Remember when zombie movies were about
something, something other than running away from zombies? Or, if
they didn't lay on the social commentary, the movies at least tried
to do something fun or interesting with their story? Seriously, think
about it. Carriers was well done but formulaic. 28 Days
Later was all window dressing. But Shawn of the Dead? That
was a mildly critical of modern society while also being a slacker
comedy. And Zombieland had characters you cared about who had
places to go and things to do.
In the better zompocalypse movies, the
zombies situation gets the plot rolling, but it's the characters and
their stories that keep it going. And I mean proper characters, not
the stock players and stereotypes that populate a lot of horror
movies, but real people you can sympathize with. Wyrmwood, as
crazy and ridiculous as it is, is full of people you like and feel
sorry for.
One night, apropos of nothing and with
no warning, the sky is full of shooting stars. The following morning,
for no apparent reason some people have turned into zombies. Benny's
out pig hunting with his brothers when it happens. Barry is at home
with is wife and daughter, and his sister Brooke is working in her
studio. When the zombies happen, each one is caught up in a different
situation; Benny and Barry intersect and together they set off to
find Brooke.
Wyrmwood is advertised a cross
between Mad Max and Dawn of the Dead, which I think is
more telling of the film's atmosphere than its plot. In short, it's
high energy craziness. Thankfully, the movie doesn't waste any time
on inter-personal drama. In fact, everyone's pretty likeable and
complete strangers easily band together to deal with the situation.
It's rather refreshing to watch a zombie movie that doesn't feel the
need to cram in a lot of conflict within and between survivors, and
Wyrmwood understands that cutting down on needless human drama
leaves room for more important things like zombie-proofing your ride
and performing weird experiments on people.
Even though Wyrmwood features a
kind of action/adventure plot, the film does leave time for musings
about how and why the zombies happen. As the title suggests, the
movie takes its end-of-days scenario literally, drawing inspiration
from the Book of Revelations. Again, its a nice change from the
constant onslaught of viral- or radioactive-led zombie plot.
Moreover, Wyrmwood's writers have thought this thing through,
giving reason to why some people survive and others don't. Most
impressive of all is the attention to detail given to the zombies
themselves, to how they operate and what it means for the survivors.
Wyrmwood is not without its
problems. A great deal of this movie appears to have been shot in
close-up which creates a certain amount of disorientation. Adding to
this is the constant racking focus which, under normal circumstances
would focus viewer attention, but in this case only serves to create
too much chaos in an already chaotic space. The film's zany enough
without the need for additional “creative” camerawork.
The film ends at an odd point in the
story, one might even call it a turning point. Friends of mine took
it to mean the movie didn't actually have an ending. I think the
opposite. I think after witnessing everything that happens, you know
where the story's headed and don't need to see it. Ending with the
big, expected confrontation would be too much, too Hollywood for an
indie Aussie zombie movie. Rather, the film ends on the build-up to
that moment and it feels more personal, more invested in the
characters.
I hesitate to call Wyrmwood a
mad-cap thrill ride through the zompocalypse, but it does present us
with some fun, new ideas about the zombie uprising.
