Zombie With A Shotgun (2019)
“Why did I watch?…1 out of 10 stars”…“Why does this movie look like a porno?…1 out of 10 stars”
“Not a mindless zombie movie…10 out of 10 stars”…“Great indie horror flick…10 out of 10 stars”
Wait? What???
Ok…let’s start with the basics…
Zombie With A Shotgun is an old-school zombie, conspiracy, grindhouse-style action film.
The story - which can be confusing - focuses on a guy named Aaron (Braeden Baade - Days of Our Lives) and his girlfriend Rachel (Kathryn Kuhn, who was also the film’s stunt and fight coordinator) who are on the run from a variety of groups. It’s never entirely clear who is on their trail, but it appears to include the FBI, some bounty hunters, a Big Pharma posse, and maybe some supernatural agents. Like I said…confusing.
The reason they are after him is that the U.S. appears to be afflicted by some sort of zombie plague and Aaron is one of the few people who is not affected by it…well…in a conventional sense. Over the course of the movie he begins to transform into a sort of zombie (ok, I know that is Spoilerly…but it’s not like they named the movie “Perfectly Normal Not At All A Zombie Guy With A Shotgun”); however, he seems to retain his human mind and does not appear to engage in brain munching.
The truth is, there is not a lot of the conventional in this movie, regardless of how you chew it.
The zombie “plague” doesn’t really appear to be much of a plague. People mention it every so often, but most seem to take it in stride and there are not hordes of undead prowling the streets - more like one or two hanging out in the empty boiler room that no one goes to anyway.
Perhaps most interesting, while the public seems to believe the cause is scientific, ala Day of the Dead, the film contains clues - some subtle and some pretty “knock you in the head to get your attention" - that the genesis of the plague is actually supernatural and tied to pre-Romero Caribbean zombie lore.
It is a clever idea and one that may be explored in Zombie With a Shotgun II - Double Barrel (Ok, I just made up that title, but they do promise a sequel at the end of the film).
So aside from that, how is this movie? Are the 10s right or is this a “1?”
It’s pretty easy to poke at this film. It has a lot of the quirks and flaws of many independent films: uneven acting, a lot more story than necessary shoehorned into it (think Howlers), and poor continuity.
For all that, it has some cool parts.
The story will make your head hurt: it’s hard to keep track of the bad guys and there are inexplicable rape scenes that take place and seem to be forgotten two minutes later. But…the cause of the zombie fun is intriguing and unpacking it promises to be a cool ride.
From a filmmaking perspective the director, Hilton Ariel Ruiz, also does some interesting things with lighting during flashback scenes and some really creative things with animation.
Finally for those who are more interested in special effects than story…while the makeup budget on this was probably less than the money they set aside for bagels, the zombies look pretty good - particularly Aaron in his later days. They compare favorably to programs like The Walking Dead, which have a bit more money and flappy skin to spread around.
So what’s the verdict?
Zombie With A Shotgun isn’t going to go down as a masterpiece of cinematic (or even grindhouse) history, but it’s an ok watch if you are a fan of the genre and want to catch a slightly different take on a story that hasn’t received many injections of new blood since 28 Days Later.
You can catch it (for free, if you have Amazon Prime) HERE.
Two Out of Five Shotguns.
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Zombies with guns your body bag? You may dig one of these!
