Imagine waking up one morning to find yourself completely alone. Your family has disappeared, as have your neighbors, and you’re left to fend for yourself in a hostile world where the strong prey on the weak. The filmmaking duo of writer/director Tristan Winchester and writer/producer Gavin Winchester use this escape room-type premise to make a fun, gory exploitation film.
Apocalypse Unknown tracks the unnamed main character (Gavin Winchester) as he wanders through a rural area, after waking up in the aforementioned scenario, with nothing but his own will to survive. There are zombies lurking about in this unnamed pandemic, but as much as they pose a threat, they aren’t the ones he needs to worry about. It’s a balaclava-clad gang called TTS (Take the Shot) who are the real villains. His first encounter with them leads to a game of cat and mouse.
With little to zero dialog, the Winchesters have made a practically silent film (there’s music and sound effects) that recalls the strange “art” delivery of 1961’s The Beast of Yucca Flats. The influences are clear – 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead, Resident Evil (the games NOT the movies), point–and–click video games – and they all come together to make a gritty thriller that relies more on action than words. Some of the shots are quite stunning (Tristan Winchester), especially the drone work. And the effects, while primitive, actually look pretty decent. If these guys had been around during the ‘90s, they would have taken the shot–on–video market by storm.
Now, while this isn’t the most original premise in the world, it’s not meant to be. The best exploitation films use common tropes and clichés to tell their own stories and that’s certainly the case here. The main complaint is that there aren’t enough zombies to clearly hammer home that this is a zombie apocalypse. Another two or three would have made it clear, but it’s a little murky on the first watch. The performances are a little one-note as well, though it takes a masterfully trained actor to fully command the screen when there’s nothing to say. It also gets confusing trying to distinguish the TTS members apart, since they’re all in black uniforms and wearing balaclavas – though it’s unclear whether that actually matters in this scenario. That said, this is very obviously a homemade production by family and friends, but the passion they all have for what they’re doing transcends any shortcomings they may have.
With the wider availability of GoPro cameras and editing software, more creative people are taking narrative filmmaking into their own hands and truly unlocking the full potential of streaming. The fact that Gavin and Tristan Winchester have used this to bring us such grimy exploitation faire shows how deeply this current now runs.
The new drive-in is right at home. All you have to do is tune in.