Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Scouts Guide to the Apocalypse’

Written by Scott Edwards

For many people, friendships seem to be easy to maintain, but for so many others, there are questions that never really seem to be answered. While you think that your friendship is strong and nothing will break it up, you will find that what goes unsaid no matter what it is can be viewed as betrayal. It is important to keep an open line of communication in any relationship, so nobody is surprised at what is going to happen next. Secrets do not make friends, but s’mores and campfires are a good way to keep them.

While trying to recruit some new scouts for their troop, Ben and Carter are starting to get fed up with the practice. Being in high school and being a scout does not seem to be helping them achieve popularity, but their buddy Augie loves it and they do not want to do anything to take away from their friendship with him. After Augie lost his father, it seems like scouts was the only think keeping him going and with Scout Leader Rogers at the helm, nothing will keep the group from breaking up. Being the night Augie gets a new badge, the boys are ready to have another good time in the woods, but Carter is looking for something more out of life.

Hitting a deer on the way to the camp site, Ben and Carter discuss why they are still doing what they are doing in scouts and both agree that it is time to ditch it and move on. While changing their tire, the two see Carter’s sister and her friends and Carter is surprised that he has gotten the invite to the final party of the year. Knowing that they can make their friend Augie happy at the camp out and sneak out to the party, the two are ready to enjoy a little bit more of their high school year without worrying about the consequences. But when trying to leave the camp site, Augie sees them skipping out on him and is ready to call it a friendship and move on in his own way. 

What’s done is done and Ben and Carter head back into town to see that the streets are empty with nobody around. Thinking it is strange, the two see that the strip club is open and sneak in for a free show. But there is something different about the feel in the club and when Ben sees the first stripper take to the pole, he knows there is something up. Trying to bite her clients, the stripper seems to be infected by something that the boys have never seen before and when running into an old classmate that dropped out of high school, Denise knows exactly what is happening around the town. Needing to find a way to escape the clutches of the flesh eaters, Ben, Carter and Denise have short sighted plans in mind, but will need to amp them up when they find out that the government has made marked the area for destruction when not everyone has been evacuated yet.

Being a former scout, this movie really struck a nerve for me and in a very good way. Showing that all scouts are just not nerdy, but a help to the community is just fantastic and it's something that seems to get lost in translation these days. Watching as the boys grow up in the movie and get past their issues with each other’s actions, they know what is most important to them and the community. The addition of Denise to the group is just the icing on the cake as she can handle her own against the undead looking to make a meal out of her and she is able to inspire the boys to be the best that they can be. I won’t lie, there is a good theme to this movie and the acting is surprisingly good, but I wanted more zombies. You have seen in the past the barriers that have been taken down for this great genre and while you think you have seen everything; I guarantee that you have not until you have seen this movie. Comedy, strippers, blood, exploding heads, hot chicks and scouts to the rescue, you may forget that this is kind of a horror movie as well. Stay Scared.

---