JP Nunez
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with zombie movies. On the one hand, some of my favorite horror films of all time are about zombies (like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Train to Busan), but on the other hand, I think the subgenre is oversaturated with second-rate knockoffs that just rehash the same tropes we’ve seen a million times before. Because of that, I’m always a bit cautious when I hear about a new zombie movie, but after seeing the trailer for Among the Living, I think I just might have found the next really good one. Here’s what the film is about:
Stranded in the countryside in the aftermath of a deadly outbreak, older brother Harry fights to protect his younger sister, Lily, while he desperately searches to find refuge with their father. Harry and Lily are determined to survive their journey as they strive to avoid an infected population with a thirst for blood as well as the greater threat of other survivors.
One of my biggest pet peeves with the zombie subgenre is its overreliance on the “people stuck in a building during the zombie apocalypse” trope, and thankfully, Among the Living looks like it’s going to eschew that worn-out cliche. Both the premise and the trailer make it seem like this movie takes place mostly outdoors, and while this is obviously not the first time we’ve seen that kind of setting in a zombie film, it’s still a welcome change of pace from the stereotypical norm.
On top of that, the Among the Living trailer also shows off some cool zombie action, and it promises a very personal and character-driven story, so it looks like it’s going to be pretty much everything I want from a zombie movie.
Of course, we won’t know for sure until we actually see it, and thankfully, we’ll get the chance to do that very soon. Among the Living will play in select theaters starting on September 30, it will hit VOD on October 4, and Blu-ray on November 8.
