Once upon a time zombie movies were cool. Certainly between the debut of George Romero‘s Night of the Living Dead (’68) and Dawn of the Dead (’78), his first sequel. Since then mongrels have taken over the genre. As a matter of routine policy Hollywood Elsewhere spits on 21st Century zombies. I haven’t paid the slightest attention since Juan Carlos Fresnadillo‘s 28 Weeks Later (’07) and before that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland‘s 28 Days Later (’02).
But I’m down for Dominique Rocher‘s Night Devours The World (La Nuit a devore le monde) because (a) it’s French, (b) it has a great poster, and (c) it avoids standard zombie movie tropes like the plague. This in itself wins my absolute allegiance.
From Jordan Mintzer‘s 3.7.18 Hollywood Reporter review: “Imagine 28 Days Later without the action, The Walking Dead without the ensemble cast or [Rec] without the video camera and white-knuckle suspense, and you’ll get an inkling of what goes on in The Night Eats the World.
“A minimalist arthouse zombie movie set almost entirely inside a Paris apartment building, this debut feature from director Dominique Rocher has some clever ideas and well-crafted moments, but in terms of horror fodder, it’s so pared down you’ll practically miss it if you blink. Still, it probably deserves a lower-case ‘z’ for “zeal,” taking the subgenre to a place it hasn’t quite gone before. You’ve got to give the filmmakers some credit for eschewing the predictable gory antics in favor of something more artsy and contemplative.”
