This is a book adaptation with a gritty realism and not too much glamour. The characters are YA, but it doesn't lean too much into the familiar YA tropes. I enjoyed it, definitely worth a look.

Going into this I had absolutely no idea that it was based off a book. I’ve always enjoyed zombie movies and this was more of a teenage post apocalyptic type. It doesn’t pack much of a bite but has some really great moments. Things open really strong but slow down a lot as things progress. It’s a lot darker than I expected it to be. The small cast of characters are pretty good together. Despite it being pretty slow it was still very suspenseful and I was never bored. When things do move fast it’s very effective and provides plenty of great practical effects and gore. Adam MacDonald has proven capable of directing suspense and horror but he has also consistently had issues with his pacing. Overall though this was a nice little low budget zombie movie. * Triple Feature at AMC Crestwood 18

If this were a test, they would have failed.

What should have been a fun teenagers-vs.-zombies survival movie somehow turns into a mopey high school drama with weird camerawork, mediocre acting, and a brutal abuse storyline the film isn’t nearly good enough to handle. It takes itself way too seriously, delivers very little fun, and despite making it to the end, I can safely say it was not worth the time.