11/29
This was a fun, if somewhat problematic, creature feature
Narrative
Obsessed with living up to her dead father’s legacy, a young sheriff finds her mettle tested when locals are found torn apart. The original script title for this film was “Zombiroo,” according to Michael Biehn. After a series of bizarre deaths, the head of a small town’s local wildlife unit tries to put aside her strained relationship with her dead father to deal with the strange animal responsible, and when they discover the culprit is a zombified kangaroo, she sets out to stop him.
There are a few big factors that hold this one back
The main draw of this one is the fairly strong setting that allows for some world-building within this community. Featuring the usual assortment of quirky small-town residents that populate these types of stories alongside the group of fully developed and lived-in locals who know each other very well, this allows for a great support group that can bend around the central premise of relationship issues causing a strain on their job. Trying to overcome the stigma of what happened in the past with the struggle of trying to keep the town safe during this latest series of attacks, it sets up an engaging mystery following the bizarre attacks and some immensely entertaining action in the second half that gives you a lot to enjoy.
One of the biggest detrimental features is the distinct lack of appropriate tone here, where it takes itself far too seriously for what’s going on
The idea of such an audacious premise involving a zombified kangaroo running amok in a small community of quirky residents requires such a wild series of set pieces to constantly up the ante with how the creature plays out its rampage. However, here we have so much melodrama about the family relationship that takes center stage in the film, that it’s really hard to stay invested in the plot when it’s not focusing on the killer kangaroo rampaging through the town, who really struggles to keep up with the savagery of what’s going on. The other big downside to this one is the consequent lack of creature action that comes with it when it decides to focus on creature action.
Rating: Unrated/R: Graphic violence and graphic language
Several scenes are creepy in their concept and setup, most notably involving the team in the desert who realize something is out there but aren’t sure if anything is happening, which tends to dominate the admittedly entertaining second half, but that’s about the extent of this one. This one never lets the wild action promised in the setup come to fruition, and many of the earlier rampage scenes are done off-screen rather than dealing with anything on-screen, as the kills are barely introduced until the end and most are brief flashes rather than anything else. Those factors are enough to knock this one down.
Check out our October calendar for more!
The final season of “What We Do in the Shadows” is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres of this month.
