Movie Review: 'Zombie with a Shotgun' Comes Fully Loaded!

Zombie with a Shotgun

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’ve always been a lover of what are known as ‘B-Movies.’ B-Movies are those films that are – for the most part – independently produced and filmed and they are usually carried by a cast of lesser known actors, and sometimes actors who are just starting out. There’s something special about watching a film that the big companies of Hollywood haven’t gotten their hands on and turned into this polished and picture-perfect presentation. B-Movies are raw, and they show the true vision of the people who have made them.

‘Zombie with a Shotgun’ is one of those B-Movies with vision. It takes one of the most terrifying elements of our day and puts it in front of the public in a rather unnerving way – pharmaceutical companies and how they could easily go bad. Imagine a world where pharmaceuticals turn you into the living dead. Now, imagine hearing ‘there is no money in a cure; only in the treatment.’ Sounds dubious, doesn’t it? Such is the premise of ‘Zombie with a Shotgun.’

Warning: The review below contains spoilers, but the spoilers should not lessen your viewing experience or enjoyment of this film.

A film written and directed by Hilton Ariel Ruiz, ‘Zombie with a Shotgun’ stars Braeden Baade as Aaron, Kathryn Kuhn as Rachel, Kyle Hester as Hank, and Emilie Paap as Melissa, flanked by a cast of unique side-characters. It is set in a world where a type of testing has infected some of the population with a virus that makes them transform into zombies. The zombies are then gathered and quarantined for further testing. In a time of the Corona Pandemic and the rush of new vaccines, the premise of this film is pretty darn scary.

Aaron has been tested on and has contracted the virus. He is on the run with his girlfriend from bounty hunter Hank, and there are orders throughout the city to take those infected either into quarantine or to shoot and kill them on the spot. The movie starts pretty slowly but opens with some remarkable cinematography that pulls you into the story. It is a mix of horror, techno-terror, drama, and romance – written and directed by Hilton Ariel Ruiz.

While the build-up is slow for a zombie flick, the movie gets progressively faster-paced. Watching Rachel’s father become a zombie from the virus is definitely an early highlight. He makes an unexpected move in this moment that is both honorable and shocking. It was not at all what I’d expected to see happen. Honestly, I’d expected Melissa to get eaten.

Soon after, Rachel – with Aaron passed out – finds herself at the mercy of a rapist hobo who wants to have his way with her and use her as zombie bait. Fortunately, Aaron comes to and proves to be the hero, but the virus is taking its toll on him and he’s weak with little to no energy. This scene stands out to me because, just a few minutes later, Rachel gets the opportunity to confront her potential rapist and it’s glorious! This moment of glory comes after a chase and confrontation with Hank where Aaron finds the only way out for him and Rachel. This is our last scene with the under-used Kyle Hester.

There are two cops that appear throughout the film, Officers James and Adams. The two seem to struggle with two main things – following out their orders and securely watching each other’s back. For a moment, they come across as comic relief, but I’m not fully sure that was intentional.

A moment of reckoning comes when Aaron is faced with the heads of the pharmaceutical company that created this virus – and the people who claim to know what happened to his family. He is forced to make a tough decision and it’s one that ultimately renders him heartless. The brief shot where he is stitching up his chest is so creepy and well done. It’s during this period that we last see Rachel, although her fate is unknown. Early in the film, I begin to distrust her, and I am left wondering if my instinct was right.

There are a few flaws in ‘Zombie with a Shotgun’ that I feel I must address. The sex and love scenes, including the off-camera rape scene at the beginning, come at somewhat unrealistic times. Thankfully, they are brief and nowhere near the off-putting nature that one might find in a softcore late night flick. There is an almost dream-like sex sequence that reappears a couple of times and lacked one major thing – the nudity to accompany it. On the plus side, we got a nice look at Braeden Baade’s bottom in the shower, and that was wonderful! The film could have used much more of that. Very nice, Mr. Baade!

It is hard at times to tell if a boom mic was used in the movie, as the audio for the dialogue is not consistent. There are also some shaky-hand camera moments, especially when panning from up to down in a few shots or when you feel the cameraman might be crouched low in an awkward position. These two issues were likely due to the budget, as many indie films rely fully on donations, fundraisers, and producers willing to take a chance.

Sure. With a bigger budget, ‘Zombie with a Shotgun’ would have been a super, incredible and amazing film. However, even with the lower budget that comes with independent filmmaking, it was still a pretty rad movie and more than worth the eighty-minute runtime commitment.

Those low-budget moments are also easy to get over for several reasons. For instance, the camera work was pretty darn good, the costuming was realistic, and the make-up and visuals were fantastic. There are some panning shots of the city that are absolutely remarkable, and it is obvious that the actors took the time to get to know their characters.

There are also some moments of animation that are seriously well-done and entertaining and fit in effortlessly with the rest of the film. These moments added something new and wonderful to the movie, which honestly helps to set it apart from a lot of the lower budget independent films out there. I would have enjoyed a few more of these scenes put in.

If you’re looking for a horror movie that is filled from start to finish with gore, thrills, and constant scares, you won’t find that in ‘Zombie with a Shotgun,’ and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This movie works harder to tell the story of its characters than to rely on cheap scares and loud, sudden sounds to make us jump. It is not a bad movie at all. It’s actually pretty darn good, and the fact that it is plot-driven helps it succeed as a potential ‘cult classic.’ ‘Zombie with a Shotgun’ is left open-ended with a lot of unanswered questions and a ‘to be continued’ banner preceding the credits. I hope to see it made. After all, I really want to know what happened to Rachel.

Much love, Jenn 💋