“Wyrmwood: Apocalypse”
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Movie #1 of the 2022 31-days of horror.
This sequel was released 8 years after the first Wyrmwood. Where the first was a horror comedy that introduced its audience to some memorable characters and a creative new twist on the zombie genre, this one dropped most, if not all, of the comedy. It, instead, focused on how the survivors and the zombies had adapted and evolved post apocalypse.
They brought back Brooke (Bianca Bradey), a hybrid zombie, and her brother, Barry (Jay Gallagher), who have figured out a way to, at least somewhat, control the zombie virus in people who have become infected. Though most of the screen time was given to the new characters, the soldier Rhys (Luke McKenzie), the twin brother of a soldier that Barry & Brooke had killed in the first entry, and sisters, Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan) & Grace (Tasia Zalar), the nieces of Benny.
The story, apparently, takes place shortly after the first film. It is centered around a military group working for a crazy ass scientist, the Surgeon General (Nick Boshier), experimenting on both zombies and the uninfected that Rhys captures for them, looks for a cure. Grace being a hybrid zombie that Rhys delivers to the Surgeon General, Maxie tries to find a way to rescue her.
If you see the story as a kind of quest for redemption for Rhys as well as the evolution of a new species, you’ll be satisfied. I was actually a bit impressed that they went there so quickly. I considered speculating more into why I was so intrigued by this, after all, even Romero (eventually) had his zombies evolve. Maybe I’ll revisit this at a later date with an update to address this. Maybe not.
Although, I didn’t find this had quite as much unique charm as the first entry, I did enjoy it enough that I’m definitely getting the Blu-ray.
