Director: John V. Soto
Year: 2026
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Werewolf/Zombie
Plot:
In the middle of a viral outbreak, a group of survivors traveling across Western Australia looking for safety are relieved to find a fellow survivor and try to use his help getting to a rumored safe haven for other survivors, eventually focusing on his werewolf powers to help turn the tide.
Review:
Overall, this was an intriguing if ultimately disappointing hybrid genre effort. Among the film’s better elements is the involvement of an original take on the combined genres within it, as there are some intriguing elements at play here. The idea of the aftermath of a rabid disease and the mass proliferation of zombies running around, despite not being at the post-apocalyptic or dystopian level, despite the downfall of organized civilization, creates a fun framework to put together the kind of engaging storyline we get here as the survivors stumble upon the brooding loner and try to use him to get to a promised safe haven. This setup provides the means through which they come together and embark on their journey across the country to reach the sanctuary, using the little skills they have and his burgeoning werewolf abilities to make their way to safety as a protector of their trip, focusing on a fun enough time here.
That leads into one of the more problematic factors here, where it wants to be this exciting, intense genre effort focused on the never-ending threat of the zombies coming for them, which this does do on several occasions. The idea of the zombies coming for them and managing to incite several frenetic sequences where their trip trying to get themselves to safety is attacked and overwhelmed by the zombies, usually resulting in some intense and brutal bite marks on the bodies left behind. The other bits here, from their survival raids to the escape attempts heading into the countryside, all lead into the frenetic finale where the mission brings them to the supposed survival station that gets really enjoyable when the interactions with the werewolf and zombies are getting to fight each other in the first extended, elaborate sequence between them.
However, the reason for that working is simply due to the fact that there’s not much else here between the two. The majority of this is a drama rather than an action film where it’s either about restoring his faith in humanity after being reluctant to get involved after losing his family before everything started or trying to teach them how to survive the world around them rather than bringing the idea of a werewolf fighting through hordes of zombies. The different tests and skills that he tries to impart, or the different conversations about having hope for the future, keep the encounters to such brief, barely-there sequences that are over before it really starts, leaving this with a sluggish, overlong running time that never delivers the kind of impact it wants. The other issue here is that the werewolf itself doesn’t even need to be here, with some clumsy lore and a badly mishandled transformation aspect that leaves this with some pretty big issues holding it back.
Overview: ***/5
An immensely likable, if frustrating, drama more than anything, there’s some worthwhile elements present within here that help to hold it up against a few big issues that are present within here. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who don’t mind these issues will want to give it a shot, while most others out there should heed caution.
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