Right, well as much of a fan of everything zombie, then I must admit that I hadn't even heard "Paradise Z" mentioned at any point. So when I was given the chance to sit down to watch writer and director Wych Kaosayananda's 2020 addition to the zombie genre, I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
But hey, if you enjoy a slow paced movie with very, very little dialogue, a lot of focus on nudity and breasts, lesbians and low budget zombie make-up, then "Paradise Z" is the movie for you.
I, however, didn't enjoy this kind of movie. First of all, the lack of dialogue throughout 80% of the movie was just dull and horrible, it took away so much from the overall enjoyment of the movie. And I must admit that I am getting very tired of almost every single newer movie has to have either a lesbian or gay relationship in it. Not that I have anything against gays or lesbians, but the whole political correctness wave that washed over Hollywood is just appalling. And it just feels forces when every single movie has such contents to it. What it wrong with just plain old straight couples?
Nonetheless, getting back on track with the review of "Paradise Z". Well, the storyline was pretty straight forward, albeit a bit on the slow paced side. And, as I mentioned above, the lack of dialogue didn't help promote the movie one bit. Nor did it help much that the characters essentially had as much appeal as cardboard cutouts, and the characters in the movie were lacking motivation, background and anything that even remotely assimilated personalities.
For a zombie movie, then "Paradise Z" was just not cutting it. And a zombie movie needs to have proper special effects and zombie make-up. Yeah, well you will not be experiencing that in "Paradise Z", let me just tell you that. First of all, the zombies were fast, agile runners whom made there horrible predatory creature sounds. It was just so bad. And then let's mention the zombie make-up, well lack thereof actually. The zombie make-up in "Paradise Z" was for the most part just people painted a grayish nuance with make-up, and worse yet, the make-up artists didn't even cover all the visible skin, which made for a horrible, sloppy presentation of zombies. Fast and poor make-up zombies, no, not a working nor winning combination right there.
"Paradise Z" came and went without leaving a much as even a dent in the zombie genre. Well, sure, if you enjoy watching pointless nudity and pretty ladies, then why not. But for us that watch the zombie movies for actual zombie contents, like a proper story, good zombie make-up and special effects, a believable apocalyptic world, etc., then "Paradise Z" is not the best of choices.
Sure, I will say that a paradise resort location in Thailand serves as an interesting choice for the filming location. Just a shame that everything else in the movie slipped through without leaving a lasting impression.
I managed to sit through "Paradise Z" to the bitter end. After all, it is a zombie movie. But I can honestly say that I wasn't impressed, much less entertained or enjoying what transpired on the screen. And a lousy script, horrible zombie make-up, pointless characters and a slow pace just didn't help win me over.
My rating of "Paradise Z" lands on a generous three out of ten stars. This movie is not one that brought anything new or useful to the zombie genre. And believe you me, if you skip out on watching it, you will not have been wasting your time, money and effort. Some of us did, so you don't have to.
