Don't Grow Up (2015)

The story about a group of youths who can't face the thought of growing up because anyone who does becomes a rampaging zombie.

Director:

Thierry Poiraud

Writer:

Marie Garel-Weiss (screenplay by) (as Marie Garel Weiss)

Stars:

Fergus Riordan, Madeleine Kelly, McKell David

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fergus Riordan	...	Bastian
Madeleine Kelly	...	Pearl
McKell David	...	Liam
Darren Evans	...	Shawn
Natifa Mai	...	May
Diego Méndez	...	Thomas
Dominique Sands	...	Young Bastian (as Dominique Baute)
Victor Solé	...	Bastian's Father (as Victor Esteban Sole)
Daniela Jerez	...	Bastian's Sister
Sol de la Barreda	...	Bastian's Mother
Santiago López	...	Killer Gas Station
Maykol Hernández	...	Antoine
Holly Ainsworth	...	Holly
Guacimara Correa	...	Holly's Mother
Harrison Noble	...	Harry

Storyline

The story about a group of youths who can't face the thought of growing up because anyone who does becomes a rampaging zombie.

---

Plot Keywords:

youth | boat | fire | murder | child with a gun | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violence, language throughout including some sexual references, and teen drug and alcohol use

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Spain was only released in 11 theaters (10 provinces). The film was projected in dubbed version / subtitled version (2 theaters).

User Reviews

Done!

44 years old and I still don't feel like an adult. So, yeah. I probably won't.

While we're waiting 28 years for a 28 Months Later sequel, I guess we can settle for Don't Grow Up. Though it's a very toned down and lower budget than the 28 Days/Weeks series, it would've been nice to be thrown post-made into the 28 universe much like Cloverfield parasites on other projects.

In a youth center on the world's largest island, a surprising low number of residents find the sole adult supervisor gone and so the bad kids do bad things. Until...they find out the adults have...all gone mad!

Presumably, any person on the island that's old enough to {fill in the blank} gets a mild case of the rabies. My guess the budget only allowed enough scenes of the horror of the show so, sadly, this movie heavily relied on the kids' drama.

Luckily, the kids' acting is fairly good and the movie was well shot, it's the lack of budget (or ambition of the writer/director) that makes most of this a missed opportunity. Half the time, you forget you're watching a horror movie or that there's any real threat out there. The kids aren't that likable, so you're never really rooting for them and with the little information we're given, apparently, they might become adults (SEE: Title) and get sick themselves, so, there's no real hope.

Still, the movie and kids' mission is to get off the island as they're hunted by both the sick and those younger than them. So, fine, I guess there's a tiny sparkle of hope.

I can think of many more movies that kinda takes these themes and did it far better (like the aforementioned 28-series in addition to Train to Busan, Dawn of the Dead, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.) but considering this is only 81 minutes and it's pretty to look at, it receives a mild pass.

***

Final thoughts: On a horror podcast I'm addicted to, Shockwaves, I heard a glowing review of this and I knew this was new to my subscription of Shudder. Always loving their recommendations and new-to-me horror, I jumped at the chance. Apparently, that one review was the one good one...well, that was a shock.

Details

Country:

France Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 2015 (France)

Also Known As:

Alone

Filming Locations:

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,764

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noodles Production, Capture the Flag Films, Arcadia Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1