World Ends at Camp Z

I could barely make it through this movie because despite the plot (middling), the actors were SO BAD. I'm literally typing in other words just so that IMDB will let me tell you how bad the acting was.

Well, I have to admit that when I stumbled upon this 2021 movie here in 2022, and seeing that it was a zombie movie, then of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch it. Sure, I had not even heard about this movie from writer Diane Janna and director Ding Wang, but it being a zombie movie was all that I needed to know.

The movie's cover/poster seemed interesting, but it was actually overselling the movie, because the movie itself was rather mundane and generic. But hey, I managed to get through it on the account of it being a zombie movie. However, if you are a zombie aficionado like me, then this is hardly an outstanding foray into the zombie genre.

The storyline in "World Ends at Camp Z" is pretty straight forward. In fact, the storyline is rather simplistic and doesn't bring anything new to the zombie genre. Of course it is a spin-off on the worldwide pandemic that we are still struggling with in real life, just made into a tale of the reanimated dead. So you're not exactly in for a grand cinematic experience here.

The acting performances in "World Ends at Camp Z" were a bit wooden for the most parts. There were some performances that stood out and helped to make the movie watchable. But you're not in for an award-winning performance here.

With "World Ends at Camp Z" being a zombie movie, then you might be disappointed with the zombies in the movie being fast, agile runners with their faces painted gray - but forgetting to paint the exposed skin on the neck down - and bleeding from their eyes. A strange type of zombie in my opinion. Then again, I am not a fan of running zombies, nor of subpar make-up just limited to the face. Nor am I a fan of zombies that stop dead in their track when they come before a body of water.

For me then "World Ends at Camp Z" came and went without as much as a groan or a bite. And if you are a fan of the zombie genre, then this is not really a movie that I would recommend you spend your time on.

My rating of director Ding Wang's 2021 zombie movie "World Ends at Camp Z" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

When I judge the "quality" of a zombie movie I usually take into account the budget. "Okay, it's not that good, but it was made for just 500.000 dollar so what could you expect?" This weekend I checked out World Ends at Camp Z that only costed 300.000 dollar. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there is bad acting. Yes, there is bad dialogue. And the zombies look very bad too. But I thought a lot of things were done okay.

The story takes place in Canada. Young Dean has lived and worked all his young life on this camping La Tuque. He's not happy to learn that his "home" will be sold to some rich guys. His uncle just couldn't pay the bills anymore. To make matters worse the new owner Aaron, a spoilt kid in his twenties, wants to check out the camping with his friends before purchasing. They start a big party. Now Dean must be their butler before the deal is done. He does have a connection with Vanessa, a young lawyer who must check the paperwork. However, she turns out to be the girlfriend of the owner. Damn! When a friend of the owner gets injured, they must go to town to take him to the hospital. And then the zombies turn up...

What I liked about World Ends at Camp Z was the beautiful locations. The makers used drones to film the camping (which is located near Quebec?) surrounded by trees and water and it looks great.

Also a good point was the fact that one of the heroes is a Native Canadian named Clay. Clay is a father figure to Dean and knows how to deal with the threat when the zombies take over the camp. I think we should see more Native Americans or Canadians in movies, also in "normal" roles.

Lastly, I enjoyed the two leads. Of course Dean and Vanessa don't really get along at the start of the film. But the way they get closer to each other wasn't bad. Overall Vanessa (played by Anne-Carolyne Binette) gives us the best performance.

When the first zombie appears in the movie (after 55 minutes!) the film goes downhill. The action scenes with the undead aren't the best part of the movie but it does have a satisfying ending.

Not brilliant, maybe not even good, but I did like World ends at camp Z.

7/10.

With all the constraints that this movie has it could have been a lot worse.

The acting and direction is bad. However, the basic story and set up is done quite well. There are some good drone shots and effective lighting. The zombie slo mo is overdone thesedays.

Arriving at the facility one last time, the owners of a summer camp preparing to sell it to a local businessman which is soon revealed to be harboring evil intentions towards the camp, but their loyalties are divided further when a zombie outbreak in the community spreads forcing them to get away alive.

Overall, there's a lot to like with this one. Among the better features on display is the somewhat simple-minded storyline here that's far more detailed and effective than what should be the case for this kind of film. Given that there's far more going on beyond just the whole concept of cleaning up the camp but also managing to work together into several solid side-stories involving the love triangle that the majority of this one focuses on, the first half to this one comes across with a lot more heart and emotional attachment to their plight which goes directly alongside their whole quest to save the camp from the investor once his plans are revealed. It makes the series of intentional sabotage attempts once the out-of-place guests arrive feel far more earned than they should with this background in place. This leads the films' selling point in the rather fun and over-the-top zombie outbreak that arrives at the camp. While nothing new in the grand scheme of the genre, the outbreak scenes of the infected running wild in the camp and ripping people to pieces while forcing the survivors into an appropriate and believable state of panic and chaos. The action involved here isn't bad and really drives this one along, especially once the incumbent military help arrives to further the idea of futility present which goes a long way to making this one likable, much like the early scenes involving the release of the virus and how it parallels the modern world. It's a clever enough tactic that is eerily topical and relevant and added on top of the fantastic practical gore and make-up effects here really makes this stand out nicely. That said, there are a few minor issues with the film. The main drawback is the films' reliance in the first half on characters over action, detailing the exploits of the workers at the camp trying to ensure the new owner doesn't overtake the facility and turn it into a hotspot for city-dwellers that the camp was set up as an escape from. While all of this effectively sets up the characters and their motivations, hardly any of these features any kind of zombie action makes it feel slightly too long to get to the creatures when they finally make their way to the area. That's the other small issue here in that the zombies feel more like an afterthought at the expense of an indie drama about the workers at this campsite ting to prevent it from being sold since they come out of nowhere and feel at odds with the rest of the storyline previously like this was several films edited together such is the rapid shift from indie drama to genre thrills. It's not deal-breaking but it is a factor.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.