Apocalypse Z – The Beginning of the End movie review: Prime Video’s unoriginal zombie thriller compels you to zone out

Also read – Leave the World Behind movie review: Julia Roberts’ apocalyptic thriller is more jaded than jaw-dropping

A still from Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End.

Manel’s epic journey towards the Canary Islands serves as a narrative highway of sorts, but director Carles Torrens doesn’t mind making pit-stops and detours along the way. For instance, Manel spends much of the first act developing a friendship with a largely immobile elderly neighbour. These scenes are reminiscent of the many side encounters that Joel and Ellie had in The Last of Us, most memorably with the couple Bill and Frank. The first act of the movie goes a long way in grounding it in an emotional reality, which is necessary in the moments when Manel is doing little else but evading hordes of the undead.

Speaking of which, the film’s action sequences are by far its weakest link. They’re filmed frenetically, relying more on jarring bursts of gore than sustained dread. Apocalypse Z is also severely lacking in suspenseful set-pieces like the ones in John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place movies — scenes with clearly defined and often very basic stakes. There’s only so much zombie violence that one can stomach, after all. Especially when it begins to feel a little repetitive. Perhaps if the action was shot in a less convoluted manner, it would’ve been more palatable, but as things stand, your eyes are likely to glaze over the 15th time Manel is chased by a bunch of zombies.

In the lead role, Francisco Ortiz has the correct blend of resourcefulness and vulnerability that you’d want from the hero of a post-apocalyptic film. You never want these characters to be overly skilled at survival, or for them to magically develop the necessary knowledge at the exact right time. Except that one time at the end. And because the movie spans several months, Manel’s evolution is easier to buy. It also helps that despite the many distractions in his path — there’s an overly long section set aboard a ship, for instance — his goal remains unwavering.

The emotional undercurrent hits a dam during the rather dull second act, when Manel finds himself trapped in a ship with three Russians. There was some chatter very early on about the virus having originated in Russia, although the movie is curiously cavalier about making any kind of political statements. Zombie movies are intrinsically allegorical — Sean of the Dead was about the mundanity of modern British life, while the less popular Juan of the Dead was about immigration crisis. Apocalypse Z is about… nothing really.

A still from Prime Video’s Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End.

Read more – Bird Box Barcelona movie review: Netflix’s sloppy spinoff abandons everything that made the original such a thrill ride

This isn’t exactly a bad thing; the movie does take a more character-driven approach than most other zombie films. But it’s certainly a missed opportunity. In its final act, the film borrows once again from far more accomplished zombie thrillers. This only invites further comparison, which continues to be a confounding strategy on Torrens’ part. He concludes the movie by setting up a sequel, which feels more like a contractual obligation than a key plot development. It’s yet another unoriginal beat in a film peppered almost entirely by them.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End
Director – Carles Torrens
Cast – Francisco Ortiz, José María Yazpik, Amalia Gómez
Rating – 2/5