Zero Day

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with the introduction of Andre Kriegman (based primarily on Eric Harris) and Calvin Gabriel (based primarily on Dylan Klebold) announcing their intention to attack their high school, calling their plan "Zero Day". They keep a video diary on the camera, carefully hiding it from their friends and families. The majority of the film is portrayed through their video filming, and shows them planning, preparing, and explaining some of their motives.
Other scenes show the two attending Andre's birthday party, egging the house of someone they dislike, and Cal going to the prom while Andre works at a pizza place. In one video entry, Cal notes the origin of the name "Zero Day": Cal and Andre originally planned to attack on the first day on which the temperature dropped to zero degrees after they had finished their preparations. This plan soon proved impractical, and they set May 1, 2001 as the new date. Wanting their attack to have a memorable name, they agreed to keep the original title.
The second to last scene of the movie show the boys arriving at school on May 1 and preparing their plan and weapons in Andre's car. Andre says that he could never have carried out Zero Day without Cal's help, a sentiment Cal echoes. They run into the school, armed with three pistols, an M1 carbine, and a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, all stolen from Andre's father and cousin. The shooting is shown through the viewpoint of security cameras very similar to Columbine High School massacre's view. The dialogue is heard via the cellphone of a student who is shot and killed. Shooting at anyone they see, Andre and Cal eventually see law enforcement arriving in force after sixteen minutes of shooting. After arguing over whether to engage the police in gunfire, the pair decide to count to three and shoot themselves.
The next scene is set on May 10, nine days after the shooting. A group of youths film themselves going to a park where memorial crosses are standing. They say that Andre and Cal killed twelve students and themselves. Finding crosses for the pair, they set them on fire and run back to their cars. The last scene shows the two crosses burning.

Tags: violence, revenge, cruelty, murder, sadist

Review:
The film was clearly following the basic outline of what happened at Columbine High School of April of 1999, but what struck me was how believable the two lead actors were.
I think what most people will find disturbing is they will actually have feelings for the two lead characters, Calvin and Andre (Played by Cal Robertson and Andre Keuck).
A week after seeing this film, I still think about it.Those of you who have not seen Zero Day please keep in mind the following: The film is an independent with little to no budget and the film is shot on camcorders.
Basically the blame is about Coccio doing an easy and overplayed social message...well, Mr-I'm-a-reviewer, it's an easy and overplayed critic of movies with a social charge.Not that I want to expose my life here, but I come from a small town with a similar school than these guys go.
Through the movie you are shown how the actors illegally shortened shot guns, made pipe bombs and came up with an action plan for "Zero Day".
As they begin the deadly countdown to their final act of revenge, the two start a video diary to explain their feelings and chronicle their mission.There is another similar movie like this, called "Elephant." Why do I bring this up?
Well, for starters, this is shot differently, much along the lines of "Cloverfield," "Blair Witch Project," and "Diary of the Dead." This makes the movie all the better because it's much more painfully realistic.But what won me over was how the movie was willing to show the "other side of the story." You get to know these two shooters, unlike "Elephant." I actually cared for one of the shooters and could understand their actions and why they did what they did.
I believe everyone has a right to do what they want with art, to a degree, my only issue with the movie it that it could be viewed for the wrong reasons, But it also may answer some questions for people interested in these kind of situations, and the moments leading up to them.
in the videos they make it mentions the bullying that happens to them and how people said stuff about there clothes and the things you are into I'm not saying its right but many people do do things like that.and also the thing is with this people are suspected to like it because of the sensitive topic they have chosen on this film.so thats my review on zero day.and lets just say the end shooting scene is messed up..
The thing about this movie that really got me shocked was the way they spoke, even tought they where about to go in to there own high school and kill young ppl, they was still acting like all other ppl, u know, they went to parties, made jokes to each other, was lauingh, u know you having a good time..But seriously, i can't explain the movie it's just so damn good.
Not only is this the best movie of its kind(school shooting)The way Ben Coccio(the director) decided to film it was magnificent.
What is most disturbing about this film is not that school killing sprees like the one depicted actually happen, but that the truth is they are carried out by teenagers like Cal and Andre...normal kids with normal families.
By using a hand held camera technique a la Blair Witch, Ben Coccio succeeds in bringing us into the lives of two friends who have some issues with high school, although we aren't ever told exactly what is behind those issues.
It does feel like actual footage, rather than an edited mocumentary (for the latter see "Grave Encounters").Unfortunately, the scenes where the killings take place, is only about 2% of the movie (about 5 minutes or something).
That was the only thing I didn't like in this film.I saw another documentary based on the Columbine massacre -- the guys' interactions with the victims were documented, and the killings were very graphic.
The film really feels real, the actors are superb, and the camera work is good (not annoying, like in "Blair Which" or "Cloverfield").All in all, I'd say it's definitely one of the best in this genre..
While I don't endorse any behavior like this, or the actions perpetrated in the film (and it is not the director's intent to glorify it in any way), the point of view offered reminds us that the perpetrators of these acts are still human.
That's what makes this movie so genuinely different from the likes of "Bowling for Columbine" or other documentaries about school shootings.
Thanks to the style the movie was shot in it feels very authentic and makes it very suspensefulIf you clearly notice the small hints in this film, it is not hard to realize the criticism it gives about societyPretty good acting-> watch the movie, it's awesome.
This was a necessity for the film, Zero Day, which gives an in depth look at the psyche of two school shooters.
It was like actually being able to watch the video diaries of the Columbine shooters, expressing their feelings, and explaining their actions, prior to that tragic day.
Zero Day is heavily inspired by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the middle-class Colorado teenagers who committed the Columbine High School massacre, probably the most infamous high school shooting in US history.The attack was the result of two damaged people becoming friends and progressively normalising each other's warped world views.
The pair seemed to be a dichotomy, however they were completely drawn to each other; the film shows that the murderers of both Columbine and Zero Day were empowered by their friendship, they fuelled each other's emerging superiority complexes and nihilism until they felt ready and even obliged to execute their shocking crimes.I remember reading a lot about Columbine in my mid-teens, Harris and Klebold's ages of 18 and 17 respectively seemed distant to me at the time, it is only now having long passed those ages that I realise just how young they were to have developed such morbid, poisonous psychology and then do what they did.Harris and Klebold's contrasting personality traits can be clearly seen in the lead characters, Andre Kriegman (Andre Keuk) being Harris and Calvin Gabriel (Cal Robertson) being Klebold.
The film, which has a mockumentary format, begins with the pair setting up their camcorder and standing outside of their high school, irreverently introducing to the viewer both themselves and their 'big ass mission' called 'Zero Day'.
This home movie realism is complimented by Keuk and Robertson's great performances, they responded very well to director Ben Coccio's encouragement to improvise – they're completely natural.Andre has delusions of grandeur, he envisions Zero Day as some sort of Armageddon.
This self-importance was apparent too in the Columbine killers, Eric Harris smugly remarked – 'It'll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke (Nukem) and Doom all mixed togetherI want to leave a lasting impression on the world." They aimed to not only shoot many people but also kill hundreds with bombs they planted in the school's cafeteria, thankfully the rudimentary home made devices failed to detonate.Andre, like Harris, is the clear ringleader of the pair.
Again, much like Harris and Klebold, Andre and Calvin aren't abject loners, they have other friends, although perhaps superficial ones, and they're invited to a party early in the film, however Calvin finds socialising difficult – 'I'm just not good at parties.' It is most likely their inability to integrate with other people in a meaningful way that is their chief source of anger.Despite this, there are moments that occur outside of their toxic 'campaign'.
I have seen the film numerous times with other people and its last scene always creates an uneasy silence.Zero Day's greatest merit is that it's never heavy handed, it doesn't contrive a clear, simple answer to why massacres such as Columbine occur.
It is hands down the best way to make a low budget movie and it also makes the movie feel so intensely real as long as you get good enough actors which this movie definitely did.
The story line is dark and very exciting the whole way through.This movie is about a bunch of tapes who were filmed by two boys who were planning a school shooting.
They weren't stupid, they were just in high school which is one of the most socially difficult place a person could be put.Zero Day is a camcorder movie.
They weren't stupid, they were just in high school which is one of the most socially difficult place a person could be put.Zero Day is a camcorder movie.
I think Joseph Cambell stated it best, in reference to watching this movie, any religion (story) works, but only from within the confines of its origination.In addition, I think the film won the jury award at the festival that year, so obvously someone must have liked it..
The constant rhetoric of how violent video games are not to blame (I get the impression Ben Coccio is an avid gamer), or how media and music is completely devoid of influence is the obvious message (we even get a laughable scene of the two boys burning ALL their cd's, talk about subtlety!), but the movie only gets away with it because its 'fiction'.
Of course I don't think kids that play video games are more likely to  kill people, but if I'm not mistaken, didn't video tape exist of the  Columbine kids (or some teen killers) shooting guns in the forest  claiming how much they looked or acted like the weaponry in Doom?
Zero Day is a bad movie not because I really believe a  correlation exists, but because the film maker doesn't know what hes  trying to say, and the movie does more to disprove his point then  support it.
Obviously, not everyone had the same reaction to the movie, but at the very least, don't have a big meal just before you watch it.The young actors were very good, and the documentary feel worked for me; I just couldn't stand to look at it..
Presented as a series of video recordings made by the two troubled men (I cannot refer to persons who kill as boys or teens), the months of preparation leading to zero day (the codename for the day on which they will attack) the film tries to present the situation from the opposite end of the gun.
It was extremely realistic which grabbed me the most, but I just hated the kid's personalities, they didn't know how to finish their sentences and although they talked like they were organized, it didn't really appear so as the movie kept going.
You may hate them, you may claim to understand them and feel as though you can relate, but regardless this movie will make you think about school shootings from a different perspective.The movie is shot entirely using a hand-held camera, something that I think works quite well as it makes it more realistic.
It is told completely from the killers point of view, from their "missions" to family outings, all leading up the big day "Zero Day" in which they are planning on a massacre at their school.
They are shown to be surprisingly normal, typical teenage boys leading ordinary lives, and if we didn't know what they were planning we wouldn't expect a thing (They make it clear throughout the whole movie that no-one else knows about their plan)The acting is extremely good considering the two actors are complete unknowns.
It is very realistic and well-done, and it is very difficult to watch.All in all Zero Day is an excellent movie, and I think everyone should at least check it out.
In the past, we have always simply branded killers "psychopaths" and assumed that either they were biologically wired for disaster or had media influence, but as Zero Day shows sometimes the motives are deeper than that, and we can never truly understand why tragedies such as school shootings happen until we have seen it from the perspective of the killers..
Charting the lives of two friends Andre and Cal leading up to an attack on their high school.
Cal and Andre talk constantly about how much they are on a different level, how above the rest of us they are and how they will 'leave us all behind.' Like the columbine killers they truly feel superior.
We do not want to relate to them, when it is over and Cal is back with Andre silently preparing one of their final videos we like the characters feel once again at ease safe in the fantasy world they created.
It is violent and real, our heroes have become monsters and the reality of their fantasy is a terrible tragedy, which costs them everything.The final scene shows a group of teens filming themselves burning the crosses erected for Andre and cal in disgust that they have been memorialised.
Having known Andre and Cal we can only feel almost a sadness that they are actually gone forever and that they certainly did not win anything.Zero day is a must see for anyone interested in these violent acts sensationalised by the media.
The mainstream media spins and spins but Ben Coccio looks school shootings right in the face, able to go where no other form of media has EVER gone before, into the minds and hearts of two young men planning to kill their classmates.
If it would have had a single preview on a single blockbuster movie, everyone would have gone to see what the big deal was about, Zero Day.I believe this is the best film adaptation of a school shooting of the few that have truly attempted it.
The shooting itself only takes up about ten minutes of the hour and a half long film, because It mostly focuses on Cal and Andre, and what they did up to that point.If you have not yet seen this movie, go rent it, and watch it.
My opinion on Zero day the movie and how it relates to Columbine..
It makes you realise the true horror of shootings- especially if you were to know that person, and this movie makes you feel like you know these people.I recommend Zero Hour to those who feel they are mature enough to watch it.
Shot on video almost totally from the teen's perspectives "Zero Day" feels very real and authentic, like you are right there.
The two lead actors are awesome, the film isn't ever boring, and the concept behind it (though obviously inspired by the Columbine killings and the home movies of the killers) is really interesting.
The acting was amazing, after I finished watching the movie I had to go and check that those weren't the actual tapes left by the perpetrators of a school shooting.
In the last scene when a group of kids go to the crosses by the school and they get to the ones of Andre and Calvin and then light them on fire, spit on them, write things on them, even though you've see all they did you still feel like they didn't deserve it.
"Zero Day" is a very different and unique kind of movie, and that's a good thing.
It's a found footage film, like "Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield", but rather than telling the story of three teens lost in the woods or a group of friends running through the city while a monster is attacking it, it is about two boys that plan to do a school shooting, very similar to "Elephant" which came out the same year, and I'm assuming "Zero Day" was inspired off of "Elephant", but Zero Day is still fun to watch.
You see Cal talk to his brother while camping with his family, and he seems like a likeable guy, and you want him to live a long and great life, but then you realize he is about to shoot-up his high school with his crazed and anger induced friend.
With an inspiration from the Columbine shooting this movie makes me wonder a lot of things.
The film was excellent, although it was hard to watch with the shooting and of course, the boys admitting by video that they have pretty crappy lives.
Zero day is basically what would happen if Eric and Dylan (the boys who caused the Columbine High School Massacre) videotaped themselves in preperation.
But if I didn't know what Eric and Dylan looked like, the film didn't show end credits, and they just told me this is what they shot before the shooting, I may have believed them.Most of the movie is these two kids preparing for the day of the shooting.
This film is so much more than that.Yes, it runs along the same road that the Columbine shooters took.However, this movie is not about the shooting itself; it's about the ten or eleven months of planning that Andre and Cal (the perpetrators) did.The thing I liked about this film was that most of it was done with a cam-corder, and it really seemed like home videos (a lot of the segments were based off the infamous Basement Tapes).
It's very violent and graphic, and if you can't handle those types of movies, this is not the film for you.Like the guys from Columbine High School, Cal and Andre kill themselves, but the movie isn't all about that, it's about what happened before, and the planning that went on.
Andre and Cal seem like such normal kids in the scenes involving parents and relatives, and it shows how blind we can be sometimes.It truly is the "One Great Columbine Film"..
As part of what I call the 'Columbine Trilogy' (along with 'Home Room' and 'Elephant', 'Zero Day' presents us with the perspective we sadly need to hear if we really want to prevent future school shootings, Eric and Dylan's.In this case of this movie, we have Andre and Calvin's.