Ludovico Treatment #32

As much as I dislike the concept of a zombie outbreak, here's a little film that wants to exploit it for all its worth. 

Here's the idea... we liked the idea of a Hollywood-created, American-manufactured zombie; it had since stayed with us since the 1970's. Some people might argue as to the reason why we do that - or even go into the gritty details on if it is feasible. (Some of the more gullible people even go so far to prepare for it.) But at the end of the day it fascinates us. I don't fully understand why. This movie wants to tell us of a story of a man who has lost his whole life in a zombie outbreak and would do anything to help get his son to safety, because that was all he had left to care for. And the love of a father can be quite ingenious at times - up to and including using the old "carrot bait" idea to keep his zombie-body going. It all sounds really endearing. 

The brilliance of the film goes a long way, really. It inverts the traditional parents' roles (mother driving, father taking care of the child) perhaps to emphasize that fathers care, too. And there's no difference in parental love. The men at the end of the film seem much more callous and dismissive, perhaps as a way to contrast the humanity of the father who had died. The ways the Father had devised to keep himself and the notes he left to those who would hopefully see his child were the testament of using your brain in a time of crisis. And that's commendable. 

What the story really falls flat on is the foundation - the American-zombie outbreak scenario. Aah, I'm tired of this trope by now. It's time to give other monsters of men and Nature a time to shine. 

- Syn