During
the interwar period, the National Socialists associated Weimar with weakness and
decadence. The city of Goethe and Schiller refuses to make the same mistake during
the zombie apocalypse. It follows a strict no tolerance policy. At the first sign
of infection, it is Auf Wiedersehen. Weimar survivors boast that is why they
are one of the only two cities still standing. The other is the more lenient
Jena. Two young women will try to journey from Weimar to Jena, but zombies and
allegorical figures keep getting in their way throughout Carolina Hellsgård’s Endzeit—Ever After (trailer here), which screens
during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Regardless
of their respective policies, the Federal State of Thuringia appears to have
been the place the weather the zombie uprising. Nevertheless, Eva and Vivi have
some deeply scarring memories of Day Zero. Eva is the tough one, who has a high
zombie-body count as an experienced member of the self-defense volunteers. Vivi
is so damaged, she might be regressing back to a child-like emotional state. In
theory, volunteering for the zombie defense force could be a healthy way to
reassert herself, but she simply isn’t ready for that kind of stress.
After
her horrible, no good first day, Vivi is ready to run-off, possibly as a more
passive way to attempt suicide. Eva also has her reasons to leave in a hurry.
Despite a lack of trust and mutual respect, the two women become traveling
companions on the road to Jena, like Thelma & Louise, but with zombies
instead of the Thunderbird and Brad Pitt.
If
you pick up anything from Endzeit’s
press campaign, it will be the film’s claim to fame as a modern zombie movie
with almost an entirely female cast and women fulfilling every meaningful
creative role behind the camera. Good for them for bringing in a highly
distinctive film on a presumably limited budget. However, that might not help
the cause with hardcore horror and zombie fans. Although there are some shuffling
hordes, there is even more allegorical fantasy going on, which produces uneven
results.
Frankly,
the second to third act hinge gets bogged down with the appearance of “The
Gardener,” an Earth Mother archetype with twigs sprouting out of her head, who remorselessly
gloats about the rapid demise of humanity. Fine, if that’s her attitude, we’ll
stop cutting up the plastic rings from six-packs before throwing them away. On
the other hand, some really deep, intriguing stuff is suddenly revealed during the
conclusion, which really elevates the film’s tragic gravitas.
One
thing pops off the screen loud and clear: Maja Lehrer is absolutely terrific as
Eva. She makes her a commanding, rebellious, and vulnerable figure, often all
at the same time. Gro Swantje Kohlhof is appropriately withdrawn and childlike
as Vivi, but she nicely hints at some character growth over time.
Obviously,
Hellsgård is working with a lot of fairy tale themes and motifs, but she mostly
makes it work (again, aside from the Gardener business). Viewers who only know
zombies from the Walking Dead franchise
(which transparently “stands on the shoulders” of Romero’s Living Dead films) will probably bored and confused by it, but fans
who really appreciate the zombie tradition will appreciate the ways she
stretches the genre. Granted, it does not have the emotional gut-punch of Sabu’s
Miss Zombie, but nothing else does
either. Recommended for its ambition and the talent that went into it, Endzeit—Ever After screens again
tomorrow (9/9), rather ominously Tuesday (9/11), and Friday (9/14), as part of
this year’s TIFF.