Mutants Momentum Pictures

There's a quote on the back of the DVD box that states this is "One of the Best Sci-Fi Films in Recent Years". I'm not sure I know what film they were watching to come up with that quote but it sure as hell wasn't this one. Okay, it's not a terrible film by any means but best SF? Nah! And it's a horror film - not SF.

France has been infected with a plague that turns everyone into zombies. Sonia, her boyfriend Marco, and a soldier who seems more their captor than travelling companion, are attempting to find NOAH, a military base where scientists are seeking cure. They don't get there.

They run out of fuel and are forced to hide out in an abandoned apartment block. The soldier is killed and Marco infected. Everything then slows down as the plot centres on Marco slowly succumbing to the virus and Sonia's reaction.

For a zombie film there isn't much actual zombie action, the writer/director going for the psychological creep-out factor more than blood-pouring gore. To an extent he achieves this. It feels realistic, soiled.

Everything is coated with a layer of grime. The muted colours of the filming and wintry weather take this effect further, adding a feeling of decay to the buildings and people - above and beyond the obvious zombie-ness.

Stylish though this film is it doesn't truly succeed. For one thing the plot is a hotchpotch of ideas you've seen before a dozen times. And you can guess the ending from about fifteen minutes in. It's a nice try, but falls well short of greatness.

Page updated 11 June, 2010