"Alive"
Movie Review
Written and directed by
David Marantz, "Alive" stars Ellen Hillman, Kian Pritchard, Neil
Sheffield, and Stuart Matthews and is about Helen's journey into a ruined world
with her boyfriend Kevin and little brother Barney. Desperate to find help
after Barney's infection slowly turns him into a zombie, they come across a
house where Dan lives, a man hiding a heavy secret.
Dan plays Neil Sheffield,
and now we see him fishing his way home, fetching water from the stream, and feeding
him something in the attic. Elsewhere, Miss Horton, played by Simone McIntyre,
tries to reach a safe settlement on a coastal island. Along with her is Helen
played by Ellen Hillman and her boyfriend Kevin by Kian Pritchard. There is
also Helen's younger brother, Barney, who is bitten but resists turning as long
as he is fed raw meat.
The film quickly goes to
the countryside as the plot matches its budget. The kids get separated from
their teacher and, you guessed it, Dan runs across. There’s also a group of
survivors led by Father Albert played by Stuart Matthews who may pose a bigger
threat than the walking dead.
David Marantz clearly made
Alive for nothing. The burning building scene has really cool CGI smoke effects
and the police vs zombie battle involve three or four cops and six or seven
zombies. It's a shame because the building plays no role in the plot and could
have been cut once we saw how bad it was. The fight scene would have worked if
only a few friends and family could talk about playing zombies.
Fortunately, beyond those
two scenes, the filmmakers have matched their aspirations to their budgets.
It's easy because Alive focuses on human-to-human issues rather than zombie
attacks. It has been some successes and failures in this department. While it's
treated as a mystery, the mystery of what's in Dan's attic isn't just clichéd,
it's pretty obvious. On the other hand, the cult-turned-Father Albert makes
nasty opponents, especially after revealing their plans to Helen.
The
real problem is that Alive hasn't proven that the zombies themselves are a
threat. But what really works is the ending, which goes to a place I really
didn't expect. It's a strange and hopeful ending that questions the standard
notion of what counts as a monster and makes up for the film's many other
shortcomings. For a low-budget film shot on weekends and during the covid
lockdown, Alive looks good and has many good moments. It has some rough spots,
but it cuts through and provides precise action and a solid finish.
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