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Film: Wyrmwood: Apocalypse
Year: 2021
Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Writers: Kiah Roache-Turner and Tristan Roache-Turner
Starring: Luke McKenzie, Shantae Barnes-Cowan and Jake Ryan
Review:
Now this is a movie that years ago I heard popping up on people’s end of year lists. Since I didn’t see the first one, I avoided this one due to that. This popped up as the choice from the randomizer for New Year, New Movie for Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast. I decided since I hadn’t seen the original, I’d do a double feature.
Synopsis: in a zombie-infested Australian wasteland, soldier Rhys (Luke McKenzie) has dedicated his life to tracking and capturing survivors for the Surgeon General in hopes of finding a cure.
We start this off after the world has ended and a bit after the events of the first movie. Barry (Jay Gallagher) is surviving with his sister, Brooke (Bianca Bradey). They’re joined by Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan) and Grace (Tasia Zalar). These two are the nieces to the Benny character who was traveling with Barry. Brooke’s urges are becoming more difficult to control. She is using pills, but she attacks Grace. This results in her being bitten. Grace wants Brooke killed. Instead, she and her sister go off on their own. This bite has interesting side effects.
The movie then goes over to our other main character, Rhys. He was the soldier in charge from the earlier movie. He is out collecting survivors and brings them to a compound for the Surgeon General, played by Nicholas Boshier. He is collaborating with the colonel, played by Jake Ryan, and another doctor played by Goran D. Kleut. It is through different things that we learn the surgeon general has been bitten and he’s hiding it. The colonel is as well. The surgeon general is taking these survivors and using them to make the medicine to stave off their infection.
Rhys has a score to settle with Barry and Brooke. He is hunting them as they killed his brother. The surgeon general also wants Rhys to bring in Brooke since she is a hybrid. The cure for the zombie infection could be solved through her blood and DNA. As different things are figured out and Grace is taken, Rhys must decide what side is right and if his quest for revenge is worth it.
That is where I’m going to leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that watching these back-to-back was interesting to me. It was both a good and bad idea. I’d say the latter because when I sat down to write my reviews, these two movies blend together. I’ll give credit to them as despite the seven-year gap, the continuity was seamless from what I could tell. That’s impressive for lower budget filmmaking. I do think having the same writers and director is part of that. This is their baby.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s go into what makes this work. A big thing for me is the world. We are seeing that the apocalypse happened. That world is now evolving. It already set up that the zombies are producing this gas that can be used as fuel. Both sides have vehicles and machines that are harnessing it. What I said for the earlier movie is that it is interesting that this came from Australia like the Mad Max/Road Warrior series as this feels like it is from that world with just zombies. It does a good job at capturing that which adds charm to making this be something different from a tired genre in zombie movies. Once again, credit there.
Something else that I think works well here is that with a sequel you need to increase everything. What this does is built on the lore that it set up with Brooke. We see here that when she bites people, they don’t become normal zombies. They get her power as well. I also like the fact that she is becoming more animalistic as this goes on. It is getting more difficult for her to control her urges. Something else here as well is that I don’t feel like everyone is safe. That is a problem that I’ve noticed more with movies made today. I do have a slight negative here. We have main characters getting bitten and the movie does lose a bit of the worry with it. I do like that there is a medication created that is holding it off for characters. It does lose tension a bit with this as well.
I did want to bring up one last thing about my earlier point, I do like the villains here. Calling the mad scientist, the surgeon general is great, because he’s insane. Part of it is that he’s been bitten and hiding it. His time is limited. I also get the idea that he worked with the government with that title. We are seeing how the world ending makes the corruption with those in charge and in the military ramp up faster. There is the vibe of Day of the Dead with that when we see how society breaks down. It doesn’t do great in conveying all the ideas that I’m putting forth, but these are what I’m seeing.
That should be enough for the story so over to the acting. I like the fact that they brought back all the characters they could. I like sliding McKenzie in as our new lead. At first, he’s a villain. When he peaks behind the curtain to see what he’s doing, I like the change in his character. That is good. Barnes-Cowan and Zalar are solid. I like that they’re Aboriginal people and being represented. I thought both their characters were fine. Ryan and Boshier are good as our two true villains. Seeing the depth of corruption makes sense. I like Bradey and Gallagher reprising their roles as well. We see growth with both as well. I’ll also credit Kleut here in his minor role as he’s someone I’ve seen in a handful of things. The acting was solid for an action movie like this.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that this is well-made for the budget it is working with. They capture the atmosphere and feel that the world has ended so much credit acto the cinematography. I love the different set pieces we get with buildings or the bunker being fortified against the undead. The practical effects we get are good. The blood and gore as well as the look of the zombies is on point. I still don’t love the CGI that is used. Especially when it comes to the gas that comes out of the walking dead. I do like that they’re still using the concept and building on it though. I’d also say the soundtrack fit what was needed.
In conclusion, I thought that this was a solid sequel. I like that this one is taking what the original did and building on. We are ramping up different things which is what you should do. They build on the lore and develop it more. We see this with Brooke and how she is this new hybrid zombie with special powers. I like the world that this is set in. This is well-made. Leading the way there is the practical effects and the cinematography to capture the world it is set in. I do have slight issues with the CGI, but it doesn’t ruin it. Not a great movie, but one of the better popcorn zombie films that have come out in recent memory. It is doing something different that I appreciate. If what I said sounds good or like the first one, give this a watch.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10