Paradise Z

Warning: objects advertised in the trailer for this movie may be scarier than they appear.

A fairly exhaustive, but ultimately unadventurous, rendition of post-apocalyptic horror, in a world familiar to those acquainted with survivalist tropes.

The first half is, for reasons never made clear, not horrific in any way whatsoever, and more of a photomontage by the excellent Wych Kaosayananda, who also directs. Sources tell me the film was intended to be the first part of a trilogy, with two others to follow, which would flesh out the details and characterisation more. The third film in the trilogy, The Driver, is available via streaming services or on DVD, but the second part is on hold.

External themes aside, the pacing is very laboured, and runs down the clock with slowly panning around the natural landscape. Two other characters appear, to balance our two protagonists, after half an hour or so, and are murdered after a few sentences. When the zombies finally emerge, no particular explanation is given for what caused them or what they want – similar to in One Cut of the Dead, they’re just there, and it’s kill or be killed, and that’s all there is to it. Unlike One Cut of the Dead, any action scenes are so lacklustre as to render them more of a high-speed version of the movie’s first half. With more work and better editing, this movie could have been great, could have been like Train to Busan or the work of George Romero. Without it, it plays more like a draft or first cut.

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