Episode 285: Mirror Life: Modern Zombies

Send us Fan MailMirror Life Modern zombiesWith the tag line FIND CURE ESCAPE LAB TELL EVERYONE…Doesn’t always work out that wayI got it on DVD from the US rather than waiting. I thought Id throw some cash to the guys,Not much has been written about it. So I hope to change that.From HorrorDNA: Jordan opts to enroll in a medical study for a promising new drug called Dumitor, reputed to cure virtually any disease. When his cousin Tracy doesn't hear from him for several weeks, she brings in a documentary filmmaker to track down the doctors, find Jordan and bring him home. Meanwhile, the test subjects are exposed to this new drug, but something goes wrong and there are unexpected side effects. Jordan manages to escape the facility, but soon an outbreak spreads to pandemic levels and his city is quarantined. Is there a cure on the horizon or is society doomed by the “evils” of science?  Courtney Cavanagh as Tracy she was in Chicago fire Kazy Tauginas as Jordan former boxer and restauranteur – is there anything the cant do? Tauginas co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced, stars in, sings the theme tune, etc etc and some of the reviews pick up on this, saying it is a vanity project and his acting is the weak link. I don't subscribe to that.I also don't subscribe to 75% of all reviewers on IMDB giving it 10/10. The Godfather doesn't get 10. Empire Strikes Back doesn't get 10. Citizen Kane doesn't get 10. Come on now. The plot is relatively simple. A group of people volunteer to be part of human trials of a ground breaking new drug that cures all ills. Great. However, they need the cash of a dubious businessman who wants it all run like a black op. At some point it all goes wrong and the virus cures what was wrong with them but causes surges in adrenaline and epinephrine meaning they become, effectively, one of George A Romero's Crazies. The business then decides to shut all down. Everyone gets killed. But then one gets out. And the virus goes airborne and starts a pandemic. No one pays attention to the stay at home, don't go out, as it's airborne warnings. And a lot of people go mad. And whilst all this is going on Jordan's cousin Tracy investigates his disappearance.However, although all of these elements are fine in isolation, the edit is a mess. It is a bag of cats. Although each cat is very nice, pretty to look at, enjoys a saucer of milk and a nap on your grandma's lap, together, they are a big old mess that makes little to no sense.We needed more about how this went bad. We needed more to explain about the cure. We needed more about how it went viral and became a pandemic. But we didn't get it. And so we ended up with a big old mess that needs an edit.In it's current form, like it was edited by someone with ADHD for the TikTok generation goldfish attention spans, it is just a 4.5/10If the transitions between the story are handled better, as above, and it is re-edited to make some sort of sense then it would score higher.Shame as I was looking forward to this one. And for a final note, this episode where I try to explain where it goes what and what it gets right, is 1 minute shorter than the movie itself.