Review: Day Zero

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Day Zero
Directed by Joey De Guzman
Reality MM Studios; Regal Entertainment; Well Go USA Entertainment
82 minutes, 2022 / 2023
https://wellgousa.com/films/day-zero
www.hiyahtv.com
#DayZero @WellGoUSA

This release is not to be confused with Night Zero (2017), as Day Zero also goes for the almost-zombie throat.

Remember back in the late 1960s and early ‘70s when the Philippines was a place that released numerous “B” horror releases (many starring John Ashley; d. 1997), be they cheesy, such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) and The Twilight People (1972)? 

Well, this has shown the quality has quite improved for Filipino fright flicks (presented in Tagalog, Filipino, sign language, and some English, with easy to read English subtitles) over the years, and are still cheesy fun, but a lot more sophisticated, professional looking, and relatively make more narrative sense (relative to the topic at hand).

Brandon Vera

As the prologue tells us, there is an outbreak of dengue fever “also known as break-bone fever, a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people” (paraphrased from Wikipedia). But like Covid, for this imagining, it has mutated into turning people into (fast) flesh-biting zombie-ish creatures; they are not into eating as much as biting and infecting, sort of like Korea’s Train to Busan (2016). While they are merely hyper-infected, they look like classic zombies; the make-up is incredibly well done. Though they can run, they move quite spasmodically and only communicate through screams. It can seem a mix of [Pick a time of day] of the Living Dead and …28 [pick a timeframe] Later, with a bit of [*REC] (2007) thrown in for good measure. And of course, we cannot forget the granddaddy of all violent bite infection flicks, Rabid (1977).

Our central character is the heavily tattooed former U.S. elite soldier Ramon “Emon” Marasigan (Brandon Vera, aka “The Truth”; retired Filipino-American World Kickboxing Association [WKA] Super Heavyweight Champion, ONE Championship Heavyweight World Champion, WEC 13 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, and inducted in the Grappler's Quest Hall of Fame). He is in a Filipino prison for aggravated assault. Hell, he is so big, he could cripple me with a strong stare.

Mary Jean Lastimosa

His estranged wife, Sheryl (Mary Jean Lastimosa) and young, deaf daughter, Jane (Freya Fury Montierro) wait in what looks like some overcrowded poor area at a seven-floor walk-up apartment building. Due to the outbreak, Emon breaks out (see what I did there?) of prison with his friend Timoy (Pepe Herrera). Meanwhile, Sheryl gets separated from Jane in the apartment melee. It was pretty obvious that the story would be the quest of the three finding each other again.

Also understandable, thankfully, is that there will be a lot of fighting by Emon, be it prisoners, zombies, or what all. And it certainly does not fail in that regard: MMA-style moves, crude objects (e.g., boards), and eventually tactical armory (see the trailer).

Pepe Herrera

The cinematography by Mo Zee is quite well done, with some camera effects that work well with the storyline and keeps the eye on the screen. This is a gross generalization, but Asian cinema really does present action scenes with pizazz.

Vera acts his role well, albeit mostly stoic or angry (though there are some emotional moments), but most of the major cast, including Herrera and especially Lastimosa, project their fear and angst well without it being cartoonish. Most of the action, once Emon and Timoy get out of prison, is set in the apartment building (hence the [*REC] reference), giving a feeling of grime, purposeful bad lighting (no electricity) though easy to see for the viewer, and a sense of claustrophobia. The single location helps with the budget, and I respect that, as well as “locks” the viewer into the locale. The set design for these scenes is excellent.

So is the SFX, which uses great prosthetics, and while there is some CGI, most of it is practical. For those interested, like me, there is a lot of it spread throughout the film. Technically, there are three acts, but each is ruthless.

While this is a relatively serious film, there is some subtle humor that occasionally crops up, almost like easter eggs, such as one zombie wearing a tee that says, “Vin Scully is my homeboy”: baseball is huge in the Philippines. Also, as with most sidekicks, Timoy is a bit of a comic relief, but hardly a stereotypical screw-up.

There is an underlying premise that not all monsters are – er – monsters. While the band of survivors get picked off one by one, there is also brutality brought by grief and anger. Who needs to be infected to become violent when someone has lost a loved one? I believe that characterization is a real side of humanity sometimes. It is not really cynicism, if you just look around at the attitude of some televangelists and members of the US Senate about the LGBTQ+ populations.

On a side note, I wonder about films like this: if one can escape from the crowded apartment building, in a heavily populated neighbourhood, how would one get away, even in a vehicle? There are 114 million people living in the Philippines. Would it not be more realistic to pull a The Mist (2007) in that situation (but have enough ammo)? I would definitely want a quick out.

Once the action starts, which is right at the beginning, it is rare that the action lets up. We see our main group and others fight the transformed and infected. In a world where zombie (relatively) films are a dime a dozen, even though there are some formulaic moments, this is a good watch, full of action, violence, practical SFX, gore, and so much more.

IMDB listing HERE