Why was this movie filmed with a pink Motorola Razr.

Severely overrated film. Aged horribly because of the way it was filmed, acting isn't great, the story is severely unrealistic and it's pretty darn boring to be honest. I really don't see why this gets so much love.

I am really surprised at how average this movie is. I had heard that it's a favorite of a lot of critics and moviegoers alike. Outside of the impressive shots of a deserted London, there was nothing here that stood out much at all. The story was nothing new. Perhaps if I had seen it when it was released, I might have thought it to be exceptional. The "zombies" or those affected by the "rage" virus were speedy, and the almost stopwatch accuracy of infection were different twists on the Romero "Dead" movies of horror lore, but really this isn't that overwhelming. Maybe it's because zombies aren't my favorite Horror threats. The movie was loaded with annoying quick cuts and super close-in shots of the action. It was tough to decipher just what was going on. I watched this on Blu-Ray and maybe the format accentuated the film grain more than it should have. It got distracting. The lack of scares was surprising as well. I watched this alone in a darkened room and it didn't put me on edge in the least. I've spent most of my time knocking this movie and I think it's because it was so highly recommended. Even after all of my griping, it's clearly better than the majority of Horror films that have hit the theaters over the last decade.

Had me at the edge of my seat the entire time and the suspense really reels you in and knows how to keep it there. [spoiler] I loved how quiet and eerie the beginning quarter of the movie was and even more so when we meet Frank and Hannah, the whole shift Selena gets to experience as she learns there's more to surviving still even in as bleak of an age as the present day is my favorite character arc. My heart broke beyond belief when Frank died just because I really warmed up to him. His commentary on the horses, the supermarket and his protective nature over his daughter--plus that small moment when Jim called him dad in the middle of sleeping and then seeing Jim be the last one to wake up because Frank surely would've wanted him to get more sleep than he already had because he knew he had a rough night. [/spoiler] Now there are some moments that weren't really communicated well or too well understood on my part and others that I've seen online such as [spoiler] the military suddenly showing up as Frank becomes infected or as to how Jim is the only survivor in the hospital. I really expected to see more cars on the streets and way more "zombies" (although they aren't really but I'll get into that in a bit) especially for a city as busy as London. [/spoiler] It didn't bother me though because you sorta have to suspend belief a bit and a lot of critics walked back on the idea that the UK could be overrun so quickly given the UK's actual response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And putting that aside, the movie was very phenomenal in it's cinematography, score and acting. I really love that [spoiler] the zombie's aren't really your typical ones that I've at least seen. These are genuinely terrifying and aren't undead necessarily but are just an enraged and bloodthirsty state carriers are perpetually put in when they come into contact with the virus. I come across zombie flicks thinking I can survive them but with these... no way lol [/spoiler] The most off-putting thing about the movie, looking back, is [spoiler] as to how Jim was able to essentially take down the entire military. Now I know it wasn't him alone, he had the help of the infected, but I find it a bit hard to believe that Jim was able to take down a soldier (who was some reason placed sitting at the jeep with the wires already cut out all under Major West's nose at the checkpoint) and make it back to the estate before the Major is able to arrive to the scene. It didn't bother me on my first watch but on my second I did notice it and find it a bit lazy. It's weird how Jim is able to get the drop on both Jones and later Mitchell too, and a bit stupid that Jim leaves his rifle without taking it with him since that was his only matter of self-defense against the infected and the soldiers. But I guess punching them and sinking his fingers into people's eyesockets was a better idea? [/spoiler] [spoiler] I don't know but I wish the milita was given more clues as they came to be, especially as to how they were able to form such an impressive perimeter in such a short time. And a bit more clues as to the mental state of these soldiers, the only real dive is Major West's father appeal to his men and how he stayed with Jones for the minute that he did. I really loved that and it said so much about his character that I wish we got to explore more of. He didn't seem to relish the fact that these women were going to be raped but he saw the apocalypse as a simple continuation of any violence he's seen prior, and maybe, through his flawed reasoning, saw that rape as a simple continuation of natural selection and society-building. It builds more into the primality of the movie and the essence of rage embedded into the virus itself which works really well when you tie it all back to the beginning when we got to see the monkey be subjugated to hours of footage showcasing human violence and anger. I wish we got to see more clues as to the milita's level of training since it'd explain why they were so easily overthrown and incompetent, I definitely don't believe that these nine were able to put together so many resources, supplies and the estate that they did without heavy causalities. But even assuming heavy losses, after such a tribulation I'd expect that these men would be able to respond adequately to an internal outbreak. [/spoiler] [spoiler] This militia definitely is a paper tiger needless to say, at least when they aren't being put to perimeter watch. I also still have questions as to why Farrell didn't do anything earlier, he knew what was going to happen. Maybe a change of heart but that wasn't really explored at all. Not that it needed to but I wish we got more buildup to his crazy dialogue that he spewed after being locked in with Jim after the escape attempt. [/spoiler] [spoiler] Jim's descent into bloodthirsty revenge was interesting too, especially when Selena wasn't sure if he was turned or not. I also find it a bit sad regarding Hannah. I don't think Selena as a character is spoken about enough. She's clearly someone who's seen and been through shit and her first thought is always taking care of Hannah. Seeing her hand Hannah those pills is a bit of a sad commentary over victims of rape and sexual violence in general... even though Hannah wasn't abused sexually (yet), a part of her had to die and grow numb in order to be "ready" to face what's ahead and Selena both understood that and jumped to her in an effort to make the experience a bit more tolerable. And seeing them in the red dresses as they run away from the violence is definitely intentional and I find it incredibly powerful. I don't want to call Selena a nihilist but man I love her how her humanity clings onto you especially given how we were initially introduced to her. Her dealing with Mark's bit with the brutality and coldness that she did was unnerving and beyond unexpected. And now that I am near mentioning it, that whole visiting Jim's house and how the infected broke in was traumatizing. Horrifying. The church scene tooooo... and the sudden movement the two infected made just scared the absolute crap out of me. Mark's backstory over the train station and his monologue over day zero was impeccably delivered too, I felt beyond immersed and invested. [/spoiler] My favorite part of the whole movie was definitely the possible implication that [spoiler] Mailer (the chained infected) was kept around for two reasons. One, because the movie tells you that Major West wanted to learn more about the infected and whether they could starve and eventually die out. And two, and this is my personal head canon, Mailer didn't agree with sexual slavery and dissented from the group, possibly causing a lot of trouble in the process. I want to believe that the infection retains some bare level of intelligence so that in a way Mailer dragging West back into the estate was his form of revenge, especially given the look Mailer gives to Jim after he is set free. Although this may be stretching too far and I accept that. [/spoiler] Also that transition from [spoiler] "Hell" to the movie's recurring use of "Hello" for the ending scene was just so beautiful. Sorry haha I just realized how much I've yapped about this movie so far. [/spoiler] Regardless, head canon or not, the end sequence is just so impactful and poetic me personally. I adore this movie and I look forward to finishing the rest of the series. Cillian and Naomie were brilliant but there is something about Christopher's presence on the screen that just keeps me engaged and invested. Definitely longest review I've ever given a movie and my first and only time I ever watched a movie twice back-to-back after the first viewing.

watching this was like watching saw on my friend's ipod in 2006 under a desk during our TA period except i'm pretty sure the ipod still looked better