TL;DR – The follow-up doesn’t quite land as well as the first, with odd story choices and issues weighing it down.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this film.

Apocalypse Z: New World Review Introduction

Yesterday, we explored the first in the series of Apocalypse Z films as a man and a cat made their way through a fallen Spain to get to safety. I quite enjoyed it; not revolutionary, but a solid zombie romp. Also, cat. Now tonight is the time to see if the sequel can match that same level of intensity.

So, to set the scene, the Canary Islands fells like the furthest you could be from trouble, but after the spread of the TSJ virus across the world, it might be the last place in Europe that has not succumbed to the disease. But supplies are now running desperately short, and there is a constant threat of the virus jumping into the refuge. Things are desperate enough that the government is risking a mission to Madrid to find supplies. Roberto (Carlos Alcaide), due to his parents and poor judgment, is about to become an example of the military judiciary, but he has one chance to avoid prison: Project Ithica. But there are many agendas going along this trip back to the mainland.

Choices Made

There was a clear choice to distance, or at least make sure they were not treading the same path. However, answering the cliffhanger from the first film by killing off your lead character off-screen in between films is a choice. As was replacing the principled lead of the first film with a selfish brat. It is a real slap in the face right from the start. We also get more zombie action in the first five minutes or arriving in Madrid than in the entirety of the last film. Congratulations to the extensive stunt team for pulling that off. None of these things is major barriers, but they do set the scene for some of the narrative issues that plague the film.

Muddied Narrative

From my understanding, this is a new story sort of set between novels two and three of the original trilogy. Though, shoutout to the Mississippi Easter Egg. However, now that it is untethered from the narrative that built it, we get a sink-or-swim moment, and I am sorry the film barely treads water. Carlos Alcaide is a capable lead, but he goes through a very predictable selfish-to-selfless story arc with not much substance to it. A lot of the supporting cast feel one-note, so you don’t care that much when they start dropping like flies. It also makes some baffling choices that make you wonder if they are military-trained. For example, you have drones; you could have done a perimeter check before waltzing in. Also, if the helicopter was agitating the infected, why wouldn’t you use that to lead them away from the bull-fighting ring? Also, we are not going to touch the symbolism of the bull-fighting ring being a refuge. Moments such as this kept ripping me out of the film, in a way that didn’t happen in the first. It feels as if it is suffering from the same second-outing issues that struck Peninsula, the follow-up to Train to Busan.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Apocalypse Z: New World? It is not a complete wash, but it does not live up to the foundation that came before it. Still watchable, but I am not sure I would recommend it when there are better zombie films out there.

Have you watched Apocalypse Z: New World? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Apocalypse Z: New World, we would recommend We Bury the Dead to you because it is an interesting twist on the zombie formula that sucks you into its world.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Apocalypse Z: New World
Directed by – Carles Torrens
Screenplay by – Ángel Agudo
Based on – Apocalipsis Z by Manel Loureiro
Music by – Federico Jusid
Cinematography by – Elías M. Félix
Edited by – Luis de la Madrid & Guillermo Lorenzana Torns
Production/Distribution Companies – Nostromo Pictures, Amazon MGM Studios, & Amazon Prime
Starring – Carlos Alcaide, José María Yazpik, Julia Martínez, Berta Vázquez, Tamara Casellas, Santiago Vaca Narvaja, Mario Mayo, Pedro Hernández, Javier Godino, & Mónica López
With – Axel Medrano, Kevin Ramos, Ujin Moreno, Albert Suárez, Lucía Moreno, Pau Poch, Chemi Hitos, & David Marsol
Rating – Australia: MA15+;