Directed by Lutz Geiger, ApoKalypse is a wild, CG-animated indie horror-comedy that takes the zombie genre into absurd, uncharted territory. When a poisonous COVID cure turns customers at a mall into brainless zombies, a ragtag group of retail workers must fight their way through blood, gore, and social satire to survive.
Apo Guerrero (Chris Koehne) is a young slacker who spends his days skateboarding around town with his buddy and fast food co-worker Jamal (Ravin Wong). Time is running out for Apo as his father pressures him to get a “real job.” The good news is that rat poison turns out to be an effective vaccine for COVID-19.
On his way to work at the mall’s burger joint, he skates through a tent city and is confronted by a doomsday preacher (Angel Guerrero) warning of the coming apocalypse. After a run-in with a hostile vaccinated pregnant woman, he arrives at the mall, where he flirts with Cho Haan (Ao Mikazuri), who works at the Korean fried chicken counter. Meanwhile, the poison-based “cure” for COVID begins transforming entitled shoppers into brain-dead zombies, many sporting the signature Karen haircut.
One of ApoKalypse’s most outrageous scenes: a zombified newborn, still attached by its umbilical cord, attacks a mall worker during the bizarre outbreak.
“…rat poison turns out to be an effective vaccine for COVID-19…”
Inside the burger joint, a zombified pregnant woman attacks while giving birth. She swings her newborn, still attached by its umbilical cord, as a chomping, deadly weapon. Apo saves his coworker, Jamal, and they quickly realize that the entire mall has become overrun, and the government has sealed it off for containment. Trapped, Apo, Jamal, Cho, and her parents band together to fight their way to safety. Can’t forget Officer Boll (Uwe Boll), who is sleeping through the entire attack. Apo and Jamal arm themselves with makeshift weapons fashioned from kitchen appliances like food grinders and deep fryers, even using Apo’s skateboard as a tactical advantage.
ApoKalypse is a whimsical indie zombie movie. Filmmaker/animator Lutz Geiger presents a CG-animated 2D tale (with a surprise to kick off the third act). If I were to guess, Geiger used the Adobe suite of animation software, and he’s far more masterful with these tools than I could ever hope to be. The overall animation looks good. It’s not Disney, but it takes advantage of an off-the-shelf animation tool. Geiger has way too much fun with blood splatter.
Speaking of which, ApoKalypse gives Geiger a chance to explore the zombie genre and a bit of world-building, unlike recent zombie films. The newborn babies come out as zombies, and because these zombies are from the social media age, you can shoot them in the head, but it doesn’t matter — they don’t have any brains. It’s clear he’s having fun with the gore, the kills, and the vomit-inducing infection. The dialogue is both witty and corny, and delivered beautifully by his cast.
ApoKalypse doesn’t hold back on the mayhem, blending corny one-liners, over-the-top kills, and buckets of blood and puke. Geiger fully embraces the absurdity of his premise, delivering a gonzo zombie flick with a solid voice cast. It’s dumb, disgusting, and exactly the kind of ridiculous fun zombie fans can sink their teeth into.
For more information about ApoKalypise, visit its official website.
"…vomit-inducing infection..."
