This is a decent "zombie" film that deserves better than a below average score. This typed, I can understand and the project would've faired better had it been less heavy handed and focused more on what worked for it (pin this).
TL;DR: A 6 out of 10, although closer to a 5. The score was bumped up as the crew did a lot with what they had. That said, content is king. The issues I have with this project could've been avoided. The bones are here, though, and those involved are now on my radar. I'll be looking at their future projects.
This is yet another film in which events occur that, although you can understand them (which isn't always the case), they may frustrate you so much that you raise your voice at what's happening on screen.
Takeaway: Don't rock the boat. Literally.
Hindsight warning: This is apparently the season of rambling lists that lose focus.
Interesting aspects of the screenplay that could've been further explored or presented more effectively include:
The relationship between Jamie and Alex, which seemed to be the center of the film. Yes, there's a zombie apocalypse happening, but how does it impact them and their relationship? It can be both positive and negative - The positive side of which is an interesting juxtaposition against the backdrop, as a cataclysmic event can serve as a catalyst to impact people, say those who've experienced trauma, in ways that ordinary life wouldn't. An example of this scenario can be the episode Long, Long Time from the series The Last of Us.
The zombies themselves, who, in this project, are humans infected by a mysterious ailment that's never explained... at all. I believe it's a fungus, which is an interesting angle. If I recall correctly, the word zombie isn't used. However, that's not what we're here for. It's because the infection is, in most cases, treatable. This is, or could be, an interesting avenue to explore. Let's say you've gone for weeks killing "zombies", including your family, friends and loved ones, only to discover it's treatable. How does this impact you?
On a related note, the aforementioned infection itself. What is it? How did it come to be? While less is often more, we learn little about what's happening and almost all of our information on the "outbreak" is delivered by via the most unreliable of narrators (a politician), who may actually be, not a talking head, but the President? It's unclear - and this could've been explored more, too, as satire can be delightful. That or what we see in the film, which is almost exclusively from the perspective of Jamie. This could've also been interesting had her biases influenced how things were presented.
Interesting characters. Outside of the relationship of Jamie and Alex, which we pick up fragments from, the character of Big John is interesting and subverts expectations (I couldn't resist). Wish we had more of this. We don't get to know many of the characters, which includes our protagonist (despite being presented with a lot of information, I don't feel like I know or can relate to them).
The script contains a number of interesting elements, but perhaps too many, as it doesn't effectively cover any of them:
We jump into the film during a cataclysmic event, but away from it.
Our main characters are pulled into an ongoing situation and have to figure it out.
On top of this, Jamie and Alex are experiencing their own crisis and, had it not been for the "outbreak" and what takes place, their relationship seemed guaranteed to end. As with the rest of the movie, we view this primarily via Jamie's perspective. Unfortunately, Jamie is guarded, distant, removed, and hesitant to observe, acknowledge or address what's happening within her or in the world around her. She's slowly spinning out of orbit with the world and her life and, when we're introduced to her, seems to have only a tenuous connection to it (via Alex), which she seems to be trying to sever. She's a complicated person.
The protagonist is dealing with several traumatic events, one related to a lost child who, on the surface, wasn't desired and another related to her past (her father's behavior when she was a child and how it impacts her memories, including those of her mother). The script makes an interesting choice in that Jamie is placed in a situation where she has to deal with her past, but is unable to do so and subsequently is unable to resolve the trauma directly.
Matters mostly resolve at the end, but we never learn how, as there's a hard cut and we return several days later.
Much of what happens in the film can be pinned on a single character. Poor old Bernie. Unfortunately, we never get to learn what makes him tick and yet he's brought back as a coda of sorts. While the actor does a fine job (and all the actors do), his character comes across as two dimensional and as an element of the real contagion (humankind). This typed, he doesn't do anything unbelievable... although his behavior is consistently annoying and drives most of what happens in the film.
There's friction between two local groups of "survivors". One group just seems like normal people trying to get by and the other seems like an aggressive paramilitary group. Their actions don't seem to jive with the ongoing situation or how much time has passed. In addition, until the end, there doesn't seem to be a presence of government (e.g., the law or other organizations). This is supposed to be an out-of-the-way town, but it seems to be fairly large. What we see of the situation seems more like we came into a situation months later, not days (although that wouldn't work for this scenario, as it was most likely resolved within two weeks).
I've prattled on and lost focus. Okay. Despite being believable, I found the events that move the plot forward to be annoying. This primarily consists of two things:
Alex behaving in a clunky fashion - tipping the canoe over and later being naive and not picking up on social cues (that aren't explored).
Bernie ignoring what people tell him (and common sense) and shooting everything (including shooting his mouth off, although not literally).
This is the point at which I petered out and realized I could be doing other things.
Review by VesparadoBlockedParentSpoilers2023-11-03T17:10:13Z
This is a decent "zombie" film that deserves better than a below average score. This typed, I can understand and the project would've faired better had it been less heavy handed and focused more on what worked for it (pin this).
TL;DR: A 6 out of 10, although closer to a 5. The score was bumped up as the crew did a lot with what they had. That said, content is king. The issues I have with this project could've been avoided. The bones are here, though, and those involved are now on my radar. I'll be looking at their future projects.
This is yet another film in which events occur that, although you can understand them (which isn't always the case), they may frustrate you so much that you raise your voice at what's happening on screen.
Takeaway: Don't rock the boat. Literally.
Hindsight warning: This is apparently the season of rambling lists that lose focus.
Interesting aspects of the screenplay that could've been further explored or presented more effectively include:
The relationship between Jamie and Alex, which seemed to be the center of the film. Yes, there's a zombie apocalypse happening, but how does it impact them and their relationship? It can be both positive and negative - The positive side of which is an interesting juxtaposition against the backdrop, as a cataclysmic event can serve as a catalyst to impact people, say those who've experienced trauma, in ways that ordinary life wouldn't. An example of this scenario can be the episode Long, Long Time from the series The Last of Us.
The zombies themselves, who, in this project, are humans infected by a mysterious ailment that's never explained... at all. I believe it's a fungus, which is an interesting angle. If I recall correctly, the word zombie isn't used. However, that's not what we're here for. It's because the infection is, in most cases, treatable. This is, or could be, an interesting avenue to explore. Let's say you've gone for weeks killing "zombies", including your family, friends and loved ones, only to discover it's treatable. How does this impact you?
On a related note, the aforementioned infection itself. What is it? How did it come to be? While less is often more, we learn little about what's happening and almost all of our information on the "outbreak" is delivered by via the most unreliable of narrators (a politician), who may actually be, not a talking head, but the President? It's unclear - and this could've been explored more, too, as satire can be delightful. That or what we see in the film, which is almost exclusively from the perspective of Jamie. This could've also been interesting had her biases influenced how things were presented.
Interesting characters. Outside of the relationship of Jamie and Alex, which we pick up fragments from, the character of Big John is interesting and subverts expectations (I couldn't resist). Wish we had more of this. We don't get to know many of the characters, which includes our protagonist (despite being presented with a lot of information, I don't feel like I know or can relate to them).
The script contains a number of interesting elements, but perhaps too many, as it doesn't effectively cover any of them:
We jump into the film during a cataclysmic event, but away from it.
Our main characters are pulled into an ongoing situation and have to figure it out.
On top of this, Jamie and Alex are experiencing their own crisis and, had it not been for the "outbreak" and what takes place, their relationship seemed guaranteed to end. As with the rest of the movie, we view this primarily via Jamie's perspective. Unfortunately, Jamie is guarded, distant, removed, and hesitant to observe, acknowledge or address what's happening within her or in the world around her. She's slowly spinning out of orbit with the world and her life and, when we're introduced to her, seems to have only a tenuous connection to it (via Alex), which she seems to be trying to sever. She's a complicated person.
The protagonist is dealing with several traumatic events, one related to a lost child who, on the surface, wasn't desired and another related to her past (her father's behavior when she was a child and how it impacts her memories, including those of her mother). The script makes an interesting choice in that Jamie is placed in a situation where she has to deal with her past, but is unable to do so and subsequently is unable to resolve the trauma directly.
Matters mostly resolve at the end, but we never learn how, as there's a hard cut and we return several days later.
Much of what happens in the film can be pinned on a single character. Poor old Bernie. Unfortunately, we never get to learn what makes him tick and yet he's brought back as a coda of sorts. While the actor does a fine job (and all the actors do), his character comes across as two dimensional and as an element of the real contagion (humankind). This typed, he doesn't do anything unbelievable... although his behavior is consistently annoying and drives most of what happens in the film.
There's friction between two local groups of "survivors". One group just seems like normal people trying to get by and the other seems like an aggressive paramilitary group. Their actions don't seem to jive with the ongoing situation or how much time has passed. In addition, until the end, there doesn't seem to be a presence of government (e.g., the law or other organizations). This is supposed to be an out-of-the-way town, but it seems to be fairly large. What we see of the situation seems more like we came into a situation months later, not days (although that wouldn't work for this scenario, as it was most likely resolved within two weeks).
I've prattled on and lost focus. Okay. Despite being believable, I found the events that move the plot forward to be annoying. This primarily consists of two things:
Alex behaving in a clunky fashion - tipping the canoe over and later being naive and not picking up on social cues (that aren't explored).
Bernie ignoring what people tell him (and common sense) and shooting everything (including shooting his mouth off, although not literally).
This is the point at which I petered out and realized I could be doing other things.