Posted by wabbit89 in REVIEWS | Comments Off on SHORT FILM REVIEW: Super Zero – A Zombie Short with a Twist

Zombies.

They’ve been done to death. No pun intended. So. Many. Zombies. Everywhere.

And frankly, I’ve never been much of a fan. I really don’t get the appeal. I do love Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies is endearing, and Zombieland is funny, but otherwise? Meh. Not my thing.

So imagine my surprise when I not only didn’t navigate away from a short YouTube film about the zombie apocalypse but also thoroughly enjoyed it. I love it when life sends me a nice surprise like that!

The film that managed this was a short called Super Zero, and if I were the grading type, I’d give it a high honors. Oh. Wait. This is a review and I can do such things? Oh. Okay, then. Five stars indeed!

In just over fifteen minutes, this film managed to make me sad, anxious, and intrigued. Plus, I laughed out loud. That’s a win in my book.

It’s also free and online for everyone to see (hopefully there are no geographic restrictions, though I can’t swear to that, as obviously I can’t try that out), which makes it even nicer.

You want more details? I’ve got them. Spoilers ahead! You have been warned!

The non-zombie survivors of this particular apocalypse form the usual team: the tough guy, the funny guy, the nerdy guy, and the hot girl. And of course they’re thrown together by circumstance and the odd man out has to prove his worth to the others in a trial by fire. Oh, and the nerd likes the hot girl. Typical.

The difference?

One of them is immune to zombie attacks – but not because he’s a badass. Actually, he’s about as far from badass as you can get. The nerd is sick. Terminally sick. As in, he’s going to die in the not-too-distant future. This is no special genetic mutation or wonder power. This is cancer eating him up and making him look already dead to the zombies.

That’s an interesting twist, and it gives the kid a serious edge over most other characters fighting the zombie apocalypse. He truly has nothing to lose.

So he goes for it. He’s going to go out in a blaze of glory.

But how does a nerd do that? With gadgets and gizmos that would make MacGyver proud, that’s how!

Now, I like gadgets a lot. And I loved seeing them kill zombies instead of the usual shotguns and bats. Plus, making the smart kid the hero? Nice. That appeals to the nerd in me a lot.

As required in any decent zombie story, there is some genuine, albeit brief, suspense in the middle of the short, and the nerdy humor works, too. The acting, cameras, and effects are impressive given the scope of the film and the music is fantastic.

Also true to genre form, some salty language makes Super Zero not suitable for work or kiddies, but it’s not excessive and is perfectly appropriate given the situation in which the characters find themselves.

All of that is great, but best of all, the underlying message of finding your own strength and using it to the best of your ability just reeks of awesome. I wanted the hero of this story to succeed. I liked him. I could identify with him – except for the being terminally ill part, thank goodness – and that goes a long way toward making a film work for me. And this one works, at least in my opinion. So, I’d recommend you check Super Zero out if you’ve got fifteen minutes to kill and a sense of humor. I think you’ll like it.

You can watch Super Zero below, and they’ve got a Facebook, Twitter, and IMDB pages, too.

Oh, and Super Zero creators? I’m in if you make more – which is to say, more please!

Rating: 5/5

GS Blogger: wabbit

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