If Train To Busan is one of the most innovative entries in the zombie sub genre in the last few years, then films like The Girl With All The Gifts and now The Rezort represent what happens when the genre sags under the weight of audience familiarity.
Like Girl, The Rezort’s most innovative feature is its premise, which takes the idea behind Jurassic Park and substitutes dinosaurs for zombies. It’s so stunningly obvious that it is kind of shocking that no one has thought of it before and the film gets a fair amount of mileage solely on its crafty use of theme park imagery in the first act. Unfortunately once the broad swath of one-dimensional characters have been introduced, the security features of the island have been established and the protocols for zombie engagement have been outlined, The Rezort falls back on the same old conventions.
The stage setting begins with an extended montage of news clips that immediately establish that something has gone disastrously wrong on the island. This also allows for a history lesson, which helpfully clarifies that nearly a decade ago the world went to war with zombies, 2 billion people died and the island is now the sole location where the undead can be found. This introductory framing device is interesting, but ultimately unnecessary: it is obvious from very early on that an outbreak will occur. Similarly, a recurring attempt to make a political and moral message about the plight of refugees displaced by the war and the links between zombies and humans falls flat thanks to a clumsy (and clearly telegraphed) introductory scene that situates an UN-esque refugee camp on the beach within spitting distance of the rezort.
The predictable nature of The Rezort is its undoing. While most of the acting is adequate, none of the characters are memorable. As the film’s protagonist, Australian actress Jessica De Gouw (TV’s Arrow and Dracula) struggles with her accent and sinks beneath the character’s compulsory sad-sack backstory and unwillingness to cause harm. Ellen Ripley she ain’t. Melanie’s boyfriend Lewis (Martin McCann) is clearly an asshole masquerading as a supportive partner, while Dougray Scott’s silent sharp-shooter Archer should be far more interesting than he actually is. The other members of the group are generic zombie food with limbs, a collection of character types that exist solely to increase the body count and provide Melanie with opportunities to cry when they are inevitably bitten. Even the potentially hissable bitch villain, island director Valerie Wilton (Claire Goose), fails to make an impact, which is hardly surprising considering that she spends the entire film locked in her office, forgotten until her completely unmemorable requisite death scene late in the film.
Without compelling characters to get invested in, The Rezort needs some killer sequences, unique zombie attributes or stylish directorial choices. Alas, none of these are present – everything occurs exactly as you expect, the zombies look and act as they always do in modern zombie flicks and the direction is perfunctory. Even the look of the island (the film was shot in Spain) is pretty, but generic. Which unfortunately is pretty much exactly how I would describe this film. The Rezort isn’t bad per se, but there’s literally nothing to help distinguish it from other likeminded projects. Once the premise has been made clear and the zombies get loose, it is clear that you’ve seen this movie a thousand times.
The Rezort screened at the ongoing Toronto After Dark Film Festival.
