"Day Zero" (2022)

by Mike Imboden

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of Day Zero, an action-packed Filipino zombie film by Joey De Guzman and Well Go USA Entertainment.

Synopsis

After serving eight incident-free years in prison, Emon (Brandon Vera) - a former elite soldier - is released, finally free to reunite with his estranged wife and young daughter. However, he re-enters civilization only to discover that the outside world has been completely overtaken by a dangerous virus with terrifying effects on the human body. Chased by hordes of the undead, he races through the dangerous urban landscape in a final desperate attempt to redeem himself and rescue his family.

The Good

Day Zero has a nice and simple plot that allows it to focus on what its main desire is (action!), without burdening anyone with convoluted reasons for anything that happens. The first act starts with a quick scene in a morgue and a TV news announcer talking about a mutated strain of dengue fever that is causing some people to act like insane bloodthirsty animals, and then introduces the characters by giving us just enough information to know who everyone is and their relationship to one another before opening the cage door and letting the mayhem run free.

As mentioned, Day Zero’s focus is on the action and there is plenty of it. Brandon Vera, while certainly not giving anyone a run for their ‘Best Actor’ money, is quite impressive as a hulking one-man army. From taking down a group of convicts to dispatching small hordes of zombies with whatever weapon he can find (from his hands and feet to an assault rifle), Vera moves with a brutal gracefulness, thanks to his background in MMA.

With a script that doesn’t require a wide range of emotional display, Vera and his co-stars do a good job of conveying what needs to be shown according to the situation, while on the technical side of things De Guzman capably frames his shots allowing the action to unfold clearly without a frenetic pace which helps since there are also subtitles to read along the way. Finally, most of the SFX are practical with some apparent CGI used to beef up some of the blood (of which there is plenty), and the majority of the makeup used on the infected is effective, especially on those that are shown in close-up.

The Bad

It’s often said that there are no new stories left to tell and if that’s true then all creators are left with is the originality they can bring to the table and/or the ability to successfully disguise the bits they borrow from other films. Unfortunately, while the simple plot allows for the action in Day Zero to take a front seat to needless exposition, it’s also a bit too derivative, feeling like a weird hybrid of elements from 28 Days/Weeks Later, The Raid, Dredd, and the lesser-known Virus-32.

There are some odd pacing issues that are hard to express that make things just feel a bit off which makes me wonder if there were some outside issues at play here - like maybe a shortened window in which to complete the film or something along those lines. This would also explain the repeated use of the same locations within the tower block apartments instead of utilizing the location to provide a wider array of settings. There’s also a bit of a missed opportunity involving Emon’s deaf daughter and her reliance on sign language which seems like it might be a much bigger aspect of the story than it turns out to be which adds to the sense that a little more time was needed to shoot some scenes.

The Verdict

The familiar feeling plot of Day Zero and the reliance on aspects cribbed from other films is both a boon and a hindrance. On one hand, keeping it simple allows for the action to stand front and center in all of its brutal and “hands-on” glory, however the other isn’t enough to cover your eyes to keep you from seeing these borrowed elements. Still, the action is the main draw and Vera makes for a more-than-capable driving force with his MMA background and just enough acting chops to come across as a bit more than just a hulk with a gun. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future.

Fans of zombie flicks, especially those that prefer the fast, “rabid” types, would do well to track this down online or on the forthcoming physical media release. Just don’t go in expecting a game-changer and you should enjoy Day Zero, as I did.

Day Zero, from Well Go USA Entertainment, is available on Blu ray and DVD on July 11th, 2023.

Day Zero