Tags:
Film: Cold Storage
Year: 2026
Director: Jonny Campbell
Writer: David Koepp
Starring: Liam Neeson, Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell
Review:
This is a film that caught my attention early in 2026. It went on a list of ones to seek out at some point. When this film came out, it didn’t come to the theater that I attend. I did hear this being covered on podcasts. Since there wasn’t a new horror film in the theater and this being the most popular one in the genre from this year that I hadn’t seen yet, I decided to make it a featured review.
Synopsis: when a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat.
We start this with text that is explaining how back in 1979, the Skylab Space Station fell out of orbit. During its mission, it was home to hundreds of experiments. Most of the debris burned up on re-entry, some did crash to Earth. NASA thought it had recovered every piece. They were wrong though.
It then states that these events are 18 years in the past. We are in western Australia. There is a guy driving at night and he stops off at a payphone. We’ll learn that his name is Enos Namatjira (Rob Collins). He is needing help and he’s bounced to Dr. Hero Martins (Sosie Bacon) who is in Rome. The more information that he provides, the more nervous she gets. A team is being sent in. Hero is joined by Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville).
What they find is an empty town. Whoever found this canister from space is charging people to see it. They also have a makeshift museum, with various newspaper articles. Hero assesses the damage, but we also see there is something terrifying on a microscopic level. Something gets under her boot and fights to get inside of her clean suit. She reveals a bit about what could have happened in the Skylab. Trini discovers a body and the state that it is in scares them. He wasn’t the only one. Hero then starts to exhibit symptoms.
To give more information, there was a fungus that was taken up to see what it could do in space. Now that it is back on Earth, it is trying to survive. Whatever it infects, it takes over that thing’s mind and then just wants to continue to spread. The fungus is put in a quarantine and taken to a military base in Kansas to be sealed away in cold storage. Years go by, until we’re in the present and something horrible has happened. The military has decommissioned this site and sold the building. It is now turned into a storage unit business.
This evening we see Travis aka Teacake (Joe Keery) come to work. Griffin (Gavin Spokes) is his boss and he’s not a very nice person. He does alert Teacake that he has a new co-worker and not to hit on her. He claims that she’s already interested in him. We will come to learn that her name is Naomi (Georgina Campbell). What should be a quiet night is far from it. Teacake hears a periodic beeping. He meets with Naomi and when she finally hears it, she wants to go looking for what is responsible.
It is from this decision that work becomes a nightmare. The fungus is leaking out and trying to spread. They find a number and call it. Robert has been waiting for this to happen so he springs into action trying to contain it once again. He convinces ‘Abigail’ (Ellora Torchia) to help him. He also seeks out Trini. They’re trying to play catch up as changes in climate have caused the system to fail, allowing this substance to get free.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that this film offers an interesting take on the zombie narrative. Instead of a traditional approach, it uses a mind-controlling fungus that forces hosts to find new victims while remaining able to speak. Although I haven't played or watched The Last of Us, it seems similar. Borrowing from real-world insects controlled by fungi, this unique "zombie" concept is a variation I appreciate.
Then let’s look at the basis of the story. Being from the Midwest United States, I love that this takes place in Kansas. We’re seeing that the government selected the area for this base due to there not being a big city nearby. There also isn’t a large population. Then commentary gets introduced that they decommissioned the site and sold it off. There isn’t a concern for it, which tracks. It happened so long ago that this containment is now out of sight, out of mind. That is embodied through the Wesley Jerabek (Richard Brake) character, a higher ranking military officer.
I do appreciate as well that global warming is appropriately used as a narrative backdrop rather than a focal point. Robert previously documented containment risks, and rising temperatures in an underground reservoir ultimately caused the system to fail. Although the tension drops slightly while Teacake and Naomi explore—falsely implying they triggered the outbreak—this was not actually the case. It does get them in the sub-basements though as the infection spreads.
Then I will say that the bigger commentary would be government inefficiency. I’ve brought up that the concern isn’t there, since it has been contained as long as it has. The problem though is they sold off the building, with that part of the facility still in operation. More care should have been taken, but we hear about spills and similar things happen regularly, even more so with regulations being scaled back. It is an easy concept to play with.
Other themes that are explored and sticking with this idea, we are seeing systems breaking down. There is also bureaucratic incompetence. There aren't the proper hand-offs as the older generation retires or passes away. There is hubris that comes with it, since Wesley isn’t concerned. What I will say is that I love the underdog spirit angle. We’ll learn that Teacake went to prison and he’s trying to better himself. This area doesn’t offer a lot of opportunities though. Naomi has a child from when she was younger, so our leads are blue collar, which I can connect with.
Where I’ll then shift would be to the acting performances. I like how we set the stage with Bacon, Neeson and Manville. Seeing how quickly this infection can happen, even getting through a clean suit is terrifying. Then when we shift to the present, Keery and Campbell play off each other. I liked their dynamic as it was fun. Vanessa Redgrave is solid in her smaller part. I liked seeing Brake. Spokes, Torchia and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
Regarding filmmaking, the cinematography and framing effectively contrast the isolated Australian outbreak site with modern-day Kansas well. However, an outdoor explosion scene feels like a plot hole, as it logically should have broken containment and spread the infection. The practical effects are good, while the CGI is hit-or-miss. Finally, the sound design successfully builds tension through vocal callouts, and the musical score fits well.
In conclusion, this is a refreshing entry in the horror genre that breathes new life into zombie tropes through its unique, fungus-based infection. By weaving together timely themes of climate change and bureaucratic negligence with a relatable, blue-collar underdog story, the film offers more than just standard thrills. While the technical execution has minor inconsistencies, particularly with its CGI, the strong central performances and atmospheric filmmaking make it a standout. It is a compelling cautionary tale that effectively balances biological horror with sharp social commentary.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10