REVIEW: Last Of The Living

When you think of New Zealand zombies are probably one of the last things that come to mind. If you are a film buff you may think of Sam Neil, Anna Paquin, or Peter Jackson who are all from New Zealand. Hell if you are thinking movies you will first probably think of Lord of the Rings if anything at all. Hell you might even be thinking of that comedy show “Flight of the Concords” whose two main characters are from New Zealand. Zombies though? Not a chance! At least not until now.

This was written and directed by newcomer Logan McMillan on a shoestring budget. Apparently the majority of the film was shot for only $5,000 and they only received a budget for the special effects to do the rest after creating a trailer on You Tube. While it is visible in a few areas that the budget is nowhere near a typical Hollywood movie the plot and characters should keep you entertained enough to completely overlook it! While by no means the next cult classic to take the throne of Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland it’s easily one that is worth picking up for your collection if you mix humor and horror. Let’s face it though most horror fans find the horror movies themselves humorous so that’s not really a stretch.

The film starts after the apocalypse has happened and most of humanity is clearly already dead or turned into one of the walking dead. We get to start by following three friends (Morgan, Johnny, and Ash) who are moving from house to house and living the ‘easy life’ of being able to just sit back, relax, and have fun. They raid the mall and grocery stores for beer, food, and entertainment while, depending on the character, going out of their way to either avoid or kill the undead. While looking for a new house they decide to stop in a church as it could be both easily defended and a change of scenery. Easily defended is right as they stumble across a father and daughter who are both scientists trying to create a cure. While the father is bitten pretty shortly after this we see that Stef, the daughter, has an idea on how to create the cure once and for all and demands they help her get to the hospital where she can have access to the equipment she needs. Apparently there is a group of scientists in a safe zone it can be delivered to that will be able to use her cure to force back the zombie infection from the world! Yes, we have a case of the infected and not the undead.

With a girl in the midst the guys are of course all smitten and from an ex actor, rocker, and geek only hilarity can ensue on how they react to both her and each other. Will this motley crew be able to work together to save the world and win the girl? Or will they try to sabotage one another to win her affection? I’m sure you can guess where that is going to go but still not be able to help but enjoy every minute of it!

Available on Amazon