Plan Z

While I Don't Think This Was A Very Good Zombie Movie (I Thought It Was More Of A Character Story Than Say A Zombie Movie), I Think It Had A Great Plot And A Good Allegory For Making It Through Life ... Not Just A Bad Time But Through Life In General ... Be Prepared, Have A Plan, Stick To Your Plan, Don't Be Afraid To Change/Amend The Plan, Always Do The Right Thing, Do Unto Others ... And So Forth ... The Acting Isn't The Worse I Have Seen In A Zombie Movie ... I Was Interested Enough To See How It Ended ... I Imagine For The General American Viewer A Zombie Movie That Is Slow Paced (Typical Of English Movies) Could Seem Boring But This Movie Is Anything But Boring ... I Found This Movie To Be More In Line With "Maggie" (An Excellent Character Study Around A Zombie Apocalypse Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger) As Say A Typical Zombie Movie ... My IMDb Rating 6 Out Of 10

I have to say that I watched this film with reserved expectations, for me independent films carry with them a certain stigmata. Unlike a blockbuster that can cover poor elements with budget or cast, independent films feel a lot more exposed to criticism.

The good news is, because I had managed my own expectations what I got was a very enjoyable story-led, zombie thriller. I was engaged with the characters and story because throughout the film I felt genuine tension. The score and cinematography were superb. I often caught myself admiring the quality of the shots, the consideration of the angle and the accompanying score. There was one particular shot of the Isle of Skye that was stunning.

One previous film likened this to a 'Poor man's 28 days later', well I actually consider this to be praise. I love the atmosphere and style of that film and for Plan Z to compared I think is a great feat considering the difference in cast and budget.

If I had to be overly critical, there was one plot point that left me confused to what actually had happened (I don't want to give away spoilers but it's a major point of the film) and there was one piece of music towards the end of the filmed that didn't like it mixed very well and was out of place.

When watching, please don't expect a Hollywood blockbuster or compare it to the big Zombie films as it won't compare. Have a bit of perspective to how it was achieved and I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.

This movie was clearly made on zero budget, as akin to the previous similar zombie effort of Colin, as such you have to consider this and appreciate how much of a movie this actually turned out to be.

There is tension and compelling action, and the whole thing doesn't feel like filer, despite most of it taking place in a couple of small locations. The narration can get annoying but you can see that it is what stitches the filmed scenes together and is necessary. The effects mainly rely on editing and imagination, but again with no budget this makes sense. Generally the editing and directing are what make this any good. The only flaw is the writing, it is quite simplistic and the point of 'survival vs fighting back' is repeated over and over again despite the filmmakers message becoming clear about a third of the way into the movie.

Overall this isn't a bad effort considering the clear lack of budget, there have been a lot worse zombie movies made with a lot more to work with, so definitely worth a watch if you are looking to make something for nothing yourself.

As other reviewers have noted this film was done on a low budget but they made the most of it. It's a decent character study. It certainly deserves more than a 4.8.

I wanted to like this film, but I got bored after about 20 minutes. The acting is decent enough; in all honesty it's well above independent standards, but the writing is cliched. You can see it coming a mile off. This is what lets this production down. Having said that; I believe that future endeavors will be much better.