The zombie genre is one that no matter how many times people say it’s done, it just keeps coming back for more. Nature of the beast I’m afraid. You can’t kill what’s already dead.
But seriously, as continually proven there’s plenty of wiggle room in the genre for a genuinely surprising effort that manages to breakthrough the conventions and get at you on emotional and intellectual levels beyond the merely gross. For recent examples, think of last year’s Zombieland, or Yesterday from Fantasia ’09 in Montreal.
Or better still, think of the recently released Dead Genesis which was made right in our own backyard by Guelph’s Reese Eveneshen. Dead Genesis is the improbable – and once thought unlikely – follow-up to Eveneshen’s self-produced remake of Night of the Living Dead in 2007. And what’s more is the fact that Dead Genesis isn’t just a great zombie movie, but dare I say that it’s also well-made and thought-provoking.
Not to say that Evenshen’s NOTLD wasn’t well made, but what sets Dead Genesis apart is that it’s a rather adroit social commentary filled with vivid and believable characters. Surprisingly, the zombie activity is kept to a minimum in favour of exploring the more monstrous possibilities inside every one of us when we’re pushed to the limits. Not to commit sacrilege here, but from what I’ve seen, Evenshen has more interesting things to say about the media, modern society and the War on Terror using the zombie motif then the last three George Romero films combined.
That’s high praise, I know, but I was summarily unimpressed with both Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. Dead Genesis, meanwhile, cloaked in its down and dirty badass indie fatigues, impresses easily once you get over the preamble and meet up with the “Deadheads,” a roughneck crew of zombie hunters that’s kind of a poor man’s Blackwater in a world where private militias are seemingly drafted to help clean up the zombie menace and keep it in check. It’s all part of the “War on Dead,” which is as much a PR offensive as it is an actual, physical response to the zombie outbreak.
Our heroine is Jillian Hurst, played by Emily Alatalo. She’s a touch naïve, but no less dedicated and committed in pursuing her first documentary as part of a government-directed news (and 
propaganda) outlet. She sets off to meet up with the Deadheads with some fairly lofty expectations of people fighting the good fight, but finds that the reality of the frontlines of the War on Dead to be rather morally and patriotically indifferent. Alatalo gets the heavy-lifting being one of the few characters that is not a battle-hardened zombie fighter, but she paints Jillian in a way that’s strong and determined in the face of her evaporating perceptions.
The assorted Deadheads also acquit themselves well. Too often it seems that character is forgotten in a zombie movie, and if it’s remembered at all then the character is merely distinguished by the stereotype he or she fills; even some of the greatest zombies to not escape unaffected. Sure, in Dead Genesis you have characters like “Jarhead Mr. Clean” (essayed with incomparable skill by If a Tree Falls director Phil Carrer), but you also get more complex characters like Deadhead leader Korvin, played with pragmatic cynism by Colin Paradine, or Lionel Boodlal’s Flynn who grapples with holding on to some sense of self and sanity having long given up the idea of fighting for “the cause.” The baddest of the badasses award though goes to Erin Stuart who transcends lone wolf gun(wo)man with some genuine moments of humanity.
In the end, Jillian Hurst leaves the Deadheads to their fate, while she herself is a little wiser for her experiences in the field. As the credits roll, you realize how little of the film was about hunting zombies, or seeing the Deadhead crew get viciously slaughtered in an undead blitz, or 101 grossouts to get people to choke on their popcorn. This is a drama that happens to take place in a zombie-infested world, while at the same time having a social commentary that’s neither heavy-handed nor preachy.
For anyone expecting an indie splatter fest of gore where fake blood by the gallon subs for production value, there’s the door. Dead Genesis features a sure hand behind the camera and coherent vision in front of it. Sorry gang, but the bar has been raised.
Dead Genesis will be screened at the Original Princess Cinema on August 12th. Stay tuned to princesscinemas.com for details
Reviewed By Adam A. Donaldson
