There's something to be said for an action hero who finds himself in over his head. When we first meet Bryan (Austin Abrams), he's a semi-competent medical courier with a possibly pregnant girlfriend on the phone and a missing signature on a deliver form. Trying to find someone to sign it keeps him around the snowed-in hospital just long enough to be offered a job delivering a mystery package to Racoon City. Who can say no to overtime pay?
Everybody watching this knows that a trip to Racoon City is a one-way ticket to mutant zombie hell; even if you've never played the (very successful) games, you've probably seen one of the numerous (slightly less successful) films based on those games, many of which starred Milla Jovovich. The fun thing about this very fun movie is that director and co-writer Zach Cregger (Weapons) knows what his audience is anticipating. Does he deliver? He does - just not in the way you might expect.
Slipping and sliding on the icy roads in the middle of the night, Bryan hits a woman who walks right out in front of him. We know what that means: zombie time! Bryan, on the other hand, does not know it's probably not the best idea to go after her and see if she's okay. This will not be the last bad decision he makes this night.
What follows is a slow build up to a wild ride that revels in horror cliches and video game mechanics when its not busy subverting them. Memorable images, startling moments, nail-biting sequences, and big moments that mange to be both ridiculous and terrifying; this has it all.
It doesn't forget the franchise's video game roots either. Bryan constantly levels up the weapons he has, while inventory management is also surprisingly important. That said, he's not a great shot, doesn't really know how guns work and experience doesn't help him get any better. Also, padlocks; they're all over the place.
Being a bit of a doofus makes Bryan both charming (kind of) and relatable, even as he goes from being freaked out by what he's facing to showing some decent puzzle-solving skills in the face of mutated hordes of ravenous killers. Especially as almost everyone else he meets - and he spends a lot of time on his own here - is even less competent. Not that being competent helps matters, as a couple of short-lived characters make very clear.
Nobody is safe from the horror that is unfolding, but at least there's a bunch of good laughs along the way. The comedy here ranges from the extremely dark to, well, there's an electric fence gag you'll see coming from a mile away. It's also got plenty of jump scares and some fairly inventive monster designs, plus a lot of gore that's more unsettling (or darkly funny) than disgusting. And Bryan's relentless drive forward means he keeps on pushing himself into and through some pretty rough situations; in a city full of cannibal zombies, choosing to drop down into the sewers requires a very specific mindset.
At a tight 90 minutes and with a plot that runs on rails - he's got to deliver a package, no more no less - this doesn't mess around. Bryan finds himself in a bad situation, and by the time he realises how bad it is, it's gotten worse; a living nightmare for some, a fun night at the movies for others.
- Anthony Morris
No comments:
Post a Comment