Horror Movie Review: Exit Humanity (2011)

A zombie horror set in the American Civil War is an interesting concept. A movie built around strong character development with some top acting, decent visuals & hopeful finale that contrasts well against the unrelentingly depressive environment.

Exit Humanity sounds like it should be fantastic but unfortunately ends up being little more than a so-so zombie flick. Its major problem is that it’s just boring & at nearly 110 minutes is far too long.

Written & directed by John Geddes and starring Mark Gibson, Dee Wallace & Bill Moseley. Exit Humanity tells the story of Edward Young (Gibson) whose war has ended. He returns to his family in the hope that he can put it all behind him & live a happy, normal life. Unfortunately for Edward, a zombie outbreak has sprung up reanimating the war dead & consuming all that get in its way.

Told through the journal of Edward & mixing live-action with great looking animated sequences. Exit Humanity follows Edward as he attempts to find his wife & son amidst the zombie crisis. Sadly for Edward he is far too late with the rest of the movie based around him trying to find peace while fighting off the walking dead & dealing with the misguided & cruel actions of others.

Exit Humanity is a thought-provoking film. A character based zombie horror & it is a better film for that. While it is nice to watch a zombie film that relegates the shambling dead to minor characters, this movie borrows a little too much from other horror movies to be called clever.

One such obvious ‘borrowed’ sequence is the finale that shares much with the final moments of 28 Days Later.

The setting is certainly a commendable idea with the limitations of weaponry & medicine being a nice touch. However as most of the movie is set in the wilderness we really don’t get enough interesting looking visuals beyond trees.

The movie also takes a bit too long to get going with far too many lulls in action. It takes an absolute age setting up Edward to the detriment of everything else. While it does mean you care about his plight, it doesn’t increase the entertainment value of the overall movie. Even quality acting like we see here can’t lift a story that is plodding along at a snail’s pace.

A dark film, a lot of Exit Humanity can best be described as ‘depressing’. As much about the evils that humanity commits, the zombies are just a product of a pointless war. For those that like their horror more upbeat & less based in reality, Exit Humanity is not that kind of movie. That’s no bad thing though as it deals with difficult subjects during a difficult time.

Had it been trimmed down here & there it would be up there as one of the finest modern zombie horrors. Unfortunately its bloated runtime means many will find themselves drifting off long before it really gets going.

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