"Shaky Shivers" is no great shakes but has its goofy charms

Shaky Shivers (2023)

Han Lue made a ‘90s-set horror-comedy! Actor Sung Kang, who’s best known for playing that same character from “Better Luck Tomorrow” in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, shifts genre lanes with his feature directorial debut, “Shaky Shivers.” The love and enthusiasm on screen are undeniable, as are the “Ginger Snaps” and “An American Werewolf in London” influences. It definitely has budgetary limitations, but making up for its small scope and first-timer vibe is some low-budget resourcefulness and refreshingly few pretenses. While it’s a slight film with very shaggy pacing, “Shaky Shivers” is a lighthearted “werewolves and zombies, oh my!” lark with a goofy sense of humor.

Brooke Markham and VyVy Nguyen are delightful together as Lucy and Karen, best friends in Winlock, Washington, who work at the ice cream shop Friendly Freeze. When we first meet these two, Lucy’s hand is handcuffed to the steering wheel of Karen’s car, parked near a closed summer camp. They’re waiting for the full moon to see if Lucy is actually a werewolf when seemingly cursed by a woodland gypsy (Erin Daniels) who was denied free ice cream. By morning, Lucy wakes up naked, still furry-cuffed to the steering wheel, but co-worker and kind-of boyfriend Eric (Jimmy Ballinger) is dead with a bullet wound in his eye. A stressed-out Karen will have to help Lucy undo the werewolf curse with an incantation from a Binder of Spells.

Given the oddball, overtly comic score and these Romy and Michele-type friends’ amusing banter, “Shaky Shivers” is not out to evoke shivers, but it ought to have one grinning ear to ear. There’s one scene of tragic heartache that Markham sells as Lucy, but then it’s back to a blood transfusion with a Swiss Army Knife and a milkshake cup, trapping a slow-moving zombie in a station wagon, and some “cute” gore. Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: C +

Cineverse and Fathom Events released “Shaky Shivers” (83 min.) in theaters for one night only on September 21, 2023.