I watched Amazon’s new zombie movie and Holy Cow, I have some things to say

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers for Apocalypse Z: The beginning of the end below. If you haven’t watched the new one yet Amazon Original Movieplease avoid this zombie infested article.

I love a good zombie movie, and so when I first heard about it Apocalypse Z: The beginning of the end while ripping it on Prime Video, I made sure to check it out with my Amazon subscription and see what it was all about. Let me tell you, this was one of the most absurdly fun experiences I’ve had on 2024 movie calendar and a great addition to the tradition of awesome zombie apocalypse movies.

The Spanish zombie thriller by Carles Torrens, based on the novel by Manel Loureiro. Apocalipsis Z 1. The principle of the end novel, has everything I look for in a zombie movie, including an engaging story about a widower trying to reach his sister, lots of heart and soul, and some gruesome zombie kills. Oh, did I mention that one of the main characters is a cat? Because this totally happens in one of the best horror movies I’ve seen him for a while.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

I decided the airport was the last place I wanted to be during a total panic caused by a zombie virus

At first Apocalypse Zthe main character, Manel (Francisco Ortiz), finally gives in to his sister’s request to leave Spain and meet them in the Canary Islands to stay safe from the rapidly spreading TSJ virus. But as he prepares to board his plane with his cat Lúculo, it’s hell and panic reigns at the airport.

I love the pacing of this sequence as it goes from a normal day at the airport with people waiting in line to board their flight to a state of pure panic as ticket counters stop working, cancellations appear all over the monitors and people’s phones start up. leave with emergency messages. Pure madness.

And even though there are no visible zombies in this intense, action-packed sequence, it got me thinking: An airport is the last place I’d want to be during a total zombie virus panic. There’s nowhere to really go, there are thousands and thousands of panicked people who could either crush you in a human stampede, or eat you alive (if they’re already turned into zombies), and all the Everyone is already in a bad mood or even nervous. on a good virus-free day.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Lúculo instantly became one of my favorite movie cats, but he finds himself in some crazy situations

There were some big cinematic cats over the yearsand Lúculo, Manel’s constant companion in Apocalypse Zinstantly became one of my favorite on-screen felines. Let me tell you something, this cat is placed in all kinds of intense and perilous situations over the course of the film, including but not limited to riding on the back of a dirt bike to make a daring escape to a horde of zombies, running away from a gun. transporting bad guys who want to kill its owner, sneaking into a hospital that’s full of TSJ-infected monsters, and taking multiple modes of transportation.

Lúculo, like any cat in his position, does all this with the boldness characteristic of the species and his inability to remain silent in life or death situations because he is hungry. There have been several times throughout Apocalypse Z where I was like “I hope Lúculo comes out okay”, but other times where I was like “Dude, you need to stop meowing.”

But I kept wondering where Lúculo did his business, because my cats couldn’t stay that long without a clean litter box.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

The way the film handles grief is surprisingly powerful

The TSJ virus, which turns people into delusional lunatics who fall somewhere between the infected of 28 days later and the more traditional ghouls of George A. Romero Undead franchiseis not the only objective of Apocalypse Z. In fact, the film addresses grief, loss, and the tenacity of the human spirit in a surprisingly powerful way.

Throughout the beginning of the film, Manel is distraught and stuck in a state of depression a year after the death of his wife in a tragic car accident. Isolating himself from the outside world, the film’s protagonist initially pays no attention to the zombie outbreak that is about to bring the European Union, and the world in general, to a breaking point. Eventually, grief becomes less of an anchor for Manel and more of a motivation as he chooses to live and see another day.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Apocalypse Z contains many zombie movie tropes, but thankfully it avoids one of my least favorites

There are so many zombie movie tropes everywhere Apocalypse Zfor better or for worse. There’s the airport scene where panic breaks out, there’s the traffic jams that stretch for miles (this is in Spain, remember), there’s the part of the film where Manel bonds with friendship with an elderly neighbor and learns a lot about life before dying, and there’s even a baby zombie. Yes, a baby zombie!

However, the film avoids my least favorite zombie movie trope, but not before making fun of it. In the final minutes of the film, Manel helps a group of young children and nuns escape a hospital by helicopter, and for a good few minutes I thought he was going to sacrifice himself to save them from the Huge horde of zombies and guns. bad guys who want the helicopter for themselves. But that doesn’t happen and the group heads off into a very uncertain future.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

I really hope the success of Apocalypse Z on Amazon leads to a sequel

According to the Apocalypse Z: The beginning of the end title page on AmazonThis new zombie film is the second most popular film on Prime Video at the time of writing. And I hope that this success on the streaming platform will lead to a sequel, especially with the distressing call from Manel’s sister begging him to turn away from the Canary Islands just before the credits. It stops in a very uncertain and precarious place, where you don’t know what’s on the horizon, but it doesn’t sound good.

The subtitle, The beginning of the end also leads me to believe that we haven’t seen the end of Manel, and of course Lúculo, yet. A sequel that takes them to the Canaries could be great and lead to a big emotional payoff when Manel finds his sister and nephew being able to see Lúculo after all this time. Basically, I want more cats in horror movies and I’m not afraid to say it.

Only time will tell if Apocalypse Z: The beginning of the end will get a sequel and join the list of others Upcoming zombie movies and TV series. But in the meantime, there’s a ton of great horror movies on Amazon to be checked.