In the zombie subgenre, it’s getting harder to set yourself apart from other films. Whether it’s having a different type of zombie in 28 Days Later, to having zombies work for us in Fido, the innovation factor is becoming more critical as time goes by. With Benjamin Roberds and Jordan Reyes’ A Plague So Pleasant, the twist on the familiar zombie formula is a good effort, if a little awkward.

The zombie apocalypse that people have feared has come and gone. It turns out that the zombies themselves don’t attack the living unless provoked, which makes life more or less easier for the remaining living people. In the US, it’s now illegal to attack the walking dead, and people just learn to deal with the shambling corpses as they roam around. For Clay Marshall (David Chandler), however, that’s all minor stuff. Clay’s sister, Mia (Eva Boehnke), is still in love with her now-deceased-now-zombie boyfriend. And after Mia rejects Clay’s friend Todd (Maxwell Moody) over his attempts to court Mia, Clay decides to do something about it.

Admittedly, the idea that humans and zombies coexisting in relative peace has been explored before, but Roberds and Reyes still manage to tweak things to make it into a fresh idea. Zombies simply just take up space, and because attacking them would set them off (not to mention that it’s illegal), they’re relegated to areas to just roam around. And as people die, the zombie numbers increase. It makes for an interesting backdrop. Tonally, the film spices things up with shifts in tone. The start of the film is presented in black and white, and has a bit of a dry comedic feel to it. This is contrasted with Clay’s dreary narration, as if things are a bit boring. This “boredom” quickly changes midway through, as the film suddenly shifts to colour, as well as turning into a gorefest that has Clay running for his life as the hornet’s nest is kicked, and the zombies respond appropriately.

Speaking of the gore, it’s also quite a feat that the film looks the way it does on just $3000. Sure, the makeup is obviously toilet paper and paint, but there’s skill behind the makeup to help obscure it. The thing that really helps disguise the limitations is the skill behind the camera. Shifts in colour aside, the film sports some impressive shots that not only help accentuate the tones and the transition between those tones, but also puts it above the usual amateur indie fare. As far as the acting goes, the highlight is Moody’s quirky performance as Todd. The odd sense of humour and cheesy persona that Moody adds to the role helps to contrast those tonal shifts to the film.

The film is not without flaws. The biggest problem is its running time. 76 minutes might not seem like a long time, but when the film begins to drag once it makes the shift to panic mode, those 76 minutes feel a lot longer than they should. The reason for the film dragging is simply because it revolves around Clay skulking around, avoiding zombies and running away. That gets old pretty fast, despite whatever Roberds and Reyes throw in to attempt to break up the monotony. Also, Chandler’s performance doesn’t lend itself well to the lead role. While it’s satisfactory, Chandler doesn’t have as big a presence as needed, and the fact that he spends much of the latter half of the film running around obscures that. Finally, the film seems a little uneven when it comes to just what exactly it wants at the start. Is it a comedy with the humour, or is it meant to be boring in preparation for the coming mayhem? That humour is never seen again, even after the film shifts back to black and white.

Still, in spite of its roughness, A Plague So Pleasant is still fairly impressive with the amount of skill behind it. The premise is unique, and the contrast in tones was a nice treat, along with the skill in shots and makeup. However, the film runs out of steam once Clay sets off the hordes, and despite the running game aping 28 Days Later, there’s little to chew on once it begins. Still, for a budget of $3000, Roberds and Reyes have pulled off more than what many indie filmmakers could hope to do with a much larger budget. It’s worth a watch in that respect.

Video/Audio:

Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, the film’s video transfer is acceptable for an independent release, if a little rough. The black and white scenes exhibit a bit of grain, but suffer in the details due to DNR. It definitely doesn’t have quite the impact as, say, Clerks. As for the colour portions, the variance in saturation and filters is offset by some pretty obvious halos and smearing of details due to some DNR. Overall, it’s acceptable, given the origins.

Like the video, the audio is a bit marred. While the Dolby Digital 2.0 track does the job, the amateur production has some dialogue being muffled and hard to hear. The sparse score is also quiet, with no real punctuation. It’s all a bit flat, but it’s presentable.

Supplements:

The only extras for the film are two promos (one domestic, one international), and a collection of seven trailers for other films.