Tag Archives: Zombies

Apocalypse Z: New World (Apocalipsis Z: Nuevo Mundo) – Movie Review

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

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

A cruse ship used as quarantine.

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.

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Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin) (2024) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A solid Spanish zombie film, with good tension, a capable lead, and strong worldbuilding.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that was used to view this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Zombies swarm.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End Review Introduction

Tonight, as we are spooky season adjacent, I thought I would dip into a horror film and the new Spanish Zombie film was recommended to me. It was at that point that I remembered that I had planned to watch the first film in the series but never got around to it. Well, there is no time like the present to fix that.

So, to set the scene, it is the new year in Spain and Manel (Francisco Ortiz) and Júlia (Iria del Río) are on their way back from visiting Manel’s family when a traffic accident changes their lives. A year later, things are a bit tense as a virus has the EU thinking of closing borders. Life is moving on, as the cases are ‘contained’ in Spain, but there is fear that collapse is on the horizon, and important people are being moved out to the Canary Islands for some reason.

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We Bury the Dead – Movie Review

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A zombie opens its eye.

We Bury the Dead Review Introduction

Today’s offering has been bubbling around in the Australian cinematic landscape for quite a bit before it got its theatrical release earlier this year. Unfortunately, while there were no well-timed screenings near me at the time, it has now made its way onto streaming, and this is the perfect time for me to give it a watch.  

So, to set the scene, one day an accidental detonation of an experimental weapon off the coast of Tasmania destroyed the capital city of Hobart. However, an EMP wave stretched further, destroying the brains of all living creatures on the island. It is a catastrophe of epic proportions, and a whole mobilisation effort has been activated to help identify and recover the bodies of the 500,000-odd dead. However, now and again, some of the dead wake up, and they are no longer themselves. Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley) is one of the volunteers, hoping to find out what happened to her husband, who was at a conference on the south of the island. Those who do reanimate are completely docile and not a problem, or so the Army says.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An incredibly confronting film that made me regret eating dinner but reveals a wealth of thematic depth beneath the gore.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Bone Temple at dusk.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Review Introduction

Today we’re looking at an unusual sequel. After decades of waiting for 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple arrived so quickly afterwards that some audiences may have assumed it was the same film. I tried to watch it in cinemas, but the scheduling never worked out. But now it’s out on streaming, it’s time to give it a watch.

So, to set the scene, we open in the moments after the end of 28 Years Later with Spike (Alfie Williams) having to fight for his life in front of Jimmy (Jack O’Connell) and his cult of Jimmies. Meanwhile, around the Bone Temple, Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) has made some odd discoveries about Sampson (Chi Lewis-Parry) that the alpha might indeed be his friend, or more importantly, the real person might still be in there. There is a bit of assumed knowledge going into this film, as it does expect that you have watched the previous film.

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Cold Storage – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While filled with fascinating concepts, it becomes a film that is less than the sum of its parts.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Masked troops drive away from a town being bombed in fire.

Cold Storage Review Introduction –

If you have been on our site before, you know that we are here for an interesting new Zombie work. While the genre can be overstuffed at times, the good films use the zombies as a reflection on society and have interesting things to say. Today, we are looking at a film that is filled to the brim with interesting concepts, but struggles to make a great film out of it, despite all the building blocks being there.  

So, to set the scene, when Skylab crashed into Western Australia in 1979, NASA thought it had collected all the debris, but it missed one. It housed a fungus they were experimenting on, but what went up was not what came down. Luckily, the canister landed in the barren Australian desert, though unlucky for the small township that needed to be napalmed to contain the spread. A small sample was kept in the top-secret Atchison Storage Facility in Kansas. But time is a fool to us all, and decades later, what was stored on sub-level 4 was forgotten, the facility was sold off to a self-storage company, and life went on. Well, it did right up until an internal warning system that has not been activated since the Cold War started blaring in Washington.  

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Vampire Zombies…from Space! – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful parody of 1950s pulp fiction that is unfortunately a bit too long in the tooth.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Vampire Zombies…from Space!

Vampire Zombies From Space Review Introduction –

There are many ways a film can entice you to watch it. In the past, it was through who they cast as their leads, but that seems to be decreasingly crucial as the 21st century progresses. It could be the genre or the premise, or a multitude of things. Or maybe, the title of the film is so absolutely bonkers that you feel almost required to see just what they will do. Today, we are looking at Vampire Zombies From Space, and I think you know what category I would put that under.

So, to set the scene, one night a long time ago in the time of black and white, a dog ran into a tobacco field, and the family followed only to be confirmed by the impossible: a vampire and their flying saucer. While the mother was murdered in a wave of blood, a crucifix saved the rest of the family from certain doom. Ten years later, in a slightly more up-to-date-yet-still-black-and-white time, the family is a pariah in town. Little did they know that they would be the ground zero for something even more terrifying … zombies, sent by Dracula (Craig Gloster) to take over the world.

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Outbreak – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Outbreak shows early promise, but weak character work and mounting frustrations prevent its ending from landing as intended.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Outbreak Introduction –

2025 continues to be a standout year for the old Zombie romp. We have old franchises return with 28 Years Later, The Last of Us came out swinging with its second season, and even Star Trek has had a try. – Despite the crowded field, there’s always room for a surprise and Outbreak came close.  

So, to set the scene, Neil Morris (Billy Burke) is a local ranger at Mourning Rock State Park, going on what they thought was a routine callout to a dog with rabies. But Neil is not at ease with what is going on, as this is the third dog in weeks to become infected, which is made worse by the fact that Chief Mike Cortez (Raoul Max Trujillo) got bitten by the dog in the scuffle and Neil is still dealing with the death/disappearance of his son Ben (Kylr Coffman). But as Neil was out walking in the state park, he was attacked by a woman in partial decomposition, and she was not alone, as screams of others puncture the day.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Shuttle to Kenfori [S3E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is time to get our Horror on as something creeps in the dark, waiting to strike. Oh, and the Klingons are here too. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Enterprise approaches Kenfori.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

One thing you need to know about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that it is not afraid to take wild swings in tone and also go “how about we do an ‘insert x’ episode? The sort of episode that makes no sense being in a Star Trek show, but goodness, do they pull it off more times than not. Sometimes this can be a musical episode, but today it is time to dip our toes in some straight-up horror.  

So, to set the scene, back in Hegemony Part II, Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) caught a bad case of Gorn larvae, and while they thought they had cured the infection, unfortunately, the Gorn are resilient. She didn’t have much hope left, save for one Hail Mary, a Chimera flower only found in Kenfori. There was once a Federation research base on the planet, but it was evacuated during the Klingon-Federation War. Now, it is in the Restricted Zone drawn up after the war. Which means they must undertake a black ops mission, and Pike (Anson Mount) and M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) take a shuttle down to the surface. The research station is still there, and so is the flower. But why is there no animal life on the planet? And why is there a Klingon beacon blasting a warning above the planet? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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28 Years Later – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A wildly fascinating film, filled with interesting creative choices. I am not sure that makes it a great movie, but it does make it a wildly engaging one.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are snippets during the credits.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains flashing lights.

Blood splattered across a television playing Teletubbies.

28 Years Later Review –

In the last year or so, we have been inundated with sequels to old films with a significant gap since the previous movie. Think Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Gladiator II. Well, today we are dipping into the Zombie genre with a sequel that is just as long, but probably works from an alliteration perspective [as long as we ignore months, and let’s be honest, who hasn’t done that at one point]

So, to set the scene, we open in the throughs of the first rage virus outbreak as carnage spreads across the Scottish Highlands. 28 Years Later, the rage virus has been stopped in Europe and now the British Iles are quarantined. No one can leave once they touch the ground. Settlements are few and far between, but on an island off the British coast, a community has survived on Holy Island. Where only a tidal causeway connects with the mainland. Spike (Alfie Williams) lives on the island with his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) who is profoundly sick, and Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) his father. Jamie desperately wants to take Spike out on his first killing trip, more than a few years before the town would like them to. But as they explore a fallen world they come across something they are not ready for, an Alpha (Chris Gregory/ Chi Lewis-Parry).

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The Last of Us: Feel Her Love [S2E5] – TV Review

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TL;DR – Today, it feels like we have hit the point of no return, that moment when you can not undo what you have become.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making-of.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Ellie playing a guitar on the theatre stage.

The Last of Us Review –

It has been said that “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”, a phrase often linked to the philosopher Confucius, but I think he never actually said it. But I digress. The phrase is as evocative as it is because you can understand how that drive for revenge can push out all reasonable thought and make you act in ways that actively hurt yourself. Literature is full of revenge narratives, from simple calling, like you hurt an old lady whom I liked, or you killed my dog. All the way to convoluted messes like we don’t like your politics of fear, so we are going to kill you. But no matter the narrative, there is always a tipping point, and I think we have hit one of them today.     

So, to set the scene, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) have firmly planted themselves in Seattle and are actively hunting down the ones who killed Joel (Pedro Pascal). Thankfully for them, a war has broken out between the WLF and the Scars. It provides a lot of coverage and a lot of information. People can help but chat over the radio, and Dina hears everything on Day Two. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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