It
was once on the so-called “Black List” survey of unproduced scripts well-regarded
by industry insiders. Well, so much for that. It is about to have a miniscule
opening, one month after it released on VOD. These was the same circumstances
faced by Kevin Spacey’s most recent film, Billionaire
Boys Club, which the trades trumpeted far and wide as the death knell of
the disgraced actor’s career. So, are they going to say the same thing about
Black List scripts, because fair is fair isn’t it? Actually, there is nothing
fair about stupid stories that cherry-pick low opening grosses for films that
are primarily seeking VOD business. It would be particularly easy to beat up on
this unfortunate genre picture, because it was dropped by a major distributor,
but there are worse films hitting theaters this week than Stefan Ruzowitzky’s Patient Zero (trailer here), which opens in a
few theaters somewhere this Friday.
Don’t
call them zombies. The “Infected” just happen to have a case of super-mega-ultra
rabies, leaving them rage fueled berserkers—all except Morgan, that is. He was
infected, but he did not turn, to use a zombie term. As a result, he can talk
to the Infected, much to their surprise. Under the supervision of Dr. Gina
Rose, he interrogates captured Infecteds, hoping to find the original source: “Patient
Zero.”
Rose
is okay. In fact, Morgan is definitely attracted to her, creating a lot of awkward
guilt for the “Infected Talker,” since his wife Janet is one of the Infected
they are transfusing, in the hope they can eventually be cured. Of course, they
have heightened hearing, so she knows. In contrast, it is the jerkweed martinet
in charge of bunker security who really chafes Morgan, but his nemesis will be “The
Professor,” a leader the Infected, who does not seem to follow any of the rules
Morgan and Rose thought they had figured out.
In
fact, those rules are somewhat interesting and probably give is a sense of what
the original Black List script read like. The Infected can’t process music, so
Morgan, a former record store owner, uses classic rock and soul as part of the interrogation
process. They also lost their ability to deceive—or did they? Unfortunately,
just when the rules are fully established, they are thrown out and the film
loses its distinctive vibe, becoming predictable and cliched.
As
you might expect, it is a good deal of fun to watch Stanley Tucci act all
sinister as “The Professor” (but Mary Ann remains unaccounted for). Matt Smith
also fully commits as the brainy but prickly Morgan, using a lot of his old Doctor Who acting muscles. Natalie Dormer
is fine as Dr. Rose, but it too bad Agyness Deyn doesn’t get more screen time
as Janet, the Infected, because her portrayal is really quite complex and emotionally
engaging.
Yes,
Patient Zero clearly owes debts to Day of the Dead, 28 Days and Weeks Later, as well as scores of other
zombie and pandemic movies, but Ruzowitzky keeps it moving along nicely. His
output has been a little uneven since The Counterfeiters won the Academy Award, but his films usually have intriguing
elements, especially the intense psycho-thriller, Cold Hell. Sure, it craters during the third act, but isn’t that
always the way? In any event, it is far better than any reports of its minimal
opening might suggest. Recommended as a VOD distraction for fans of apocalyptic
horror, Patient Zero opens somewhere this
Friday (9/14).