With all the zombie media out there have you ever thought what you would do if you found yourself in the middle of the zombie apocalypse? It’s fun to discuss your plans for survival and clever weapons you may devise to battle the hordes of the undead. But what would you do if a loved one was infected and became one of the undead? Would you be able to simply put them down so easily? Or would you tend to them with the hope that somehow they could return and not be the flesh-eating monstrosity they’ve come to be? About A Zombie takes a faux-documentary approach and captures a family that has been struck with the dilemma and has decided to take in and nurture their zombiefied kin despite all the dangers that come along with it.
An American documentary film crew gets word about a Dublin family whose son Billy is infected during a zombie outbreak taking place in Ireland. The film crew rushes over and begins filming as the situation seems only to escalate. The people of the town seem to all be in agreement, that Billy should be killed right along with all the other zombies.
Despite being filmed on a low budget the film’s first time director, Bing Bailey, manages to do a commendable job at giving us something fresh in an oversaturated zombie film market. That being said, the attempts to go for humor and shocks for me took away what could have elevated this film from being just another zombie film. Using the protective parents that simply can’t let go of their son and will do anything they can to protect him is something I was getting into. Seeing the parents being accosted on the streets and simply being ostracized by those who were once their friends — this is what we don’t get to see in zombie films, and the filmmakers only touching on these issues was a tease.
But for where the film went too far in the name of shock value instead of story was with Billy’s girlfriend. She’s pregnant and still cares about Billy. Now, I’m not a prude, and I have no issues with over-the-top gore, but a sequence where the girlfriend tries to spend alone time with him…well, it’s a bit much. This just never seemed like a film trying to hit an audience with shock and awe, but it’s moments like this where I feel the film indulged itself on the gruesome when it simply wasn’t needed. In contrast there is an equally brutal scene, but where I find it works so well comes from the fact it’s a mother simply feeding her undead son and will do just about anything for him.
What I did find a little bothersome is the style in which the film was shot. There is nothing wrong with the documentary style we see here, but certain shots just seem a bit hard to believe this “crew” would just sit back and film. But what had me scratching my head more was who was working the camera in certain shots if we are supposed to believe it is only the characters in the film working the cameras. Is this something that the casual viewer will dwell on? Not too likely, but it is something I did find a little meddlesome at times.
Overall this is a solid entry for an independent zombie film. I can appreciate the attempt to give the viewer more than simply a 90-minute montage of zills, Bing Baily actually steps up and tries to give us horror fans something with a little more bite. It may not be the next horror masterpiece, but it’s a step above the genre masses that simply deliver more of the same.
