There
is nothing like a zombie outbreak to overcome resistance to modern medicine.
Gone are the days when Pakistani militants targeted vaccinating health workers,
as documented in Tom Roberts’ Every Last Child. Now, one of the world’s largest Big Pharma companies is in Pakistan,
thanks to the infection slowing patch. Business is booming, but they have a
dirty secret an American expat is desperate to uncover in Adnan Ahmed’s Altered Skin (trailer here), which screens as
part of this year’s Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival.
It
is hard to say whether those inflicted with the MN-2 virus are full zombies per
se, or just viral outbreak victims. Regardless, these “carriers” will
eventually descend into a state of mindless rage. Tragically, Craig Evans wife,
Dr. Insiya Zia will soon be one of them. She is currently in a medically
induced coma after contracting the virus from a patient, but time is running
out for her.
It
is already too late for muckraking TV journo Shehzad Amin, but his widow is convinced
Evans is the right person to expose her missing husband’s murderers. Evans is
rather skeptical, but when he gets a whiff of something funny at the drug
company, he starts investigating in earnest. Zia’s life might depend on what he
uncovers.
Although
mostly in English, Altered was shot
entirely in Karachi, by a mostly Pakistani cast and crew. Admittedly, there are
some pacing issues, but the film’s professional-grade production values far exceed
expectations. Ahmed maintains a gritty vibe of foreboding that is really quite
impressive. The entire ensemble is also quite polished, particularly Aamir
Qureshi, who is excellent as Amin in flashbacks and taped television reports.
As
Evans and Zia, Robin Dunne and Juggan Kazim make a convincing married couple.
He is also sufficiently credible as the dogged, bull-in-a-china-shop Westerner.
Throughout it all, Ahmed gives viewers a vivid sense of nocturnal back alley
Karachi. It is a dangerous environment, precisely because it is so easy to lose
oneself in it. All things considered, it is pretty good. Recommended for fans
of rage-berserk viral-mutant outbreak thrillers, Altered Skin screens this Friday (11/23) during BiTS 2018, in
Toronto.
