Well this was a quirky little movie.
Jamie took me out for a midweek treat, take out and a film, and me being me picked a movie which would appeal to us both for different reasons. He likes zombies, I dont, but we both like Joe Keery and Liam Neeson, so it was a win in that respect.
I picked Cold Storage because it seemed like one of those little B-movies with decent stars in that were a laugh for the actors and so would be a laugh for me. You know those ones that big names star in just as a bit of a break from their norm, they're usually a lot of fun, but on occasion don't do as well as the box office? I had this pegged at that, but man now that I have seen it I am routing for it!
The stars in question are Sosie Bacon, I feel very sorry for her, Liam Neeson, Leslie Manville, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Dame Vanessa Redgrave. So well known names, and all of them kick arse. There were quite a few brits in there which is always nice, but what was nicer still was the fact that this fine combination of actors made a movie that had soul. While very much a lil B-movie, this is fast on track to become a cult classic. It's gory, it's funny, it's got a little romance, sadly animal deaths are involved which I hate but I just shut my eyes, but I would watch it again.
The movie follows our cast at a storage unit facility as things start to take a turn when a mysterious beeping sounds from within the walls. Turns out it used to be an underground lab and is home to an alien fungus which is deadly, the beeping means something bad is about to happen, and something does.
We then watch the cast come together to combat said bad thing and I dont want to spoil anymore as I think this is a really clever movie.
What I like about this film most is that it has the feeling of the cheesy horror movies of the noughties. This is the sort of film I would have snuck on after bedtime as I wasn't allowed to watch it and while pretty inoffensive would likely have given me nightmares. It is that clever mix between funny to the point it seems normal and jump scares and gore that don't leave your mind for days. This is a magic combination. It reminds me of the original Scream. You had kids partying and going to school and having a laugh against this real serious undertone of a serial killer jumping out at you all the time. This was that but with fungus filled zombies.
I'm calling them zombies but they're actually just infected. The person is still aware and if they are strong enough they can override the fungus for a short amount of time, but this stuff adapts and learns quickly, so it takes over and it wants to spread in order to live. Quite often the host mentions how they don't feel well, or they remember things and can talk. It is Warm Bodies on steroids, only the zombies aren't good and there is no love story between the dead and the living.
The CGI is so obviously and clunky but it fits here. No one is asking for Avengers level special effects. This was Beetlejuice reminiscent and I adore it. We're talking cheap special effects, make up, and lots of props. Beautifully simple, this is the type of filmmaking that floats my boat. I want more B-movies at the cinema. The little movies need to take up more space because these seem to be the movies that are original and actually good.
I mean Neeson and Keery just seem like down to earth guys. They don't really need the money, the movie is about fun. Neeson, famed for his gravely tones in movies like Taken, threatening to hunt down and unalive people, he is type cast, but he has turned this on its head by doing movies like this and having a laugh. Keery straight from Stranger Things stardom 100% doesn't need the notoriety right now, The man is the most loved character in the series, but he doesn't have to do a movie like this. Frosted tips and marker pen tats. He's done it for the thrill of making movie for fun. I respect this. Homegrown horrors are what I live for. I want scary, but I want cheesy scary because I'm scared of the dead.
So on this note I am awarding Cold Storage a 9/10. It was predictable, it used a bunch of tropes we had seen before, and ultimately it's a zombie movie that reuses the oldest references in the book. But that is exactly what made it so entertaining. For a 90 minute movie, no one wants elaborate plots and anything more than zombie chases and jump scares. We got exactly what was on the tin. Also the scene where they drove away from the site very much reminded me of The World's End and I've never been happier.
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