REVIEW: Zombie Chronicles: The Infected
It’s considered the most anticipated zombie film of 2010, or at least within the indie zombie realm and that movie is… The Zombie Chronicles: The Infected. Yes, this decent slice of independent film is about two paramedic friends who lock themselves up in a New York City apartment while a hoard of zombies await them outside. With limited food and water the two friends must find a way to survive while the zombies outside taunt and tease them. I found this film to be rather glossy and unintentionally funny at times but don’t fret; there are some good qualities that I enjoyed about it.
Let me first say that I really enjoyed the storyline that they chose. Even though it’s been done before, the idea of two work pals struggling in a zombie-ridden world is rather refreshing and even more so because they have a bond that wasn’t fully explored. I feel that there is more to these characters than what has been shown and they are really dynamic. I felt sorry for the main heroine and she has the guilt of leaving her daughter by herself and it’s pretty sad to see her overcome that guilt. Even though her friend is a second hand character, he has purpose.
The film says that it is a ‘docu-film’ and that’s exactly what it feels like. I felt like I was sort of there in the movie and it’s easy to see that there are subtle hints, intentional or unintentional, of movies like 28 Days Later and [REC]. Midway into the film I felt like I was watching a found footage movie, which was fun since it experimented with both types of genre.
There was one thing that really bothered me about this movie and surprisingly it was something that was simple. I’m all for post-production and editing effects/title cards but they should be used in light doses and not overused. This movie didn’t overuse them like I thought they would but the problem was mainly the 4-screen perspective. I found it a tad unnecessary and rather disorienting in a bad way. I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t think any of the 4 perspectives really contributed to the film’s story. Also, there was a huge abundance of single title cards, which can be a problem because it makes the film move quicker than it should rather and it takes the audience out of the atmosphere of the film.
Aside from some hammy acting, a rather out of place news footage in the beginning and talking zombies the rest of the movie isn’t bad. I think there is a lot that could be done with this story and I really wished that it wasn’t 24 minutes long. I’ve said it a lot of times but the zombie apocalypse holds so many untold stories that it’s practically unfair to assume that every story about it ahs been told. This movie is an example of a great story that could be explored more but for what it was, it wasn’t bad.
Visit their webpage, here.
