A Enjoyable and Lighthearted Zombie-Adjoining Movie

PLOT: When a extremely harmful fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is known as again into motion. Alongside two younger staff, he should confront an invisible and out-of-control menace.

REVIEW: Based on the novel by David Koepp, Cold Storage is a story of presidency ineptitude, lovable losers, and simply attempting to do the best factor. The story follows two staff at a storage facility who must confront a harmful fungus who’s primary function is to take over its hosts and unfold. They’re aided by a authorities operative who has a historical past with the fungus and is aware of the hazard it poses. Think Zombieland meets Evolution. And don’t let the trailer idiot you: this isn’t a zombie story.

As a lot as that is an alien/zombie-style narrative, it’s actually all about characters. Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell have a very enjoyable dynamic collectively as Teacake and Naomi. They’re always attempting to one-up one another, which leads them into their predicament. But well, this actually simply makes them extra ready for the scenario at hand somewhat than the reason for the outbreak. It’s straightforward to root for them as each Keery and Campbell have such a likability to them. Teacake, specifically, being a little bit of a dummy makes him all of the extra affable.

Liam Neeson’s Robert Quinn is the kind of function as a authorities fixer that we’ve seen time and time once more. But somewhat than straight-faced and humorless, he’s always witty and making gentle of the scenario, whereas nonetheless acknowledging its severity. He genuinely has a few of the finest jokes within the movie, and is at all times able to take somebody down a peg or two. He has again issues, and it’s enjoyable to see the way it hampers an in any other case on top-of-his-game operative. As somebody who has again issues of my very own, it was oddly relatable and had me wincing. He has a enjoyable partnership with Lesley Manville’s Trini Romano, giving us one other two-hander outdoors of Teacake and Naomi.

Sosie Bacon additionally reveals up in a short function originally. As a giant fan of Smile, it’s good to see her nonetheless horror adjoining. Richard Brake additionally has a small function, and I’m beginning to marvel if he’ll ever be forged in something apart from the unhealthy man function. Thankfully, he at all times performs these components properly and right here isn’t any completely different. I do want we acquired somewhat extra growth from a few of the aspect characters, as they’re largely simply fodder and pretty interchangeable.

For essentially the most half, the FX work is all dealt with extremely properly, with simply the correct quantity of sensible and digital. There’s an explosion on this film that is among the extra spectacular that I’ve ever seen. Sure, it’s clearly CGI but it surely’s so properly finished with the bottom buckling in sections and it trying extra photorealistic than you’d count on. They might have simply simply finished a vivid gentle and reduce however the impression is kind of spectacular. Visually, the movie appears just like Zombieland, solely with out the extreme textual content and modifying prospers. The title playing cards we do get are dynamic, however they by no means change into overwhelming.

I’m fairly uninterested in the zombie style by this level so I used to be somewhat anxious about coping with extra stumbling ghouls. Thankfully, outdoors of their look, there’s nothing significantly zombie-like about them. They’re a hivemind and their sole function is to unfold. There’s a little bit of inconsistency in once they explode and it’s appears largely story-based, but it surely’s by no means overly egregious.

From Jurassic Park to Mission: Impossible, David Koepp is among the most prolific writers on the market, so it’s straightforward to have a sure set of expectations along with his involvement. Adapting his personal novel, Koepp has to chop down a few of the character interactions that make the guide so memorable, however provides us sufficient to know and like all of them.

Cold Storage doesn’t really feel very excessive stakes with our characters by no means being in any actual hazard however actually, this present day, it didn’t hassle me. The tone is gentle and breezy and it’s entertaining to only sit and hang around with these folks. I by no means anticipated something unhealthy to occur to them, and simply wished to see them accomplish their targets. And generally, that’s all you want from a film like this.

Cold Storage releases to theaters on February thirteenth, 2026.

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