Director: Ali Akbar Akbar Kamal
Year: 2022
Country: Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie
Plot:
After hearing reports of religious phenomena, a man and his friends head to the small town at the center of the reports to investigate the incidents, but the more they investigate the claims for their documentary the more they uncover a deadly secret is about to be unleashed putting them in jeopardy.
Review:
This here was a decent enough found-footage effort. Among the big parts to like here is the fun setup that gets this going, focusing on the resurrection of the body at the funeral which suitably and realistically sends everyone screaming in hysteria over what’s going on. That this is treated as a mystical and truly unexpected sequence with the screaming and chaos at the scene is a rather unique touch that is pulled off well. The desire to document this and explore what’s going on brings them into the town where they begin to witness other bizarre features including people who were paralyzed suddenly being able to walk or behave in completely unexpected manners than how they were behaving before. This all creates a fantastic setup that’s highly enjoyable and rather ominous in terms of religious fervor.
However, in the second half, this one takes a nice turn and shifts away from the kind of expected setups to turn into a rather fun cult/zombie film hybrid. The setup of the worshippers looking forward to her every movement and reaction with a rabid fanaticism isn’t that new and feels entirely believable, the fun starts when this shows off the fact that their members are turned into ravenous zombie-like beings that try to convert more into their ranks which carries on the cult-like mentality on display from before. This leads to a highly enjoyable and likable series of chases throughout the community which is made all the more tense and vicious for the use of the found-footage style here that makes it all up close and visceral to match the bloodshed and gore on display. These here are what make this one so enjoyable.
There are some minor drawbacks to be had with this one. Like most found-footage films, the pacing of this one is set up to the point where the action is mainly relegated to the final half which can make the beginning of this one somewhat taxing to get through. As the focus comes off more on the build-up of their relationship together and getting to the point of the religious incidents that hardly anything thrilling happens. Being that all of this is cliched and uninvolved carries on throughout the rest of this one as the majority of the time it comes off with that feeling. A lot of this comes from the decision to do the shaky-camera style from found-footage in the overall setup so it’s not that big of an issue but does stand out somewhat holding this down.
Overview: ***/5
A highly-enjoyable found-footage zombie film that doesn’t do anything original for the most part, but it’s still got a lot to like in its setup and action which makes up for the wait to get there. Give this a look if you’re a fan of this style or are intrigued by this kind of film, while most others here that don’t like this style or approach should heed caution.
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