Day Zero is an action zombie horror feature from the Philippines that stars recently retired MMA fighter Brandon Vera as a kind of because I am not a hundred percent sure, but he appears to be an expatriated special forces operative from the United States who may be getting out of prison soon for good behavior. He has the respect of most of the prisoners and he looks out for a comic relief sidekick too. He long to be reunited with his wife and daughter who live in settlement not too far away. A strain of dengue fever has exploded across the Philippines that is highly contagious and thereIs no known treatment for because it’s victims reanimate into rabid ghouls. Society quickly falls apart and we are left with a man who will do anything to stay alive and reunited with his loved ones with his sidekick at his side providing a bit of comic relief and contributing to the action. One can tell Brandon Vera is a skilled mixed martial artist, watching him take on the ghouls is a highlight of the film.
As with all zombie horror Day Zero is bleak because without going into spoilers, all films featuring the dead coming back to life are character driven stories even at the most basic level where we get a set group of character types that we either care about or hate and like a video game they have to get from point A to point B and so on to fulfill their goal, but while we don’t know and should never be able to predict how successful they will be, ultimately the larger problem is never resolved. This is true of The Walking Dead, World War Z, and Shaun of the Dead just for starters. We never get a definitive solution to a zombie pandemic and so as a result we never get closure and ultimately that is what makes the genre bleak and for the record, I like zombie flicks in general and particularly the work of the man who created the sub genre to begin with, George A. Romero. It is a problem that plagues zombie flicks for the most part so don’t expect closure here, because you will get a solution to an immediate situation, but the larger problem always remains unresolved. For once I would like to see a zombie picture where the living actually win and the dead stop walking or running and with no fake outs like the ending of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
Day Zero is a bare bones Blu-ray Disc, (no pun intended), in that you get the movie and some trailers and that is it. The picture quality to top notch with widescreen 1080p full HD resolution coupled with an immersive Filipino 5.1 DTS-HD MA Soundtrack as well as a Filipino Stereo Soundtrack coupled with English Language Subtitles. The shrieks of the zombies reminded me of the sound the vampires made in 30 Days of Night. The film’s trailer (1:48) and bonus trailers for The Tank, Bone Cold and Sakara wrap up what is on this Blu-ray Disc. An insert with pictures of upcoming and released titles as well as the Hi-Yah streaming service is enclosed in the blue BD case. The interactive menus are basic, but easy to navigate.The case comes enclosed in a nice high quality cardboard slip with glossy photos mixed in the design.
Day Zero is available to own now on digital and will debut on Blu-ray Disc on July 11, 2023 courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
(C) Copyright 2023 By Mark A. Rivera
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