Film Review: THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD (2018)

 THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD (2018) France 1hr 33mins

Director: Dominique Rocher

"Dead is the norm now. I'm the one that's not normal" - Sam

Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie) goes to his ex girlfriends to collect his last box of possessions from her apartment whilst she is in the middle of a house party. Brushing him off several times he eventually locates his stuff in a back room. After experiencing a blow to the face he has a nose bleed and promptly passes out. He wakes the following morning to an empty apartment completely trashed and covered in blood. He soon discovers that he slept through the zombie apocalypse as he is accosted by his ex in zombie form. He realises whilst watching others meet a grisly end trying to flee their building that he is best off where he is. So he starts off by securing the apartment building. He then has to find food, weapons, medical supplies and try to deal with life alone. He is not completely alone though... he has Alfred (Denis Lavant). Alfred is a zombie that Sam had trapped in a lift and uses him as his confidant. To pass the time Sam finds a drum kit and uses various household items to make music... anything to keep him sane. The arrival of a stranger forces Sam to make the decision as to stay or go.

This French made quiet zombie thriller is a true modern master piece and deserves very high praise in my opinion. It has a low budget feel to it but makes up for it in pure skill and execution. For the majority of the movie it is just a man in an apartment building but it has action and eerie atmosphere in spades. Anders Danielsen Lie is truly great as Sam and puts so much effort and emotion into his character. You are right there with him as he fights for survival, has heart to hearts with Alfred and searches for anyone or anything for companionship regardless of species. Not only are there moments of pure fear as he is witness to suicides and cannibalism but you feel his rage and frustration at his situation and defiance towards the increasing crowds of the undead as he beats his drums. His creative side shows through as he has time to think on his childhood and make music with anything he can lay his hands on. Is it all futile though as eventually he starts taking unnecessary risks, making mistakes and the loneliness begins to take over. I suppose he was lucky to come across Sarah (Golshifteh Farahani) when he did but is she really looking out for him??

The plot is well thought out with the exception of a couple of continuity errors that are easily overlooked. The FX are practical and really look the part with nothing looking too over the top. The zombies look and act brilliant with a really creepy twist to them. They are completely silent, their agonised expressions and violent intentions still very present but no sound leaves their mouthes. A combination of fast and slow as would probably be the case in reality. If you were a fairly healthy, young person it makes sense you would be faster than an older person. Alfred was an elderly guy when he turned so he doesn't show as much aggression as some of the others.

THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Pit Agarman and I think Rocher and the other writers did a great job adapting something that works best as written word. They encourage as much imagination as the book does creating something that visually brings that imagination to the forefront. It has moments of quiet contemplation, pure frustration and fear balancing it all out equally to keep you glued to your seat throughout. The soundtrack and score are prominent and well tailored to the story as some tracks are written and composed by the cast and crew. In a sea of pretentious, over stuffed big budget movies that lose sight of the real threats in a zombie movie this is the breath of fresh air we need to restore faith in what zombie movies should be about. This is a favourite of mine from recent times and it gets a full 5 out of 5 brains on the rating scale!

THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD is available through Amazon as a novel, DVD or Blu Ray disc.