Nothing has ever felt so much like the end of the world. I heard people saying this was bleak in contrast to Dawn's absurdist black comedy, but holy fuck — the mood from scene to scene ranges from suicidally depressed to nauseating to fraught with massive interpersonal tension, and its few attempts at levity honestly just feel hideous. I can't find anything at all to fault here.... the pacing is perfect, the acting is amazing, and what it does with the actual zombie conceit is the most compelling I've ever seen (as a person who is generally not very interested in the very concept of zombie apocalypse stories!!). I was particularly shaken by the gore on display here. It isn't really more extreme or technically advanced than any other splatter film you might find from the 80s, but the way the movie uses those effects during scenes in Dr. Logan's lab and as the violence escalates towards the end feels so grotesque, so wrong, that I couldn't help but find it upsetting to watch. This is officially my new favourite zombie movie and it's going to be VERY hard to unseat it.

*****
Hooptober XII // 2/31

2/9 decades (1980s)
2/5 zombie films
1/2 post apocalyptic horror