How I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse (2009)
Directed by: Christian Cantamessa
Written by: Christian Cantamessa and Chris Pasetto
By now you're probably sick of people telling you how sick you are of zombie movies. Maybe like me, you're not even really sick of them, but just kind of tired of the same formula dreamt up by George Romero all those decades ago. A few months ago I would have put myself in the "so over zombies" camp. However, lately I've been seeing a bunch of really solid takes on the genre that succeed despite still working in the confines of the Romero cliches. The reason they work is making everything surrounding those cliches, the characters, story, and thematic elements, a little fresher, a little more updated. I think there's still some...ahem...life left in the zombie film, at least for a little while longer.
A few weeks ago I attended the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival, and despite being a bit underwhelmed by many of the offerings, I discovered a nice little gem in one of their shorts programs. Christian Cantamessa's How I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse isn't trying to re-invent the genre by any means, however it does offer enough invention to make it an entertaining little film that hints at something that could work as a larger piece. It's a quick moving and bleak tale with interesting photography, strong acting, and some pretty scary zombies.
You may be aware of Cantamessa's work through the western actions video game Red Dead Redemption. Here he is channeling a lot of the tone of survivalist video games into a compact story about a mother and son team of zombie apocalypse survivors.
The duo, played quite effectively by BooBoo Stewart (the Son) and Lindsay Stoddart (the Mom), scavenge for supplies while fending off zombies in their ravaged city. Facing boredom, tedium, and to stave off fear, they make a game of it gaining points for each accomplishment whether it be finding a crucial piece of equipment or killing a zombie. The story is laid out a bit like a video game with minimal, claustrophobic setting and some gruesome zombies. The atmosphere is effective as the two wander in and out of boarded up, dimly lit homes often caught surprise by roaming zombies lurking around the corners.
(Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned by Zombies.)
The duo, played quite effectively by BooBoo Stewart (the Son) and Lindsay Stoddart (the Mom), scavenge for supplies while fending off zombies in their ravaged city. Facing boredom, tedium, and to stave off fear, they make a game of it gaining points for each accomplishment whether it be finding a crucial piece of equipment or killing a zombie. The story is laid out a bit like a video game with minimal, claustrophobic setting and some gruesome zombies. The atmosphere is effective as the two wander in and out of boarded up, dimly lit homes often caught surprise by roaming zombies lurking around the corners.
(A setting for someone's last supper?)
The short sets up a few standard rules established by the survivalist team. In a particularly bleak ending, the characters do not shy away from the rules that have clearly kept them alive. My favorite part of apocalypse-themed movies is that it gives one a chance to think about what one would do if in the position of the characters. We are able to second guess decisions from the comfort of our couches, but how far would we go if our survival was really at stake? What about in terms of whether or not to show mercy in a life or death situation? If the zombie film keeps asking these questions in a way that accounts for changes in the attitudes of new generations, then I'm all for keeping it going.
You know, first it was zombies. Then it was vampires. Now, zombies have shambled back to the top of the heap. I say, let 'em bite it out in the big ring — zombies vs. vampires, best of three. May the best corpse win...
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