VOD Review: Here Alone (2017)

"Drama at the end of the world."

As Post-Apocalyptic infected/zombie flicks go, Here Alone is far more like 28 Days Later than it is anything that Romero ever created. 28 Days Later by way of The Walking Dead with less action and more interpersonal drama, to be exact. 

It's a slow movie, and as compelling as it may be, it might just be too slow for most people wanting an exciting infected zombie fix. 

The good news is though that with a premise that is way too overly-familiar by now, Here Alone offers a lot of substance that many of its peers lack, which makes it worthwhile.

Ann is an emotionally damaged woman living in a Post Apocalyptic world. After an airborne infection decimated the world's population, turning most people into hungry zombies, she lives alone in the woods of upstate New York, where she forages for food and does her best to survive.

SHE LOOKS LIKE MAGGIE FROM TWD IN THIS PIC.

When she comes across a guy and his step-daughter in need of help (the first people she's seen in nearly a year), she doesn't shoot them in the head and go on surviving like any rational person would do, no, she talks to them, and invites them back to her campsite. It's almost like she's never seen a Horror movie in her life!

AWKWARD.

Ann and her new "forest mates" grow to be uneasy allies in a world-gone-infected, and as they argue whether to head north to a "safe zone" or to stay put, things go from bad to worse, mainly because the step-daughter is an asshole.

YOU SHOULD HAVE CAPPED THEM BOTH AND MOVED ON.

Here Alone is a quiet movie that gave us a compelling (if way too familiar) story and some believable characters, and painted a realistic picture of what surviving in an "infected" world might just be like. Lucy Walters, who we know from her role on Power, anchors the movie with her performance, and never once did it feel like she wasn't up to the task.

The first 20-minutes of the movie has almost no dialogue, and is just Lucy Walters traipsing around the woods alone in survival mode, and never once did it feel odd or make us itch for something to happen. Both she and the situation felt real to us, and that right there is what many genre flicks never seem to get right.

The sad part about this movie though is that it's going to leave some Horror fans who love a good Post-Apocalyptic zombie flick wanting, as it's fairly light on bloody zombie action. At its heart, Here Alone is a story about survival and loss, and a stripped-down one at that. It's a movie about relationships, and how even at the end of the world mistrust and jealousy can have dire consequences.

That's not to say that it's not intense or scary at times, because it is. That stuff is just downplayed in favor of interpersonal drama is all. 

It's also a rather somber movie, as we learn what happened to Ann's husband and baby via flashbacks throughout the movie. Seeing as you know she's alone at the beginning, you also know that those flashbacks are going to cover some traumatic and heartbreaking ground. 

We had no issue with the movie's minimalist approach and quieter tone, and in fact we really liked it, but the ending irked the shit out of me. I get why it ended that way, and it makes sense from Ann's standpoint, but what the hell, Ann?

POOR ANN...

There's some bloodshed here and there, mostly towards the end, but it's very light on zombie action.

THEY DO LOOK COOL WHEN YOU SEE THEM THOUGH.

Lucy Walters bares it all, and there's a brief love scene.

SHE'S BEEN FLOATING IN A LAKE FOR A YEAR?

The biggest threat in a Post-Apocalyptic world is a moody teenager.

UGH.

Showing a different, more realistic side of survival after a "zombie" apocalypse, we really liked the hushed, personal way that Here Alone told its story. Lucy Walters aced her role, and despite the fact that the story moved a bit slow overall, the tone it set was effective and pushed us to the edge of our seats a few times.

It's definitely worth a rental if you like Horror flicks that have a somber tone about them.

B+

Here Alone is available now on VOD.

We wouldn't mind being stuck at the end of the world with Lucy Walters. Girl can survive, and she's fiery hot.

VOD Review: The Girl With All the Gifts (2017)

"A nice departure from the infected norm."

Based on the novel by Mike Carey (which was a pretty good read, by the way), The Girl With All the Gifts is an adaptation that ends up being better than most. That probably has to do with the fact that the screenplay was written by the book's author, which allowed for a certain level of care in the translation.

For those who have read the book, there are changes from book to screen, as there usually are, most notably certain deaths, and the omission of the "junkers" from the story. The ending "holy shit" ending stays faithful though.

Overall, fans of the book should be pleased with this adaptation.

The world has fallen victim to a nasty fungal virus that has left most of its population a mass of rabid zombies, affectionately called "Hungries." In a remote outpost populated by soldiers and scientists, humanity's only hope may lie in the hands of a teacher, Ms. Justineau, who is tasked with teaching a group of second generation "hungry" children who still retain much of their humanity despite their hunger for flesh. But teaching them what, that's the question.

MATH, MAYBE?

These children are treated as prisoners, bound to their chairs and escorted to and from their cells by gunpoint. They even feed the poor kids meal worms, like they're savages! One of the children, Melanie, has struck a chord with Ms. Justineau. Melanie seems human enough, but Ms. Justineau can't be sure if her sweet and lovable act is genuine, or just a tricky ruse to get her to let her guard down, so that she can eat her face off.

HE'S NOT BUYING THE NICE ACT, THOUGH. NOT FOR A MINUTE.

When the outpost is overrun with Hungries, Ms. Justineau, Melanie, Dr. Caldwell (who wants to vivisect Melanie), and a group of soldiers are forced to flee into the wilds, hoping to survive long enough to find a place to synthesize a cure to the plague. Somewhere along the way, they all might just learn to love again, too.

OR MAYBE THEY'LL JUST DIE.

The Girl With All the Gifts is a movie that took a more-than-tired sub-genre, and put a fresh spin on it, the results of which is a well-crafted story that was spun with plenty of care. Sure we've seen this story a hundred times before, but here, that story is smart, and it never reverts to the dreaded info dump or to too many overused tropes to get its point across.

The movie may be about a group of characters trying to survive a plague that turns people into infected "Hungries" that want to eat their face off, and of their mission to find a cure to the madness so that they can go on living, but that's about all that's familiar in this one. The place where the story ends up is pretty bold, and refreshing in a way.

The ending was bold a shocking, to say the least.

We also loved the way that the Hungries would stand around like they'd been paused, until they heard or smelled something edible come close. That made for a few intense scenes that mad us hold our breath.

Newcomer Sennia Nanua is the star of the show here, and she carries the movie admirably on her young shoulders. Considering that she's sharing the screen with top-notch actors like Glenn Close and Paddy Considine, that's saying something. She's all kinds of lovable as Melanie, to the point where you just want to reach through the screen and hug her, but at the same time she gave off a creepy aura of someone who could snap and rip a throat out at any minute. Nice job, kid.

And of course how can we not mention the beautiful Gemma Arterton, who is always a welcomed sight on screen.

CREEPY AS SHIT.

We actually get an R-rated level of bloodshed in this one.

SHE'S A MESSY EATER.

Not that kind of flick at all.

SHE SHOULD REALLY LOSE THAT SWEATER. IT'S WAY TOO CUMBERSOME.

Infected children are our future. Teach them well, and let them lead the way.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW, NANA!

The Girl With All the Gifts is a well-made spin on the infected zombie sub-genre, although I have to admit that for me, it left me wanting. I'm not sure what it left me wanting, more, I suppose, but that could just be me being picky. Maybe the ending threw me a bit. I don't know.

Overall though, this is a very solid flick that you'd do well to check out.

B

The Girl With All the Gifts is available now on VOD, with a Blu-ray/DVD release to follow on April 25th.

Gemma Arterton has some gifts of her own. Oh yes, she's got some gifts.

Review: Train to Busan (2016)

"Train to Awesomeness."

Think Snakes on a Plane (minus Sam Jackson) with shades of Snowpiercer (trapped on a speeding train plus the whole class war thing); the "strangers band together to survive in a world suddenly gone mad" aesthetic of the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake; the frenetic, rabid infected intensity of World War Z; and some acrobatic craziness like only the films that populate the world of Asian Cinema can offer, and that's basically what Train to Busan is.

That's not to say that it isn't it's own film, or that it borrows too heavily from the aforementioned efforts to be its own thing, but it played like an amalgamation of those movies, amongst others, and it bears noting.

Seok Woo is a workaholic fund manager and a great provider for his daughter, Soo-an, but he's not the best dad, because he's always working and doesn't spend much time with his baby girl. For her birthday, Su-an wants her dad to take her to Busan (by train) to see her mom, because she's a kid, and she wants some attention from at least one of her parents. So, desperate to make her happy, even if it means being without her, Seok Woo takes them on... The Train to Busan!

"ENJOYING YOUR TRAIN RIDE, HONEY?"

Aboard the train are a colorful cast of characters: a tough guy and his pregnant wife; a hot K-Pop star pretending to be a naughty schoolgirl; a stereotypical old business tycoon who thinks commoners are beneath him; two old sisters who you just know are going to die; a crazy homeless guy who looks like the dude from Snowpiercer; and a woman with a wound on her leg, who turns into to a zombie, and infects almost everyone else, thus turning them into ravenous zombies too.

IT SPREADS QUICKLY.

Everyone else who isn't infected, which is only a small band of folk, have to come together to survive the long training trip to Busan, because the train can't stop, because the world outside has gone to zombie shit too. Can Seok-Woo get his daughter to Busan, and to safety? Will Sang-Hwa prove to be the biggest badass in S.Korea? Will we be left feeling sad and dejected at how everything turns out for everyone? Maybe, yes, and sadly, yes.

WORST TRAIN RIDE EVER.

If nothing else, S.Korean movies tend to be sentimental, action-packed, and a bit out there, which is usually the reason that so many of them end up being so good. Train to Busan is all of those things, all while being one of the most intense and exciting infected flicks that we've seen in years.

For a movie that is so claustrophobic in its setting, Train to Busan is full of big action. Director Sang-ho Yeon uses the cramped quarters of his train setting to maximum effect, giving we the audience plenty of fights, chases, and narrow escapes to keep us on the edge of our seats. And blood. There's plenty of that, too.

As exciting as the movie is, it's made all the more harrowing thanks to a cast of realistic and well thought out characters who are played by some very likable actors. Sang-Hwa was easily one of our favorite characters of any movie that we saw in 2016, and he's a perfect example of why we loved this movie so much.

IT'S ALSO AN EMOTIONALLY INTENSE MOVIE TOO.

I'm usually a huge sucker for emotional subplots and beats in movies, even if they are heavy-handed, but some of the ones in this movie were even too sappy and forced for me.

SOMETHING ABOUT HER MOVED ME THOUGH...

I understand that most Horror movies are going to be downbeat, and most of their endings are anything but happy, but for the love of God the fates of most of the characters in this one were huge bummers. Seriously.

CHONG-GI SMILED ON THE INSIDE, KNOWING THAT SOON HE WOULD FINALLY KNOW WHAT HUMAN FACE TASTED LIKE.

It's a S.Korean zombie flick, so yeah, there's plenty of typical bloody zombie action throughout this one.

"FASTEN YOUR SEATBEEEEEELTS!"

Not that kind of movie at all.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN THOUGH. OH, IT COULD HAVE BEEN.

When Sang-Hwa strapped up and had a street brawl with a car-full of infected zombies. Good stuff.

IT'S GO TIME.

Train to Busan does the infected/zombie thing about as well as any movie since the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, and that's saying something. It's intense, heartfelt, crazy, and one of the best movies that 2016 had to offer.

See it when you can.

A

Train to Busan is available now on VOD.

Sohee is apparently a huge pop star in S.Korea. We can see why.