Sean Parker
It’s been a minute since we had a fun zombie movie to talk about. While we await the American remake (rolls eyes) of Train to Busan, titled The Last Train to New York (rolls eyes again), and more importantly, the stateside release of Fantasia award winner The Sadness, Virus: 32 has popped up like the beacon of flesh-eating hope we need right now and the trailer looks sick.
Beginning with a security guard, Iris, bringing her daughter, Tata, to work on the overnight shift at a recreational club, the gentle tone shifts rather quickly as we’re shown the pair being stalked through a window after seeing Iris tell Tata to stay and play. The creep factor is intensified when we see the power go out. Judging from the trailer, it looks as though Iris and Tata will stay separated until an uninfected man shows up asking for Iris’ help with his infected, pregnant wife. But there’s another twist when we learn the stranger has also been in contact with Iris’ daughter. A myriad of images are injected into the end of the Virus: 32 trailer depicting mayhem, zombies, and an impressive smoke screen sequence guided by a rule that shows that the survivors have thirty-two seconds to avoid the hunting infected after an attack.
The first thing I noticed was the array of colors used in the Virus: 32 trailer. Many reds, yellows, and occasional blues cover the labyrinth of this sports center, helping create an environment filled with dread and panic. The incorporation of a rule for zombies is something I find slightly odd, but regardless, I haven’t seen a good zombie movie in a while, and if this aspect adds any originality to the story, I’m in. The last thing is the “is it or isn’t it” aspect of the baby’s zombie status. Are we going to relive the Mekhi Phifer scene in Dawn of the Dead here, or is there something more hardcore than a zombie baby the film may be keeping from us? If nothing else, it’s intriguing to think where the film may take that storyline.
Gustavo Hernández is known for his contributions to horror, making the Cannes nominee for the Golden Camera award, The Silent House, back in 2010. As far as debut films go, Hernandez’s film was an amazingly tense, immersive, and atmospheric real-time single-shot stunner. The film was remade a year later for American audiences starring Elizabeth Olsen. If Virus: 32’s trailer is any indication, and even an iota of the creativity utilized in The Silent House is present, it’s going to be a great experience.
Virus: 32 will release Exclusively on Shudder on April 21.
