Director: Eric Dodson (as E.A. Dodson)
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Zombie:
Plot:
Living in a run-down apartment complex, a group of residents tries to get their lives on track, only to be interrupted by a deadly chemical spill in the local water supply turning people into ravenous zombies, and forcing them to band together to survive the ever-increasing creatures.
Review:
Overall, this was a solid and better-than-expected zombie effort. Among the better elements featured here are the use of traditional zombie-film scenarios that work well to implement the oncoming apocalypse. As we’re given a look at the lives of the various individuals in the apartment complex who are stuck in their own lives, trying to make ends meet, keep themselves in the apartment they live in, or secure enough funding to make sure they can leave the building to start over, it gives us a perfect way to introduce the main characters here. Getting to know the various individuals living in the building and what they’re doing with their lives while the building blocks of the zombie outbreak occurs on the outskirts of the story with news reports about something messed up in the water supply or comments about how life is getting worse because of something happening is a fun way to go about this with a fun, colorful group of people struggling in life and trying to work things out as best they can.
This serves well enough to prepare for the series of impressive and exciting confrontations with the group slowly coming to believe that the reports are real, and they’re dealing with zombies. The first incidents with the creatures slowly working their way around the complex and taking out random stragglers in remote sections of the building so no one catches on makes it quite chilling with the slow build-up, and the main swarming scene featuring the creatures from outside breaching the building and getting caught in the series of escape attempts within here as they try to get to safety. With fun encounters in the lobby trying to make sense of the news reports that makes the outbreak aware to everyone, infected victims turning in hallways waiting for something to happen, or the series of encounters within the various apartments as those who fall back for supposed safety instead find the creatures inside the isolated rooms, it sets the stage for a solid finale where the survivors make a dash for escape passing through hordes of the undead up to the roof of the building. With some nice laughs to alleviate the tension, solid enough gore, and enough decent make-up designs on the creatures included as well, there’s enough to like here overall.
There are a few slight drawbacks on display with this that bring it down. The main issue to be had with the film is the beginning series of character introductions that get the characters introduced to the point of being full of cliche tropes and characters. The people living in the run-down section of town, struggling to afford the bills, are more concerned with staying in abusive relationships than trying to move on, and the staff trying to make the best of their crummy jobs are pretty much exactly what you would expect in this kind of film, so it’s almost formulaic rather than anything else. With the character dynamics here being quite easy to spot and a rather bizarre subplot that brings everyone together in the building through a series of lackluster interactions that no one would behave like in a genuine situation, this is a bit rough to get through. The only other big issue is the somewhat rushed and underwhelming finale, where it seems to end just as something was happening, and everything comes together with a sense of being cut off rather than a logical endpoint, and with the low budget on display, it is what brings this one down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A far better-than-expected indie zombie effort, this one comes together with a lot to like about it and not too many drawbacks that make this quite fun for what it is. Those with an interest in this style of indie genre fare, who are curious about it, or who are hardcore zombie fanatics, will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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