Exit Humanity

Exit Humanity is an interesting approach to a typical zombie outbreak story. It is told by a narrator (Brian Cox) and in chapters from a journal by Confederate soldier, Edward Young (Mark Gibson) who details the story of a zombie outbreak that occurs just as the Civil War is ending. Director/writer John Geddes does give us a lot of the traditional zombie movie elements like the flesh eating, the shot to the head and the humans who are worse then the ravenous zombies but, also gives us a unique setting, some nicely visualized dream sequences and even some really cool flashbacks and montage sequences done with animation. The make up effects are good, although the film lacks the abundant gore fans look for, and Gibson makes a nice hero trying to keep his humanity despite what is happening around him. But, there are some flaws that keep the film from being a really strong entry in the zombie sub-genre, the pace is rather slow, the film is a tad long, and despite his novel touches and setting, there really isn't anything new story wise here or themes that others haven't touched on before in these films, although, the cause of his zombie plague was a cool twist once revealed. His cast also includes genre favorites Dee Wallce as "Eve" a healer thought to be a witch and Bill Mosley as "General Williams" a megalomaniac who wants to find a cure to the zombie plague so he may become rich and powerful and doesn't care how many innocents die while his outmatched doctor (Stephen McHattie) experiments on both the dead and the living. All in all it's not bad and certainly worth a watch if you like zombie movies and, most of all, John Geddes shows some nice potential as a filmmaker. He utilizes his more unique touches well, he frames his shots very nicely and pulls off some effective moments. A nice horror debut for Mr. Geddes.

Exit Humanity is not a movie to watch for action, blood and gore. It's a slow period piece that follows one man's journey of survival through an undead outbreak after the civil war.

It's got a great 1860's feel to it, pretty good acting and script, a plot with lots of potential, and is interspersed with some superb narration & animated sequences.

But there are 2 major flaws to Exit Humanity:

1) It is Slow. This movie is about 110min long, and it should have been 80. Long periods given to the protagonist's grief should have been pared down.

2) The script/plot touches onto the history and ancient origin of the undead, and a possible cure, but doesn't go further. I was hoping the protagonist would continue his journey of discovery concerning the undead - which via his journal, would connect & help fight the 20th century outbreaks. But no, this potentially exiting avenue was left unexplored.

Pretty good movie: I give Exit Humanity 6 out of 10.

Civil War zombies! Yes, EXIT HUMANITY has the distinction of being a historical zombie flick, an extremely limited sub-genre at present, so it has novelty value going for it. Unfortunately it turns out that this ultra-cheap Canadian quickie was filmed in the woods without a whole lot of originality or indeed direction despite the intrigue raised by the premise.

The main character is a former soldier who wanders around some very mundane locales while battling a few zombies here and there. The lack of budget really hurts this film, as it's often forced to descend into dodgy animation in order to portray key sequences. The effect is amateurish to say the least and the main actor doesn't really inspire much confidence in the viewer either.

There are a few conversations on the nature of war and the like before this descends into characters stumbling around in near-darkness and killing each other. There are a few familiar faces here (Dee Wallace and Bill Moseley, along with Brian Cox providing the narration) but otherwise nothing much to recommend it.

A unique and well done dramatic zombie period piece. The rustic technology free setting creates nice isolation which helps increase the tension. I love zombies, and these zombies are the best I've seen in a long time. Not just the makeup, which was great, but the acting and serious tone of the movie, help it excel. The music was wonderful, while the acting and narration was well done. The animation added an art-house feel, yet not overused. Not a typical horror film, but a serious drama about humanity. Definitely going to keep an eye on this director. I wish there was more of a scare element. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Someone mentioned in a previous review that there are over 700 zombie films out there. Well, this is one of the better ones.

To be honest the zombies are just a background element to the story. The real story is in the relationship of the characters and their interaction.

The special effects may not be top notch (I believe they only had a $300k budget), but the acting in superb. At no point was I taken out of the story by a poorly delivered line or unbelievably stupid plot device or action on the part of the characters. And, as low key as it was, even the setting was believable. I'm sure only a true Civil War enthusiast would find any fault.

Truly an entertaining film. A real rose amongst the thorns.