Exit Humanity (2012)
Are zombie movies inherently good? Heck no! Look at Remains. Look at Pontypool. That’s what makes Exit Humanity such a nice surprise.
Exit Humanity is set in the post-civil war south. Years after the war, soldier Edward Young returns from a hunting expedition to find some very bad things have happened to his family. Much of the strength of the film stems from the convincing acting of Mark Gibson as Young and the compelling story of how he copes with loss.
The film is clearly a low budget affair. Animation drives some of the action and it’s difficult to tell if it was added for stylistic or budgetary reasons. The zombie makeup is disappointing especially when many of us are used to the fantastic makeup of The Walking Dead every week. Exit Humanity has a completely different pace than The Walking Dead; it’s more hypnotic and dreary. It’s less about action and gore and more about bleakness and drama. The story unfolds slowly and some viewers may not have the patience to see it through, but it’s certainly a tale worth experiencing.
Some of the character acting is spotty but there is some nice work from Stephen McHattie (who was also in the aforementioned Pontypool) and Dee Wallace (The Howling) as Eve the shaman.
Director John Geddes smartly enlisted Brian Cox to do the narration, giving a sense of credence and weight to the film. I enjoyed the way the richly animated chapter headings reinforced the fact that Young is documenting his adventure. The outdoor scenes are artfully filmed and the landscapes are beautiful. I also really liked the understated ending. Zombie fans rejoice! There’s new zombie film worth watching.
Spoilerish trailer:
scene, when a cop maneuvers his motorcycle through a narrow corridor between cars in traffic gridlock, tells Brad Pitt to stay in his car, then gets slammed by a huge truck barreling down the street through the same narrow space between cars. How does that work exactly? 
