#rage virus

Edit : I discovered 𝖭𝖾𝖾𝗍𝖫𝗂𝗑.𝗑𝗒𝗓 and it features instant smooth playback and is completely ad-free.

This post-apocalyptic virus breakout film is hard to find on streaming networks without standard subscription upgrades. The few open links I found have terrible audio delay issues.

This is definitely worth seeing! It’s a beautiful, moving, yet gory and thrilling movie! This film goes places other zombie films don’t, AND has several amazing stand out performances. I won’t say much more!!! US go see it!!!!

It is hard to buy into a lot of these newer sequels simply because time has passed. They want us to believe that only certain events transpired while others didn't. That is why 28 Years Later seemed poised to be one of the best legacy sequels in recent memory. They didn’t have to erase anything or start over. They just had to continue long after the events of what transpired before this one ever became a concept. Somehow now almost 20 years later and returning to a zombie ravaged landscape felt like a shoe in for one of the best films of the year. Sadly the outcome becomes one of the most jarring and misplaced films this year; one can only find themselves scratching their heads.

What I was hoping would be a review filled with great call backs and further set up never ended up happening. The early stages of this film were fantastic, setting up the island with a road that is accessible to the mainland only during low tide. A society built on the foundation that everyone did their part to keep it safe from the mainland threats. A village of this nature would need a lot of supplies on the mainland. They seemed so isolated from the mainland that when we did get glimpses of it did not feel ravaged enough. It felt protected and isolated for a land that had been on its own for 28 years. 

Besides the visuals and the early introductions to the characters this film essentially fell flat. It felt all like an introductory episode of a miniseries. When films do this it is very irritating because it feels like you can’t enjoy the product at hand because all they want to do is make you excited for the next part. If you do your job properly from the beginning the excitement will naturally grow. This entire film by design was set up to the last 2 minutes. 

There was never a moment where the horror elevated to a sense of dread. You never felt like the danger present was a threat to anyone. Even the two forms of infection we got introduced to felt like nothing. There was only one sequence that stood out and even that was highly unnecessary unless they come back to it at a certain point in the future. Other than that it would be used primarily for a shock value sequence and not at all for a plot purpose. These movies have stories that already account for high tension levels and then they simply ignore it for set up.

This world was built on the unexpected and everything about this film did away with what worked for this type of film. Sometimes flipping convention upside down works and other times what works has worked so many times prior for a reason. This same story could have been the idea but with bringing the doctor to the island. Showcase the threats you have and realize that you have to now go back to the mainland and face them all in the sequel. Facing the inevitable and not an open ending is how you develop a horror franchise. Horror works less on the promise and more on the execution of the world you want to represent. Give us the fallout, give us the high octane moments that put lives at risk within this world and allow our expectations about lingering threats to grow.

I don’t need high concept or high brow zombie survival thrillers. I want a threat to civilization and execution of that concept. Easy and simple. Set up should be simple and not the entire point of your movie. There is no story in mainly setting up for a sequel.