Exit Humanity

2011 / NR

Director: John Geddes

Writer: John Geddes

Stars: Brian Cox, Mark Gibson, Dee Wallace

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First off, Exit Humanity is not the greatest "horror" movie to hit the streets in more recent years. Nor is the time period of any real importance - not to mention, yes, it is just another zombie flick added to the already enormous dung pile. So why bother watching it (other than because the title is pretty damn attractive)? I'll tell you why...

Some years after the U.S. Civil War has ended, a veteran/father/husband has one last act of humanity to accomplish while in the midst of a "sickness" outbreak. An act which is driving him increasingly towards a deep, dark depression that will soon consume him entirely. That is, until he meets a man of the living who happens to need an extra set of hands for an important task brought on by the all-too-common small group of assholes led by a general we viewers would think of as lacking proper "hardcore" essence.

Not the greatest plot or description of one, right? That doesn't matter. This movie is recommended by me, not for the lack of enough blood-spilling, not for the mediocre story involved, but because it is so abstractly well put together; unlike any other independent horror film out there. Right off the bat you have Brian Cox narrating, for Christ sake! Short, animated scenes are edited in throughout its entirety; filming locations are incredibly eye-pleasing; the acting is a little above decent; the score is professional as hell; and the directing? The directing is fantastic. John Geddes is involved in almost everything with this one (he wasn't involved with the soundtrack/score). It's incredible!

Truth be told, I had absolutely no intention of ever pressing play when stumbling upon Exit Humanity's trailer, but I'm glad I did. That being stated, if you're more inclined to give a film a chance due to its artistic vision, watch this one. However, the flip side of the coin, I probably wouldn't consider giving it a look if being somewhat frightened and/or gore is what you crave in horrors. If given a bigger budget, they definitely could have come up with a gem.

My ranking: 3 out of 5 stars

by Frank Frederico, Jr. (@frankjfrederico)