For 301 days a family has been living in a bomb shelter, trying to remain safe after an apocalyptic outbreak of some virus that is not named or mentioned. A father, mother and young daughter named Zoe, are all that we are left to believe remain of the living world. The hide, afraid of the "breathers" hoping to survive and life long enough to figure out what is going on, and what might be the next thing to do.
This movie is slow to start. It begins with a family going through the motions, trying to keep things under control and pleasant for their young daughter. The family finds a rat has been getting into their supply of food, and this is when the trouble seems to begin. They stalk the areas to see if they can find the rat before it eats too many of their rations. When they do find the rat, something goes wrong and a fire begins, causing a cascade of issues. The family must not go outside to move things and make sure no one saw the smoke or ashes from the fire, otherwise their lives may not be in danger, and their very existence may falter.
Okay so here is a SPOILER so if you haven't seen this movie I suggest you don't keep reading this part.
This movie is a zombie movie of sorts. The family has been affected by a virus which has gone airborne. The virus causes them to become homicidal if they get angry. They turn into zombiesque monsters, their eyes become black and black veins develop under their pale skin. They can't go outside as the breathers are military members of some sort who are to keep the infected in the quarantined zone and kill whoever tries to escape. The family has been noticed and their safe haven has been infiltrated. They now must run, or die.
This movie was a delight, as it not only put a new spin on the zombie apocalypse, but it focused on the zombie side of things. For example the family had a set of rules, and rule number one was to stay calm. Any time they lose control they lose who they were and turned, but if they calmed down they could return to who they were before, meaning that they managed how they lived and if they became a zombie or not. The living were essentially the bad guys, as they only killed the infected. This is especially obvious when the mother and daughter are caught in a net and the head of the military squad notices the jacket the little girl is wearing. He says, "Zoe, I have a little girl your age. What a shame." So, the living obviously feel nothing.
This movie also portrays a dismal future, as several post-apocalyptic movies show the worst of humanity. There always seems to be a group who wants to kill another group, whether it is the living killing the dead or the suffering killing the survivors, there is always a group full of hate, and they do it because that is what they have been told to do. I am sure there could have been a way for the uninfected to place the infected in a safe area, where they could live their lives, instead of being culled like cattle.
I honestly recommend this flick. It was interesting, it portrayed the infected as interesting characters, and it set a suspenseful tone that kept me wondering what was going to happen. Although it is a little slow to start, it builds, as the "breathers" are mentioned several times, enough that the audience becomes anxious to see who these "breathers" are.
This movie is slow to start. It begins with a family going through the motions, trying to keep things under control and pleasant for their young daughter. The family finds a rat has been getting into their supply of food, and this is when the trouble seems to begin. They stalk the areas to see if they can find the rat before it eats too many of their rations. When they do find the rat, something goes wrong and a fire begins, causing a cascade of issues. The family must not go outside to move things and make sure no one saw the smoke or ashes from the fire, otherwise their lives may not be in danger, and their very existence may falter.
Okay so here is a SPOILER so if you haven't seen this movie I suggest you don't keep reading this part.
This movie is a zombie movie of sorts. The family has been affected by a virus which has gone airborne. The virus causes them to become homicidal if they get angry. They turn into zombiesque monsters, their eyes become black and black veins develop under their pale skin. They can't go outside as the breathers are military members of some sort who are to keep the infected in the quarantined zone and kill whoever tries to escape. The family has been noticed and their safe haven has been infiltrated. They now must run, or die.
This movie was a delight, as it not only put a new spin on the zombie apocalypse, but it focused on the zombie side of things. For example the family had a set of rules, and rule number one was to stay calm. Any time they lose control they lose who they were and turned, but if they calmed down they could return to who they were before, meaning that they managed how they lived and if they became a zombie or not. The living were essentially the bad guys, as they only killed the infected. This is especially obvious when the mother and daughter are caught in a net and the head of the military squad notices the jacket the little girl is wearing. He says, "Zoe, I have a little girl your age. What a shame." So, the living obviously feel nothing.
This movie also portrays a dismal future, as several post-apocalyptic movies show the worst of humanity. There always seems to be a group who wants to kill another group, whether it is the living killing the dead or the suffering killing the survivors, there is always a group full of hate, and they do it because that is what they have been told to do. I am sure there could have been a way for the uninfected to place the infected in a safe area, where they could live their lives, instead of being culled like cattle.
I honestly recommend this flick. It was interesting, it portrayed the infected as interesting characters, and it set a suspenseful tone that kept me wondering what was going to happen. Although it is a little slow to start, it builds, as the "breathers" are mentioned several times, enough that the audience becomes anxious to see who these "breathers" are.
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