Nerdly » HorRHIFFic 2025: ‘Staycation’ Review

28th Feb2025

HorRHIFFic 2025: ‘Staycation’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Sean Kenney, Olivia d’Abo, Bailey Sorrel, Gilles Stricher, Kelli Maroney, Laurene Landon, Eileen Dietz, Shawn C. Phillips, Catherine LaSalle, Lilly Ivring, Crystal J. Huang | Written by Emile Haris | Directed by Russ Emanuel

Obviously inspired by the 2020 pandemic, Staycation is a brilliantly dark-humoured look at that bizarre point in time where the world stood still and people argued about what was the “truth” about the situation on a daily basis. In fact Russ Emanuel’s film is probably the most on-the-nose “retelling” of that time – but with a wonderful skewed, laugh out loud, look at how insane the pandemic was. Only the pandemic is not of the “flu” variety – it’s more a zombie apocalypse, with the viruses victims here turning into “wanderers” (aka zombies).

The film’s central narrative follows Professor Edward Bellows (Sean Kenney), a lead virologist striving to develop a cure for the deadly Nix virus. Opening with his televised interview with journalist Grace Baxter, played by the legendary Olivia d’Abo, his interview acting like a reflection of the daily briefings we had on TV back in 2020 – all in the hopes of disseminating information to the watching, often worried, public.

The interview is intercut, at first, with a look at a relationship across the interwebs, as Cathy (Bailey Sorrel) and her boyfriend Matt (Gilles Stricher), are separated by quarantine measures and must talk over webcam. However, we see that this will be their last call as Cathy reveals her infection, transforming into a withered zombie before Matt’s eyes, showing us, the film’s audience, that this is no ordinary virus.

The film then moves on to roommates Britt (Catherine LaSalle) and Marnie (Lilly Ivring) whose monotonous pandemic lives are filled with consuming various media, including dubious online content featuring characters who peddle questionable remedies like herbal teas, vitamin D and the like. Thought how the hell anyone hopes to survive THIS pandemic taking vitamins, drinking herbal remedies and special teas remains to be seen! There are numerous references to online characters too – like TheReportoftheWeek, and even Shawn C. Phillips, a YouTuber himself makes an appearance as one of many friends holding webcam chats to stay sane and in touch with the outside world.

All as we – the audience – watch on, as if we are still trapped in our homes watching television, replete with ridiculous infomercials and all the latest rolling news on the situation. Think the satire of RoboCop meets the comedy of Kentucky Friend Movie or Amazon Women on the Moon… and some of the “skits” in Staycation are just as funny; especially when satirising both the rise in misinformation and the public’s susceptibility to it. And that’s one of the film’s high points – Staycation doesn’t shy away from critiquing all facets of pandemic life, from stringent regulations to denialism and the exploitation of fear for profit.

An extension of writer Emile Haris and director Russ Emanuel’s 2020 short Routine, Staycation is a compelling exploration of human behaviour under duress, blending horror and biting satire to mirror the complexities of pandemic life. Whilst the low-budget nature of the film may put some people off Staycation it’s worth “staying” with for Emanuel’s direction, combined with Haris’s superb writing, which together craft a film that is as humorous as it is unsettling, ultimately prompting reflection on our collective responses to the pandemic and at the same time providing a brilliant new take on the zombie movie!