The Horror Nation is now entering the second decade of Zombie-Mania. Since the massive success of the original Resident Evil film, followed by the Dawn of the Dead remake, along with the cult hit The Walking Dead, it appears as if the undead sub-genre is just as immortal as its subjects. Writer/Director Wesley Spangler in association with Bran-Man productions, attempts to put an original mark on the long lore of Zombies.
The nation is under siege as most of the population has been infected, turning the everyday citizen into flesh crazed monsters. Johnny and his girlfriend are attacked while strolling through town. Bitten and expected to become a brain dead ravenous zombie, Johnny awakes with new super human powers. The infection has somehow mutated the average man into an undead force of nature. Wanting to do good instead of harm, Johnny sets out in an attempt to eradicate the infected and find the source of a now well lead army of the undead. Desperate to find a cure or curb the rapidly spreading infection, a government agency seeks out these alpha mutated zombies in hopes of ending this undead plague. Johnny’s parents harbor a dark secret that could be the key to stopping the virus, or the lock that could seal the fate of a nation.
At its core, Z-ERO is a love letter to classic zombie films. With homages played from White Zombie to the immortal Night of the Living Dead. What was obviously filmed on a micro-budget, the team behind this production should be applauded for their effort. There are several elements that show very good promise throughout the film. Sharah Trigger stands out with a strong performance as the female alpha zombie. Writer/Director Spangler throws in some good laughs and scribes an original terror tale in the overly saturated zombie genre. While Spangler can take applause for originality, he must take full responsibility for the low level of production. The cuts during the film are choppier than an inlet lake in the middle of a hurricane. Audio score throughout the film is abysmal, almost appearing as if the film, spoken in English, is also dubbed in English. While Trigger and Spangler give admiral performances, the rest of the performers are more wooden than a stake driven through a zombie’s eye. This is to be expected on what appeared to be a production that was working on a nothing budget. Z-ERO does play as an almost laughable film, however; there are definitely enough good signs to hope that this team continues to improve and put forth more films in the future.
Scream Score: 5.2/10