An excellent play on our fears, a "zombie film" for modern time

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2007)

Many argue that they just don't make good zombie movies any more. When George Romero created his classic movie about the common man becoming the undead, he was making a political statement. He brought race, gender, and the Vietnam war all into a sick and horrifying satire and made you digest it until the credits rolled.
Somehow this film managed to draw you in a similar way. It seemed that the director was able to bottle up some of our worst imaginable nightmares and feed them to us with a hand-held camera on foot.
Some great directorial ploys which work very well in this film: Empty streets - nothing is creepier than seeing people tread around a completely dead city which once thrived with life. Crowded dark streets - we know how people react in a panic situation (and it was painful to watch). Confronting loved ones - I don't want to spoil the whole film if you haven't seen it ... but what a set up! Military loses control - the American military is sure that they are in control, but they slip their grip and we are all in danger. Seeing horrors unfold from a child's eyes - Most of this film takes place around a young boy who is just old enough to know what's going on, but not quite man enough to control the situation. You are in constant fear that he's going to be next. Musical score - rather than plug a lousy soundtrack, this film used non-vocal scores to push your buttons and give you the willies (which was quite effective).
I would sincerely like to see a follow up to this film, if the same writers, directors, etc. are all involved. A highly underrated success, which deserves multiple watchings.