- Directed by Benjamin Brewer
- Written by Mike Nilon
- Stars Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag6yZIRX6EI
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This was very slow-moving and low on action for the first hour or so, focusing more on survivors and how they are carrying on. We’re gradually filled in on how the world is now, and things pick up in the last half hour with much more action. Not everything is explained, but it tells a good story that we liked.
Spoilery Synopsis
A man in a backpack runs through the deserted streets. We hear sirens, gunshots, and explosions as credits roll. Paul continues running, past piles of bodies and past hordes of screaming people. He gets out of town as civilization collapses around him. At some point, he picks up two babies.
Fifteen years later, Paul and his two sons, Joseph and Thomas, live out in the country, away from the city. When it starts getting dark, they all close up the shutters over the windows and heavily lock the doors. Thomas has been spending a lot of time at the Rose farm.
As the boys play chess, the dog starts scratching at the floor, which gets all of them on alert. Suddenly, there’s crazy banging at the door, and they have to help hold the door shut. Whatever it is, they soon go away. In the morning, the outside of the door is covered with scratches.
Paul talks about the Earth being past the worst part, and the air and water are getting cleaner. He still has hope for humanity, but Joseph isn’t so sure. Joseph has gotten an old cart running, and they use it to drive to the town for some salvage. Thomas, on the other hand, is obsessed with hanging out at the Rose farm; Mr. and Mrs. Rose are nice, but he’s way more interested in their daughter, Charlotte.
Charlotte and Thomas play a game of “Recap the Apocalypse Badly” in ten seconds. Charlotte says it’s something to do with bugs and a plague and the machines taking revenge. Thomas says everyone turned into wolves and ran into the forest. Or just maybe the kids are making all this up.
There’s an accident, and Thomas doesn’t make it home one night. Paul goes looking for him while Joseph stays to lock up and defend the house. Thomas fell into a ravine, and at least one of the creatures is down there. Joseph doesn’t lock the door properly, and one of them gets in– but is promptly caught in a trap. Joseph knew what he was doing. Meanwhile, the creatures are digging into where Paul and Thomas are trying to hide for the night. Paul ignites something that explodes.
In the morning, Thomas pulls the unconscious Paul out of the ravine, and Joseph picks them up in the car. Thomas wants to see the creature in the cage, but it’s terrified of the sunlight. It goes badly, and they end up killing it when it escapes.
Thomas takes Paul to the Roses’ place for help, but they refuse to get involved. Thomas stays with them anyway, but Joseph takes Paul back to their house. Mr. Rose catches Charlotte and Thomas kissing and doesn’t like it one bit.
Charlotte gives Thomas some medication and runs home, but the men at the farm take exception and kidnap him. The monsters take the opportunity to attack Charlotte’s parents. Everyone dies except for Thomas and Charlotte, who escape back to Paul’s house and meet up with Joseph.
The three young people have to defend themselves and Paul from the monsters. They carry in a big chest freezer and a bunch of gasoline and explosives; he’s going to make a trap. The creatures soon get inside the house.
Suddenly, Paul wakes up and starts fighting the horde that’s gotten into the house. Paul uses himself as bait as everything explodes. Charlotte, Thomas, and Joseph hide inside the freezer to avoid the carnage. Not all the creatures are dead, so the three run to the car and drive off. The monsters pursue, even while on fire.
In the morning, they have a little funeral for… essentially everyone. Maybe some of the other neighboring farms survived, so they’re gonna go look…
Commentary
This one is very slow moving and at about the one-hour mark, I was starting to suspect that it wasn’t going anywhere. Nic Cage is good here, but he’s out of the picture for a large part of the film, leaving the drama in the hands of the two boys. The action does pick up in the final half-hour.
We don’t get a really good, close look at the monsters, but what we do see is really something else, like werewolf-alligators. We never really do get an explanation of what happened to the world or what the creatures really are.