- Directed by J. Horton
- Written by Michael J. Epstein, J. Horton
- Stars Felissa Rose, Lynn Lowry, Rachel Amanda Bryant
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 28 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNYvXsHOkK0
- Watch it now: https://amzn.to/4dAmaDv
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
When criminals on the run seek refuge at a big old farm, it seems like a good idea at first. What’s worse than getting trapped in a place with monsters? Well, you should watch this to find out rather than spoiling it here. It’s decent all around, with good effects and an entertaining script. We give it a thumbs up.
Spoilery Synopsis
A woman hides as zombies eat people. Zuri’s a fighter, and she helps the others kill zombies. We cut back and see that it’s really two people watching a zombie movie at the drive-in.
Inside the drive-in’s office, a group of criminals hold the place up and shoot the woman running the place. The couple watching the movie is involved, and soon, everyone is in a shootout. As the crooks drive away with what they came for, they argue about whether or not they should have killed anyone. Zenia says they need to lay low, and she knows just the place… Credits roll.
The six criminals arrive at an isolated farm in the snowy hills. We very quickly see that there’s something not right with the local plants. Something in the woods gets Zenia from behind. It gets Stevie as well; it’s some kind of plant-covered person.
Some hunters rescue Zenia from the plant-zombie. They soon run into a larger group of hunters.
Meanwhile, in the barn, the rest of the gang run into two of the creatures; now they all know what the score is. Naja, the woman who was there first, calls them “Guardians” and says they need to wait for nightfall. The only way out of the barn is through a dark underground tunnel. Somehow, Naja and Fish get separated, but the rest join the hunters.
We stop for a heartwarming story about a pet monkey and a twisted grandmother. Until the group is attacked again. They all go to the hunters’ home, where Mother Henrietta explains about their longstanding feud with the plant-monsters.
Fish learns that Naja’s gunshot wound is completely gone; is she infected with whatever made the Guardians?
At Henrietta’s house, some of the guys watch that same zombie movie from the drive-in. They all have something really big planned for tomorrow morning. They laugh about “Odie playing with her food again,” as the girl turns into a creature and attacks one of the visitors.
The family explains that they’re caretakers of the place, and the moon brings out the worst in them – when they want it to. “Remember what Ma said, no one changes all the way before supper!” As the robbers figure out that they’re surrounded by monsters inside and out, you might say they’re stuck between a rock and… you get it.
Naja and Fish find their way to the house, and they all sit down to dinner. Zenia comes in– she knew exactly what she was doing when she brought her friends here. Henrietta stands up and tells the story of the Guardians and the Caretakers. They started interbreeding, and that went badly. Zenia laments that she hasn’t been turned and the years are adding up for her.
Tomorrow’s going to be a solar eclipse, and the monsters that roam the night and the day can come together in a huge battle. Then the whole family starts to turn into demonic lizard-like creatures (not werewolves). One of them knocks out Fish, who wakes up in front of a TV showing a documentary about “How Babies Are Made.” Yes, the visitors are going to be kept for breeding stock.
Morning comes, and it’s time for the big battle. Henrietta gives a “going into battle” speech. The Guardians come, and a lot of them die, but they run the family back into hiding. Suddenly, the sun goes into eclipse, and it gets dark, much to the plant-creatures’ annoyance. The family turns into monsters and the fight is a little more equal now.
Zenia, who isn’t a monster, comes into the barn and apologizes for tricking them. She lets them out. Henrietta promised to “turn” her if she brought them more breeders. Fish and Naja say goodbye as the normal humans sneak off in the middle of the battle.
With the eclipse now over, the family turns back to humans and the leader of the Guardians kills Henrietta. Zenia and Naja talk to the plant leader and beg for peace.
Zenia and the family set up a trap in a barn and lure all the Guardians inside before blowing it sky-high. The three human survivors run toward the road, but then meet Naja and her allies, who let them go. Naja promises to keep fighting them, even though she doesn’t remember why.
Candy shoots Hurt in the back and is then shot in turn by Fish, the only one to drive away with all the loot.
Brian’s Commentary
This was filmed mostly in Ohio, and I recognized the Dixie Twin Drive-In from the movie’s opening right away.
Like many of the indie films we’ve looked at recently, this suffers from a cast that’s too large. Henrietta’s “family” is like twenty people, and they all seem to get a line, for better or worse. I guess that’s one of the unfortunate side effects of crowdfunding.
The monsters are what you get when told, “We have cordyceps at home.” Actually, for a low-budget indie film, the plant-creatures are pretty well done. There are a lot of them, and they have a good variety. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and don’t go on for too long. I loved the monkey story, it was so completely unnecessary but yet still just perfect; there was a lot of good humor here.
Overall, I liked it– it was entertaining throughout.
Kevin’s Commentary
I thought it took a while to come into focus, but once they got to the farm, I was fully on board. The effects were pretty cool, lots of good gore and creatures. Brian has a point about the cast being cumbersome, but that did allow for a lot of redshirts to meet gruesome deaths. I’m glad I got to see it.