Director: John Suits
Year: 2016
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: Viral
Genre: Zombie
Plot:
Following a devastating virus being released, members of an Army rescue team descend into a zombie-riddled Los Angeles looking for a previously missing team only to find the overwhelming number of zombies impeding their mission and try to get out alive.
This is certainly an interesting and enjoyable zombie effort. Among the better qualities here is the fact that this one actually tries something interesting with the tiredness of a zombie genre film. Done through a found-footage format that introduces the concept of each team member containing a security camera placed on their helmets and then viewing the footage from there gives this a nice solid backbone to work with, and there’s also the question as to how exactly the footage was gathered to be found in the first place. This answers that questions as well as why they’re still taping during the outbreak which is a common flaw in so many films, and that means this one doesn’t have to set that up in order to focus on the thrilling action.
That’s where this one really scores highly, from the fantastic scenes in the tunnel as they make their way into the city to the frenzied traps set for them inside the city where they get ambushed by the zombies and are forced to battle their way out. The scenes in the school offer plenty of fun as the darkened, deserted hallways and abandoned nature of it all makes for quite a chilling setting for the rather fun, frenzied encounters that’s greatly enhanced by the immediacy of the found-footage format. The scenes in the hospital where they get overrun by the creatures and are forced out onto the streets is another big scene, and the enjoyable finale gives this a lot to like. The other big positive here is the standout finale in the house as the creatures overrun them trapped inside and the frantic barricades and brawls to hold them off with the concept really making it work in thrilling fashion. Alongside the nice gore and zombie make-up, these here hold it up over it’s few minor flaws.
The main issue holding this one back is the rather lame and needless storyline featured here regarding the duplicitous nature of the team. This one could’ve gone on rather finely without the need for the ruse to even come into play, leaving this one to really become confusing during this time for no reason. Likewise, the other big issue here is the fact that there’s way too many distractions and deviations to be found when they’re coming upon the closing stretch, from the needless battle with the street gangs to the different groups out harvesting bodies that holds them back by slowing the mission down with needless interludes. These here are what end up holding this one down.
An enjoyable and oddly entertaining found-footage zombie effort, there's not a whole lot of issues to be had overall here. Give this a chance if you're a zombie fan of any kind or looking for another found-footage effort than the usual supernatural pieces, while those somewhat tired of the zombie genre overall might be bored with this more than other fans out there.
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