High schoolers Ben (Tye Sheridan), Carter (Logan Miller) and Augie (Joey Morgan) are trying desperately to recruit newbies for their fledgling Boy Scout troop under the eye of Scout Leader Rodgers (David Koechner). Augie still loves being a Scout, but Ben and particularly Carter have outgrown it but haven't quit for Augie's. They're driving to their very last camp out, when during a rather heated conversation with Carter trying to persuade Ben to quit with him, Ben fatally hits a deer. They try to consult the advice of Kendall (Halston Sage), Carter's sister and Ben's crush, but they then find the deer somehow gone and Kendall then invites them to a seniors party. Their eyes now lit up like Christmas trees, Ben and Carter hatch a plan to buy some booze in town and then return to their campsite later that night to help set it up with Augie before ditching him when he nods off. He catches them leaving, however, to his disappointment and then they have to tell him how they want to move on. But as they head to the party (with Augie reluctantly in tow), they learn before they can move on, they'll have to be prepared - as the motto goes - for a challenge demanding real survival skills: their town has seen an invasion of zombies!
As a long-time fan of horror comedies, and a former Scout myself, this one grabbed my interest almost immediately in 2015 and it proved a bloodsucking good time for me and still does. Director Christopher Landon and his co-writers Carrie Evans and Emi Mizoguchi don't exactly take an inventive narrative approach beyond involving Boy Scout characters but I don't think they needed to because frankly, that shouldn't be the top priority with zombie flicks; relentless blood and gore should be. However, these three do work their story around nuanced and authentic young protagonists who still ultimately find a new affinity for each other and sense of pride in themselves, and Landon infuses their adventures with blistering energy and rhythm. The laughs also abound, and a pumping soundtrack rams the situation's immediacy home even further. The cast all have fun galore here as well, especially Miller and Morgan. I say ignore the consensus towards Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse; for me, it earns a real badge and a real salute.
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