REVIEW: Autumn
Based off of the zombie book of the same name by David Moody… Autumn, is about a virus that is practically tasteless, odorless that infects and kills everybody that contracts it. The dead then become reanimated after a certain period of time. The story follows a group of survivors that try to outlive the plague by taking refuge in a shack. But at times, they can’t even stand to be with each other.
This is an independent horror movie and as an indie movie in enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say that it is the best indie film out there but given how apocalyptic the story is, this movie really does a good job showing it all. The movie is deceiving since you think the main characters will be all those characters in that gym area but in actuality its only three people. I am very fond of the coloring that this movie has; the browns, reds, oranges and yellow filters that are over each scene that just compliments the movie’s title.
When it comes to its characters… I am glad to once again see such a diverse crowd of people and the actors did a great job portraying them but I don’t think they were solid characters. To put it in simpler terms, there wasn’t any character development and I didn’t feel for any of them. I did however, think that when the man dressed as the clown enters the gym in the beginning of the film was a bit strange and it broke the mood too much. Considering that he was a dick and none of his makeup was smeared it seemed a bit odd. It was also pretty cool to see David Carridine in this movie. I am more adapt to see him in a kung foo movie or even a western but it was quite the treat to see him switch gears and do a zombie movie.Â
As we know, this is a zombie movie and it’s the zombies that steal the show! Although, I think that this movie can be considered a hybrid of normal zombies movies and revision of the zombie subgenre. Take this mind: the zombies, at first, just walk around like drones not doing anything… the main characters even bring one in and she doesn’t even attack them, and in one point in the movie the main character walks casually to a shed with a bunch of them and doesn’t even break a sweat. You never see anything like that in a zombie movie and it turns the mythology of them upside down. They do eventually start going crazy, by eating a dog, and that is something that I never saw in a zombie movie; it takes the classic conventions of the mythology and tweaks them a bit to please the audience.
Bottom line: for what it is worth… it was a good zombie movie and I just wished they used a lot more character development to drive the story. Zombie movies are driven by good character profiles. Pick it up if you have a chance, especially if you are a hardcore zombie fan. By the way, the one scene that I really enjoyed was the classroom scene when that girl was puking up blood… that was awesome.Â
Pick up the book, now available on Amazon.
