Apocalypse Z Review: Entertaining and Thrilling

In this zombie horror film, Javier and his cat Lúculo face terrifying trials when a rabies-like disease starts to rapidly spread across the world turning human beings into aggressive creatures. When his plans to join his family in the Canary Islands fail, he takes it upon himself to get out of the city and meets different people on his journey to safety. In the midst of this, however, he must also come to terms with the tragic loss of his wife in the midst of a deadly apocalypse and find himself once more.

The movie has a runtime of 112 minutes and is based on the novel Apocalipsis Z 1. El principio del fin by Manel Loureiro.

Apocalypse Z Review

There is something about Apocalypse Z that is chillingly realistic and thoroughly relatable. The film, starring Francisco Ortiz, is just like other zombie films, but also nothing like it. The film isn’t just about surviving in a world taken over by a deadly virus by the human collective, but it’s also about a man’s personal survival as he goes through ups and downs in his personal life. This is a human story instead of a zombie one and that’s where it finds its footing to do something different.

The film does a great job of building the world before going into survival mode and you know exactly what’s happening before you go into fight and flight. It’s Javier’s relationship with those around him that sets this film apart from other zombie films and although it’s not what you might expect from the genre, I think it’s capability to tell a more micro tale instead of constantly focusing on the bigger picture is a breath of fresh air.

The film gets the emotional notes of Javier’s struggles right and with Lúculo by his side, it’s definitely one you can’t help but follow. With most of Javier’s interactions with the outside world full of adventure and emotion, there are hardly any dull moments. The storyline does a good job of giving these adventures the time that they require while also moving on to the next topic so that you don’t feel stuck for too long. Javier himself is a layered character, whose own grief of losing his wife clashes with the hopelessness of a world quickly changing for the worst, making us sympathetic to his woes at every turn.

Every character that he comes across adds something to the story as well as to his life, which I applaud the makers for. You can’t help but be moved by these moments as they further provide some much-needed downtime in the midst of the madness. However, not all is slow-paced, because there are quite a few chases and bitings in this zombie tale, which gets our adrenaline pumping. The practical effects are great and the zombies look great, so that’s a plus.

Francisco Ortiz is fantastic as Javier. He’s an ordinary guy who has been dealt with an extraordinarily bad hand. Although he, as an ordinary man, doesn’t have knowledge as a zombie killer, he adapts quickly and doesn’t make silly decisions as we have come to see in horror movies. Thus, you thankfully aren’t left frustrated by his decisions, something that is really important in such films. He is smart and resourceful and his slow progression from a shut-in and recluse to a man who realises the importance of family is really interesting to watch. His constant messages to his sister will leave your heart heavy, because you know he is struggling with his feelings in more ways than one.

This isn’t to say that the film is perfect – in fact, I found quite a few subplots to be extremely boring and unnecessary, simply padding the runtime and adding nothing to it. The boat sequence, especially, got on my nerves and I couldn’t figure out what the point of it all was. The series gets into a lull at that point, leaving viewers to wait for the next thing to happen in Javier’s life. The thing is, these different subplots don’t say anything because you have already watched Javier facing his biggest heartbreak, facing the zombies and whatnot. Adding the same thing over and over again does nothing but add unnecessarily to the runtime.

In the end, it’s the emotional points, the characters and the performances that leave the most impact. Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End features a great cast who give it their all and a sequence of events that are thrilling, emotional and interesting. There’s a good amount of tension that can leave viewers thrilled and a reason to love the characters that are introduced. It’s enjoyable in every sense of the term and although some of it is a bit boring, there’s merit to the series that makes it highly entertaining.

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Final Thoughts

Introducing something new to the runtime, Apocalypse Z is a thrilling and emotional watch. Despite some repetitive moments, the film does a great job of glueing us to the film throughout. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and adventurous watch.

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