PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Once upon a time, before most of us ditched cable, we were entertained by the simplest genre offerings. For me, most of those films were SYFY Originals, although I despise the weird modernized name for the Sci-Fi channel. That doesn’t matter; what matters is that you could see some amazing B movies if you watched long enough. Actually, let’s be honest here: Most of these movies were pretty terrible. However, Zombie Night, directed by John Gulager (Feast 2005), is one of the movies that proved that opinion wrong.
A Movie Worth Remembering
In the late 2000s, I gave up on good zombie movies. They had become a trend, a dime a dozen, terrible movies about the military against super-speed zombies. However, Zombie Night was the greatest SYFY movie I had ever seen. The zombies are slow-moving; they come out of the ground and are portrayed as 300-year-old corpses should be. These were some great selling points. However, the movie quickly faded from my mind… at least until free streaming apps came into play.
Here’s the setting: a small town in California is attacked by vengeful zombies. The twist is that the zombies die in the daytime sun, and come back at night. Father, Patrick (Anthony Michael Hall: The Breakfast Club 1985), and daughter, Tracie (Rachel Fox: Desperate Housewives TV series), fight for their lives among the countless town residents. While the dad and daughter duo fight to get home, hero mom Birdy (Darryl Hannah: Splash 1984) battles to keep her mother and home safe.
Another family, led by determined dad Joseph (Alan Ruck: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986) and concerned mother Karin (Jennifer Taylor: Two and a Half Men TV series) fight to protect their home, and wait moment by moment to enter their safe room after inviting Patrick’s family to join them. The hard part for this family is working together. Will they be able to see the same level in the situation?
As the night progresses, the town is thrown deeper and deeper into chaos. Everyone is trapped in their own minds, focusing on the important things. After fighting to get to a home where they have an invitation for safety, Patrick and Tracie suddenly realize that they are also alone in the fight. Relationships are tested and no one is safe until daylight. Who will make it through to the other side of the war?
There are no dramatic undertone, no fast camera angles, and no rules. Zombie Night broke several modern horror rules, and that makes me love it a little more. There is nothing super about the acting or the plot. It’s just a good time with some twists, turns, and expectations. For me, to enjoy a modern zombie movie is pretty rare, but Zombie Night had its own style, and you could tell it was made out of love.
In the End
Zombie Night is on its own level. It is a renegade of current times, outlasting all the most popular SYFY Originals out there. What wins is the clearly fake graveyards and ridiculous weapons they find. It touches several nerves and may even be a little controversial. This is what horror should be. That, however, is only half true because some people look for that scary moments, but you won’t find them here. There are no jump scares, just impending doom throughout. To me, that’s a lot more fun.
Zombie Night is currently streaming on Tubi, YouTube, and Peacock. Watch it today!
