By Day's End (2020) by Michael Souder

Director: Michael Souder
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie

Plot:
Forced into a motel together, a lesbian couple on the verge of breaking up are put to the test when a supposed viral outbreak reaches the area and infects the other residents turning them into flesh-eating zombies forcing them to put their relationship and their lives on the line to get away alive.

Review:

Overall, this effort wasn't too bad. Among the best aspects here is the innocuous setup that slowly drops the exploits of the virus into their lives. Going for brief, random blurbs and news pieces while the main focus remains on the two of them as they attempt to fix their own problems provides great hints of what's to come while still maintaining how to keep the relationship afloat. As the underlying theme here is that they were heading for a break-up but still manage to come together it the end by continuously helping each other while trying to fight off the creatures, there's a wholly enjoyable and sympathetic relationship at the center of this one.

That early setup, in turn, brings the oncoming zombie pandemic scenes which are incredibly well-handled. The close-quarters mindset of staying in one location around the motel, and their room specifically, gives off the locale for solid, chilling sequences here from the initial contact with the woman and her infected husband, the continuous encounters as they try to poke their heads out of the room to get an update on what's going on or the escape attempts in the final half. Despite focusing on individual zombie attacks instead of swarms, this one still manages a great mix of thrilling action and brutal encounters through the found-footage technique that holds the film up.

There are a few minor issues to be had here. The main problem is the usual issue affecting this genre where the entire course of their situation is caused through stupidity, from the failure to heed zombie rules by caring for an infected victim, failure to heed caution in protecting them from potential infection when they're in contact with zombies and completely ignoring the obvious to put themselves in harm's way. Most of the encounters around the motel result from general stupidity to keep checking on everything or even returning to their room after a horribly-botched escape attempt. That also applies to the usual found-footage tropes in place, but otherwise, there isn't much wrong here.

Overview: ***.5/5
A far more touching and heartfelt zombie effort than expected, this one manages to give off a lot of enjoyable aspects even with a few minor setbacks present. Those willing to give this kind of premise a shot of are looking for something different in the zombie genre that still retains enough traditional elements will want to give this a shot, while those strict hardcore traditionalists who don't care for changing the formula might need caution.