'Exit Humanity' DVD Review

An unusually dramatic and introspective zombie movie with a Wild West angle.

In the years following the American Civil War, the United States is a land beset by another war: that of the living versus the dead. Zombies roam the land, and former Confederate soldier Edward Young has lost his entire family to the plague. With nothing left to live for, he contemplates suicide but is brought back from the abyss when he meets a young man named Isaac. Isaac enlists Edward's help to rescue his sister Emma from a mad general named Williams who has hatched a sinister plot to find a end to the zombie nightmare -- at the cost of countless human lives.

Exit Humanity is an unusual title for a zombie movie, but it's reflective of the unusual nature of the film -- not only because it's a zombie western, but also because of its dramatic tone and introspective nature. With its rural setting, deliberate pace and ruminations on the nature of life and death, it actually plays a bit like a 19th century feature film version of The Walking Dead. As with that show, the script for Exit Humanity is smart and plumbs emotional depth, while the cast -- featuring a mix of unknowns and recognizable faces like Dee Wallace, Bill Moseley and the sadly underutilized Stephen McHattie -- likewise delivers on the heft of the material.

Granted, there are moments where the somber story drags, but there are enough splashes of violence (including some well-rendered animated sequences that no doubt help keep production costs down) to keep things spicy, along with voiceover narration from the great Brian Cox and a storyline that touches an emotional nerve. Like last year's The Dead, Exit Humanity shows that you don't need a big budget, big-name stars or even an unrelenting flow of hollow gore and action to create an excellent zombie movie.

The DVD

Special features include commentary and a featurette.

Movie: B-
DVD: C+

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