REVIEW: Immune

- By Kriss Pickering

A few months ago, I decided enough was enough, and I was giving post apocalyptic and zombie films a rest for a while. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them anymore, but more the fact that so many are released, I had become a bit numb to them.

When Steven Taylor’s Immune screener dropped through the letter box I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. But when researching the film, something jumped out at me. It was filmed in the city of Coventry. A place where I worked for a few months a few years back, and where I have visited countless times to watch the mighty Barnsley FC play the Sky Blues! Sod it, I thought. I’ll give it a bash…

So what is Immune about, or more accurately, how do the Zombies come to be? Well, we learn that 9 months prior to the start of the film, a new genetically modified pesticide was created by splicing plant and mammal DNA. Once it was used, it turned the vast majority of the UK into zombie-like creatures.

One survivor, James (Christopher Clarke) roams the streets of Coventry alone, scavenging food and supplies to allow him to extend his lonely existence. One weapon James has to help him is the daylight, which causes the “Deadheads”, as they are referred to in the film, to burst into flames.

Whilst carrying out his daily routine, James is surprised to come across another surviver, Tommy (Simon Jarrett). Tommy pours his heart out to James, explaining that he was once part of a clan of survivors, but left after a disagreement with its despotic leader. The two survivors strike up a close friendship as they do what they must to survive the groups of living that rule the streets during the day, and the hoards of infected that roam at night!

Immune starts off decent, with an entertaining but short prologue that shows how the breakout occurred, complete with a bit of grizzly carnage and showing us that no one is safe, not even kids in director Taylor’s vision of the apocalypse. Unfortunately, this early sequence is one of the highs of the film and things tail off a little from here.

One of the big issues is that there is no real structure to the script. It is essentially just a series of excursions, raids and random encounters that have very little rhyme or reason behind them. The pacing suffers because of lack of driving narrative too. It wouldn’t be too bad if it all led to a huge payoff ending, but even that’s disappointing.

The acting is decent, with chemistry between the two main characters. The lines are delivered with aplomb. Christopher Clarke does a good job of showing how desolate his life is before he meets his new companion.

Technically, the film is very shaky. The director seems to know what he’s doing, but holds more than one shot for a lot longer than I think was needed. The editing is amateur in places too, with action sequences interrupted abruptly, or not allowed to flow due to unnecessary inserts. An example of what Taylor is capable of is evident in the opening sequence, with a zombie transformation that is nothing short of brilliant!

It’s a shame, because there is obviously love and enthusiasm put into getting Immune made. The acting is solid, and there are a few very ambitious CGI effects evident. But at the end of the day, the lack of natural flow really lets it down. The ending (or non ending more like) strongly hints at a sequel or prequel, so hopefully Taylor learns from these mistakes and makes a film that he seems capable of…

- By Kriss Pickering