Episode 250: Plague (2014)

Steph over at the Listeners of the Dead podcast said this 2014 running infected Australian effort would cause smoke to come out of my ears. It almost did. It was just a very basic story of a bunch of one-dimensional survivors living in a bad location in my opinion, a farmhouse (no windows!). They are either pathetic whimpering women (Marge says nothing, Sammy says 2 words, Evie just whines and whimpers) and dickish men (Charlie is a thug, Bob is a thug, John is a whiny asshole), and you won't care if any of them live or die.

The story, like everything else in this movie, is very basic. A group is in a farmhouse trying to survive. Despite starving one of them lets beans spill on the floor, and when they hear infected they leave dinner rather than taking it with them. They did just walk inside, and could have taken it.

The farmhouse is really just a corrugated iron barn with no windows and two doors.  Not an ideal place, despite Charlie saying that it is later.

So Evie's husband John is missing but Bob, his mute wife Marge and Sammy decide they are going to leave, but only after Bob kills the only semi-decent character in the movie, Gary. Then John just turns up. He is as pathetic as the others, an entitled, pseudo intellectual academic who no smarts, or courage. He is going to kill himself, but then Charlie turns up and saves him and Evie. Charlie, however, is a nasty manipulative, violent rapist, and the movie falls into a pattern of sexual assault, and John being a whiny b*tch.

A particularly weak effort, following an almost clichéd story line with infinitely unlikable characters. If you like this small, indie style survival in a farm zombie movie then watch State of Emergency, or better still go back and watch any of the Night of the Living Dead versions. Avoid this.

As far as Australian zombie movies go watch Cargo, Wyrmwood 1 and 2, and Little Monsters. Don't bother with Plague.

4/10