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End-of-the-world movies are all the rage these days. In fact, this summer, it seems that all of humanity is threatened at least once a week at your local theater—whether by demons, super villains, or, in director Marc Forster’s latest thriller, World War Z, zombies. Fortunately, though, Brad Pitt is on the case.
Gerry Lane (Pitt) quit his job with the U.N. to stay home with his family. But when a mysterious plague starts spreading around the world—and hordes of the undead begin attacking the living—Gerry is called back into service.
With his family safe on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Gerry sets out to find the source of the pandemic—and, hopefully, a cure. But as he follows the clues from one city to another, each stop on his journey seems deadlier than the last.
World War Z isn’t the same old zombie movie. Instead of a cheaply-made horror flick with a D-list cast, it’s a massive, blockbuster-level thriller with an A-list hero. As you might expect, then, it’s so much more than just two hours of zombie violence and gore. In fact, due to its PG-13 rating, it’s surprisingly bloodless—yet it’s still remarkably tense.
Forster doesn’t waste much time in getting to the action. After a brief scene introducing Gerry and his family, the story takes to the streets of Philadelphia, where mass chaos has broken out, setting the stage for horror and suspense—and plenty of disorienting action—to come. It may not be bloody, but it doesn’t really need to be. For the most part, the very thought of the death and devastation caused by the multitudes of zombies is horrific enough. Granted, there are times when the zombies are more laughable than scary—and when some of the characters venture into witless-horror-movie-victim territory—but, for the most part, it’s cover-your-eyes shocking and hold-your-breath suspenseful.
Still, World War Z isn’t just about the action. It’s also a mystery, as Gerry travels from military base to fortified city, trying to find the cause of the outbreak. The film strikes a careful balance between undead action, family drama, and tense mystery—and Pitt is well-rounded enough to move gracefully from scene to scene, battling zombies one minute and playing the thoughtful sleuth the next.
While it may not have the graphic blood and guts that you might expect from a zombie apocalypse thriller, World War Z offers more than just gore. Its suspenseful story will hold your attention, and its charming characters will make you feel invested in the action—making it worth heading to the theater to witness the end of the world yet again.
Blu-ray Review:
If you just can’t get enough of the zombie apocalypse, you’ll want to pick up the Blu-ray release of World War Z. Not only does it include an unrated version of the film—with seven extra minutes of zombie-fighting action—but it also includes a few making-of features.
Origins gives an overview of the project—from the challenges involved in adapting the original material by Max Brooks to star / producer Brad Pitt’s interest and involvement in the project. And World War Z Production is a four-part making-of feature that explores everything from the locations to the visual effects.
For the science-minded, meanwhile, there’s Looking to Science, which takes a closer look at the scientific theories at play in the film, as explained by a biologist who was involved in the production.
The extras included on this Blu-ray release are pretty standard. You won’t find anything especially mind-blowing (or even remarkably insightful) here—but it’s interesting stuff nonetheless. So if you’ve got some extra time to kill after watching the movie, it’s worth taking a peek behind the scenes of this thinking man’s zombie thriller.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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