Apocalyptic Scifi Horror Friend of the World Movie Review

If the world endsas it undoubtedly will be someday, it would be better to survive and try to rebuildOr just go down with the crowd? Science fiction horror In the friend of the worldHovering between a short and a feature at 50 minutes, examines this dilemma through the lenses of two very different characters.

In the wake of a global cataclysm – we are not given the details, but it was clearly an all-out war coupled with an outbreak that turned those infected into zombie-like creatures – is an aspiring filmmaker with the unlikely nickname Diane Keaton (Alexandra Slade ) wakes up underground in a locked room full of corpses. Disturbing, to say the least, and things only get precarious when she is rescued by Gore (Nick Young), a bombastic, foul-mouthed military dude with the zany aura of someone who’s been alone too long and the wild eyes of a man , which could have something to do with the spark that started the apocalypse.

Diane has no choice but to stay with him – he has food, water, weapons, and most importantly, a supply of antidote that will protect her from zombie-itis. However, he’s also quick to joke about eating human flesh, calling Diane a “decent little cunt” and taunting her for being a lesbian (“How are we going to repopulate?”), and failing to adequately warn her about the hallucinogenics Effects of his miracle cure. They are, shall we say… intense, an experience made all the worse by the terrifying and surreal circumstances in which it finds itself.

Shot in black and white – with some effective clips from Diane’s film showing her and her friend in the dreamy, colorful colors of life before things fell apart –friend of the world works to make the viewer feel just as disoriented as Diane, using some effective special effects to bring her nightmarish visions (or are they?) to life. As she grapples with horrors, real and imagined, she almost admires the abominable Gore’s certainty that the only thing to do is “move forward, take control, and evolve.”

The film doesn’t stick to a conventional narrative; It is divided into “chapters” that follow Diane and Gore on their hunt for other survivors. Its maturity and artistic approach mean friend of the world has something in common with the way Diane describes her own work: experimental and composed of “images, feelings and emotions”. These feelings tend toward despair and disgust, but there’s also a bit of humor as well as a slight twist in the story that explains the film’s title.

According to a statement from writer-director Butler, “The first draft was written in August 2016, amid an even more controversial than usual U.S. presidential election, a growing fear of global war, and a burgeoning cynicism in America that was spreading like wildfire spread. All of this informed a script originally drawn from a personal place of fear and isolation. Global drama aside, this project is primarily intended as entertainment: a supposedly good character that we can relate to faces an unstoppable monster that represents everything that scares us and makes us angry. It pays homage to and expands on themes from the body horror subgenre of scifi and horror.”

friend of the world is streamed worldwide on Apple TV and iTunes.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Wonder, war of starsAnd star trek What’s next for the releases DC Universe in Film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.