I saw this last year and dismissed it as too simplistic and poorly made. I watched it again tonight and while those opinions are still valid, I think the movie is fairly well made for an amateur project.
LOCATION. Other reviews point out some of the obvious flaws such as mowed lawns but that's a minor point. We see mowed lawns and flower beds in major post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows let alone an amateur production. We can finds scenes like that all through TWD. We can't ignore the reality that these type of shows are filmed in the real world with streets or houses blocked off for filming for only a day or two. Having said that I did find that the film makers were able to portray communities that appeared to be empty. Many movies do that only at night or early morning when they can get access to the streets but I felt this movie portrayed that emptiness in the middle of the day which is unusual.
PANDEMIC. The effect of the virus on people did seem a little extreme with the red skin and holes. You'd think people would die long before that but that is not a major issue in this movie. Again some reviews are saying that bodies are not decomposed after five years yet clearly some adults are still alive. Not only those adults hunting the kids but we see at least two adults in the end stages of the pandemic. So while the core of the pandemic might have been five years ago, some adults are still living and dying so not all would be decomposed. Also the pandemic is just the reason to set the story up. There was a feeling that they might have wanted to take that story in a different direction with the killing of the infected male but they never did.
CHARACTERS. Some reviews complain that Ellie is completely unprepared for this world. That's correct but that is what they show us. She still lives at home. She goes to her local dance hall. She has stayed in her own neighbourhood. She's buried her family in the backyard and we don't know how long ago they died. She might have been with some her family only up to months before we meet her. Yet she is able to forage for herself and can make choices when she needs to like killing the infected woman. One day she bikes over to the dance hall again and is then chased away so does go out unprepared. From her reaction I think we can assume this is her first time encountering the men in white.
The Quinn character is interesting as she is very practical and yet we could argue that knowing of the men in white, she could have been better prepared. Have "bug out" bags ready and placed in various locations. Having to go to the hardware store to get supplies when she had upwards of 5 years to gather that altogether. Again something that we see in more main stream movies as well.
The Men in White are neutral but also don't make any sense. Any teen who is still free and surviving on their own will likely have one or more weapons. All they needed was to have a team killed by teens and they would be a more military, well-guarded force. Not a bunch of guys with dart guns. We saw what happened to some of them.
ACTING. The acting isn't bad. Eve James as Eliie is actually better at the start of the movie when she is on her own. Kannon Smith as Quinn has a slightly more rounded character and plays it OK. I found I was interested in her character. Both are young novice actors so let's see how their careers might continue on.
LIGHTING. I also appreciated the fact that the lighting was bright and the filming very clear. Even the night scenes. Far more crisp than some better well-financed movies and TV shows.
BAD ELEMENTS. There were bad elements but so many are common in this genre.
*Grass and flower beds as mentioned above.
*Where are adults getting fuel 5 years later?
*Why are they not driving more off-road style vehicles?
*Disease make-up too extreme.
*Foolish things like there being cannibals. Really? There would still be enough canned food for years. You have access to thousands of guns (but you only have pistols?) and since there was no reference to the virus affecting other mammals or birds so you'd have an ever increasing wildlife population let alone the hundreds of thousands of all the various livestock still around.
All of these minor complaints can be found is so many other movies and TV shows.
In the end this is a low-budget movie, fairly slow, about a developing teen Lesbian relationship. With the subplot of youth against adults. Go into it as an amateur production and you'll find it worth your 80 minutes.
LOCATION. Other reviews point out some of the obvious flaws such as mowed lawns but that's a minor point. We see mowed lawns and flower beds in major post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows let alone an amateur production. We can finds scenes like that all through TWD. We can't ignore the reality that these type of shows are filmed in the real world with streets or houses blocked off for filming for only a day or two. Having said that I did find that the film makers were able to portray communities that appeared to be empty. Many movies do that only at night or early morning when they can get access to the streets but I felt this movie portrayed that emptiness in the middle of the day which is unusual.
PANDEMIC. The effect of the virus on people did seem a little extreme with the red skin and holes. You'd think people would die long before that but that is not a major issue in this movie. Again some reviews are saying that bodies are not decomposed after five years yet clearly some adults are still alive. Not only those adults hunting the kids but we see at least two adults in the end stages of the pandemic. So while the core of the pandemic might have been five years ago, some adults are still living and dying so not all would be decomposed. Also the pandemic is just the reason to set the story up. There was a feeling that they might have wanted to take that story in a different direction with the killing of the infected male but they never did.
CHARACTERS. Some reviews complain that Ellie is completely unprepared for this world. That's correct but that is what they show us. She still lives at home. She goes to her local dance hall. She has stayed in her own neighbourhood. She's buried her family in the backyard and we don't know how long ago they died. She might have been with some her family only up to months before we meet her. Yet she is able to forage for herself and can make choices when she needs to like killing the infected woman. One day she bikes over to the dance hall again and is then chased away so does go out unprepared. From her reaction I think we can assume this is her first time encountering the men in white.
The Quinn character is interesting as she is very practical and yet we could argue that knowing of the men in white, she could have been better prepared. Have "bug out" bags ready and placed in various locations. Having to go to the hardware store to get supplies when she had upwards of 5 years to gather that altogether. Again something that we see in more main stream movies as well.
The Men in White are neutral but also don't make any sense. Any teen who is still free and surviving on their own will likely have one or more weapons. All they needed was to have a team killed by teens and they would be a more military, well-guarded force. Not a bunch of guys with dart guns. We saw what happened to some of them.
ACTING. The acting isn't bad. Eve James as Eliie is actually better at the start of the movie when she is on her own. Kannon Smith as Quinn has a slightly more rounded character and plays it OK. I found I was interested in her character. Both are young novice actors so let's see how their careers might continue on.
LIGHTING. I also appreciated the fact that the lighting was bright and the filming very clear. Even the night scenes. Far more crisp than some better well-financed movies and TV shows.
BAD ELEMENTS. There were bad elements but so many are common in this genre.
*Grass and flower beds as mentioned above.
*Where are adults getting fuel 5 years later?
*Why are they not driving more off-road style vehicles?
*Disease make-up too extreme.
*Foolish things like there being cannibals. Really? There would still be enough canned food for years. You have access to thousands of guns (but you only have pistols?) and since there was no reference to the virus affecting other mammals or birds so you'd have an ever increasing wildlife population let alone the hundreds of thousands of all the various livestock still around.
All of these minor complaints can be found is so many other movies and TV shows.
In the end this is a low-budget movie, fairly slow, about a developing teen Lesbian relationship. With the subplot of youth against adults. Go into it as an amateur production and you'll find it worth your 80 minutes.