Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires

I just finished zombies 4 Dawn of the vampires. This movie has a lot of problems. From the story to the writing to even the dialogue or the songs it can often be shown as pretty mediocre beyond there. There's some good moments and good characters in this movie that really steal the show. Very good messages in here but at this point in 2025 it's been overused. There's a whole Romeo and Juliet type relationship that's going on here that you feel like you've seen 1000 times however that doesn't mean it's bad because it's not and it is enjoyable to watch if you are the intended audience for it. The main characters get side and wind and we introduced new characters.. It's dumb, but it has some good moments in it so I'm gonna be in little generous and I'm gonna give it a six out of 10.

Movie critic aside, it's hard to pay attention to the movie because most of it is so dark. The lighting is so poor there are chunks of the movie where you can't tell what is happening.

Aside from that it's true to the franchise. The story and music are adequate to its brand.

Loved the message of unity and working together. It's Disney, and for that we were not disappointed.

Our true issue was with the lighting. Couldn't see scenes properly. It's frustrating.

Loved the new talent that Disney tapped for this film. Love that they find new people and give them a chance. Cast is diverse, just wished they were not all 25 year olds playing at 18 year olds. LOL!

A movie that started off terribly with bad acting, cringey Disney channel moments, and bad songs. To eventually being more watchable, but by this point, this franchise lost everything that the first movie had. We can't keep reusing the same story beats and theme in every movie! Please find something else to tell! It gets old fast!

This franchise has overstayed its welcome for too long! The first film is the only good one, and the one I have nostalgia for, but now, it's not good.

Please end this franchise, you've gone on long enough.

Songs are not good, characters have gone through there arcs, story's gone everywhere you can go. There's no need to keep milking this franchise.

First, the disclaimers:

1) we forget we even have the Disney channel 2) this is not the type of movie we watch at all 3) I would never willingly watch a musical 4) I don't think I've ever watched one of these sing/dance movies in my 64 years in my (granted, old) memory.

5) although the title implied it was from a series, we didn't know anything about that

We were tempted by the description tagline "spooky, playful and endearing" for a Zombie movie.

An animated beginning, we were tempted to turn it off, but then it became "real".

A couple minutes in, I turned to my husband & said.

"Omg, I think she's going to start singing"

About 1/2 in, I said,

"It's like I can't stop watching with some kind of horrified interest."

It's really sweet. We really liked it.

I can see why young people are so into singing the songs and doing the tik tok video dance sketches.

The plot was good, no holes.

Mainly it gives me hope. It's nice to see that kids are learning about the better side of human nature in this uncertain world. That's probably what I liked best about it.

Otherwise, I still don't like musicals. LOL

My husband REALLY liked it though, & scored it exceptionally higher than his usual scores. So it must be pretty good.

The fourth installment of Zombies confirms what many suspected: the franchise is starting to show signs of exhaustion. The story feels repetitive, the resources seem limited, and the increasingly tight budget is evident in every frame. Still, against all odds, it's not a total disaster. There are fun moments, and it maintains the upbeat spirit that made it a hit with younger audiences.

Narratively, the film once again emphasizes unity over hate and prejudice - a metaphor we've already seen throughout the series, but one that still holds value. This time, vampires and so-called daywalkers are caught in conflict, with Zed and Addison trying to bring them together, following the same structure used with zombies, werewolves, and aliens in previous entries.

Visually, it's as colorful and sugary as ever, with cheerful musical numbers that do the job but no longer surprise. The chemistry between the leads still carries much of the story, while the new characters try to bring freshness without fully succeeding.

Perhaps the most redeeming aspect is its message: reinforcing the idea that unity, empathy, and diversity are stronger than division. It may sound naïve, but in today's world it's not such a bad thing for a teen movie to underline something so basic and necessary.

Zombies 4 won't go down in history as great family cinema nor does it extend the saga's magic much further, but for its target audience - especially those who've followed it from the beginning - it still has a certain charm. And if it gets new generations singing, dancing, and talking about accepting differences, maybe it fulfills its purpose better than it seems.