"Refuge" is a better than average PA flick with good apocalyptic atmosphere. The main characters are a small family of survivors holed up in an exurban house trying to wait out a genocidal plague that has decimated the population. Due to the gigantic loss of life, both the economy and the infrastructure have collapsed. The family includes 'Birdie', an asthmatic 8-yr-old young girl (who's played by a better actress than child roles usually are) and Kyle, an old artist and family friend who's quite handy with a shotgun. Kyle is actually a more interesting character than the parents are although we don't learn much about him.
About thirty minutes into the movie, the family is joined by Russell, a young man who was injured while fleeing from another group that he used to belong to. During his time with them, that group regressed into murderous bandits who slaughter other survivors for their food and supplies. Although 'Rez', the group's leader, was a close friend of his, Russell was horrified by what Rez & the others were turning into under the stress of post-apocalyptic existence. In the few scenes in which it's shown, Russell's dilemma was realistically portrayed and is probably the best part of the movie.
The movie's main weakness is the bandits' illogical ability to keep finding Russell. No explanation is ever given for how they're able to do this. Another weakness is that we never find out why the family survived this long when so many others didn't. Yet another weakness is the peculiar shortage of firearms among both the survivors and the bandits. If 98-99% of the population of America have died, that means there's a huge number of firearms lying around waiting to be picked up by anyone who wants one... or ten... or twenty. "Refuge" is far from being the only PA film to have blundered into this obvious plothole. The legendary first season of "The Walking Dead" made the same mistake.
Summing up, if you're an intelligent afficionado of the PA genre, "Refuge" is well worth your time. Otoh, if you're looking for a mindless exercise in zombie-slaying, this movie is not for you.
About thirty minutes into the movie, the family is joined by Russell, a young man who was injured while fleeing from another group that he used to belong to. During his time with them, that group regressed into murderous bandits who slaughter other survivors for their food and supplies. Although 'Rez', the group's leader, was a close friend of his, Russell was horrified by what Rez & the others were turning into under the stress of post-apocalyptic existence. In the few scenes in which it's shown, Russell's dilemma was realistically portrayed and is probably the best part of the movie.
The movie's main weakness is the bandits' illogical ability to keep finding Russell. No explanation is ever given for how they're able to do this. Another weakness is that we never find out why the family survived this long when so many others didn't. Yet another weakness is the peculiar shortage of firearms among both the survivors and the bandits. If 98-99% of the population of America have died, that means there's a huge number of firearms lying around waiting to be picked up by anyone who wants one... or ten... or twenty. "Refuge" is far from being the only PA film to have blundered into this obvious plothole. The legendary first season of "The Walking Dead" made the same mistake.
Summing up, if you're an intelligent afficionado of the PA genre, "Refuge" is well worth your time. Otoh, if you're looking for a mindless exercise in zombie-slaying, this movie is not for you.
