I still don't know what sort of movie I just saw. There are an absurd number of positive reviews here, and they all praise the movie for being 'different' or for having some deep theme. There are a lot of other movies about couples fighting to stay together through a wide variety of adversity. This movie wants to do the same, but stumbles in several key areas. First, it's hard to care about the characters at all. The only exception to this is that the female lead draws, which makes her a little bit more of a character. The male lead surfs, and if you find that to be an endearing trait, more power to you. Second, the script is bizarre. The tone of scenes shifts unexpectedly, and the direction is very strange. There's a long scene where a cop comes to visit. After ringing the doorbell, he is invited in, straightens a picture, then sits down at the kitchen counter. He discusses grapefruit juice with the female lead. Only then does he finally reveal why he's stopped by. Aside from the lack of realism in this scene, (such as, regardless of genre, it's appropriate to have a cop act like a cop) the scene goes on about 4 or 5 times longer than it should. I understood the reason for the scene, but it would have been much more effective as a short scene, involving a cop who acted like one, and without the irrelevant chatter about juice.
Other directorial choices are puzzling. Near the end, the quality of the film changes to what looks like a shot-on-video day-for-night approach. I noticed a specific shot where the characters were all swept to the lower corner of the shot, and remained that way.
That said, there are some nice looking shots. I don't know if I could specify many of them, but they are there.
On a larger level, zombie films are about the larger event. Similar to Cloverfield, they're about a meta-event, with the film focusing on a smaller group's reaction to the event. In this case, there is no outside event.
I had been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I read about it in the Asbury Park Press. I really did want to like it.
Other directorial choices are puzzling. Near the end, the quality of the film changes to what looks like a shot-on-video day-for-night approach. I noticed a specific shot where the characters were all swept to the lower corner of the shot, and remained that way.
That said, there are some nice looking shots. I don't know if I could specify many of them, but they are there.
On a larger level, zombie films are about the larger event. Similar to Cloverfield, they're about a meta-event, with the film focusing on a smaller group's reaction to the event. In this case, there is no outside event.
I had been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I read about it in the Asbury Park Press. I really did want to like it.