Rating: C-
Dir: Amanda Iswan
Star: Jeff Smith, Cut Mini Theo, Dimas Aditya, Edo Borne
Having enjoyed my previous foray into the rather niche field of South-east Asian zombie movies, Malaysia’s Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie, I thought I would dip my toe back into the undead waters. However, this is really too generic to make much impact. It has a couple of concepts containing potential to work with, but feels about fifteen years past the point where it would have made much of an impression. It isn’t particularly Indonesian, which I think is what I was seeking. I mean, could your lead actor possibly have a blander name? Smith plays Deon, a teenage boy whom we first encounter walking into the middle of an argument between his parents.
Fast forward two years, and he’s now a troubled teenager, perpetually getting into fights at school. Discipline is rudely interrupted by a classmate taking a bite out of the school nurse’s neck. Turns out an amoebic infection has kicked off the zombie apocalypse, so he rushes home to take care of his mom (Theo). She has now split up from her husband, and seems to be in the early stages of dementia. The sign Deon hangs off their apartment balcony eventually attracts the attention of Reza (Aditya), but that may not be exclusively a good thing. Meanwhile, the government are trying to locate a serum that could cure the infected. Turns out Deon’s father is a medical researcher, and the safe in his parents’ bedroom might contain the key to salvation.
Interesting ideas abound. Zombies are attracted to sound, and this can be used to herd them. They only attack those whose brains are in perfect condition. That gives Mum a degree of immunity, though again – not exclusively a good thing. There are different types of zombies, with varying traits: the Alpha Zeta and Omega Zeta. Then there’s probably the most startling moment. Deon is exploring another apartment looking for food, when he comes across a zombie baby, lying in its crib (top). The problem is, like most of the other angles, it’s not developed fully enough and feels wasted as a result, little more than a cheap shock. Similarly, the Alphas and Omegas should be of greater importance than they end up being.
The execution is surprisingly meh as well. Having seen my share of Indonesian action films, such as The Night Comes for Us, I was excited to see the same approach applied to a zombie film. I would still be excited to see this, because Zeta does not count. There’s an early scene where Deon is fighting his way through the apartment building with a baseball bat, and it feels like every swing at a zombie cuts away before impact. This kind of approach might have passed muster in the early days of the Z Renaissance. Now, we expect better. The whole thing just about managed to hold a sliver of my attention. But if you asked me how it ended, there would be vague handwaving going on.