these zombie comedies suck. But, ever so often, there’s a hidden gem in the sub-genre among all the crap. “Livelihood” is one of those hidden gems.

A zero-budget film from first-time director Ryan Graham (who was also the writer, producer, editor, composer, visual effects producer and sound recordist), “Livelihood” shows what would happen if, instead of trying to fulfill their insatiable hunger for human flesh, zombies just tried to get back to their normal life. It follows three interesting characters; the d-bag guitarist of an 80s hair metal band who is electrocuted by his guitar after a show, the pushover who is beheaded by a samurai while working after-hours, and the evil mother who eats poisoned pudding. After being given the chance to live again, they try to return to their own lives; the guitarist tries to get his band back together, the pushover tries to get his job and girlfriend back and a dismayed housewife tries to get rid of her evil in-law once again.

So, yeah, “Livelihood” has a pretty cool and fun synopsis for a movie. And, luckily, unlike most zombie comedies, “Livelihood” lives up to that concept and is actually a very funny movie.

The funniest of the three segments is probably the one with the hair metal guitarist. It’s got Spinal Tap references, deaf keyboardists and zombie sex. Awesome! There are a lot of really funny lines and scenes in this segment, more so than in the other two. The segment with the pushover trying to get his job and girlfriend back is sporadically funny, but doesn’t have the classic moments that the first segment does. It’s probably the worst of the three. And the poisoned in-law segment is also pretty funny, with some really great lines, but also a lot of lines that aren’t as funny as they could be. Plus, between segments, you get pretty funny advertisements for zombie products and the like. None of the ads are hilarious or anything, but they’re a good short break from the story.

Acting-wise, you can’t really expect much, as it’s an extremely low-budget film with non-professional actors. That being said, the acting isn’t as jaw-droppingly bad as some other films I’ve seen, so I guess that’s good.

There’s not much else to say about “Livelihood”. I really do admire these zero-budget filmmakers that can make a movie for basically nothing. Most people just say “oh, let’s make a film” but never do, so it’s pretty awesome that this Ryan Graham dude not only made an entire film, but actually got it widely distributed. Even if the film isn’t amazing, it’s pretty funny and it’s actually better than a lot of Hollywood horror films with a budget 100 times bigger. I’d definitely say that “Livelihood” is worth checking out if you can get your hands on it. I give it:

7 out of 10. (more like 7 and a half)