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The acting was decent, even the military lingo and movement, maybe even some tactics. It had a slight Tarkovski vibe as well. However, the budget for this film must have been minuscule. The effects were very basic, for example.

Also, the story has almost no meaning to someone who has not played the games, such as myself. Random people go into the zone and shoot other people for long protracted periods of time, but I don't know who those people are and why I should care. When double or triple allegiances are revealed, I don't even understand the sides. Stranger still, the info dump at the beginning calmly announces stuff that never happened near Chernobyl, making it an alternate history that is never explained. So do yourself a service and read a little about the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Game if you want to have any chance of understanding the film.

That being said, the film has no meaningful depth. Stuff happens, some mysteries are revealed, then clarified, but nothing is of consequence. It's all mostly atmospheric, where the movie did excel. A decent effort, but I would not recommend it.

As luck would have it, then I stumbled upon this 2024 movie titled "S. T. A. L. K. E. R.: Shadow of the Zone" by random luck here in 2025. And of course I opted to check out the movie. While I have never played the games, I am familiar with the them. But without having delved into the games and the storylines, provided there are any, then I don't know how true this 2024 movie stayed to the source material.

The story that writers Evan Muir and Isaiah Nichols put together was a bit weak and sort of didn't really entertain me in a great way. Sure, it was a watchable enough movie, but it was lacking entertainment value, as the script was vague and superficial. You don't get to know the characters, and they essentially could be replaced by cardboard cut-outs.

I was not familiar with a single actor on the cast list. And that is actually something that works in favor of the movie, as I enjoy watching new and unfamiliar talents on the screen when I watch a movie. The acting performances in the movie were fair, despite the fact that the actors had so little to work with.

Now if only the movie had been shot with proper camera equipment and not someone's dad's old home video VCR recorder, then it would actually have looked and felt like a proper movie. But since it seemed to be filmed with some old VCR recorder, it merely looked like a highschool film class project.

There is a good amount of action in the movie in the form of gunfights, and sure it was helping to make it a bit more bearable to sit through 71 minutes of watching the movie.

Something that did work out nicely in favor of the movie was the wardrobe and props department, as they certainly did their fair share to make it look believable. Just a shame that the movie was filmed in such a lousy manner.

Even after having seen this 2024 movie, I can't claim that I feel particularly compelled to go check out the game series. And this is definitely not a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of directors Stephen Hancock and Evan Muir's 2024 movie "S. T. A. L. K. E. R.: Shadow of the Zone" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Production quality is top notch for a guerilla studio, however, the authenticity to the source material leaves much to be desired. Especially when it comes to costume design for the main cast, Their gear is not conducive to what mercenaries wore in the games and in the time frame of the series, the general aesthetic seemed more to in line with escape from Tarkov than any of the main stalker games. Only Brain and Crow was remotely close to the designs of their video game counterparts (Ecologist and Loner). Not to mention the lack of mutants, and only ONE appearance from an actual anomaly that appeared in the video game. Disappointing watch for veteran viewers, very pleasing for entrance level/outsider viewing.

I've played everything in the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Franchise. I'll rate 2 starts for the atmosphere. Not a single eastern made weapon or car in sight. I strongly believe that some fan made movie with soft air weapons, a bit of cosplay and even filmed with a smartphone would most probably get better results with a bit of respect to the franchise. Reading through other reviews I'm amazed how little people know about S. T. A. L. K. E. R. But are ready to shoot good numbers at this mess of a movie. They either new to this or hired bots. Next time put everyone on set play at least an hour of any of the games in the series.

I've never played the STALKER games but I loved the book Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers, which is very clearly what the game is based on. This takes a more paramilitary approach to the zone than the book, factions fighting over territory with some sporadic anomalies. That's where I was somewhat disappointed.

I enjoyed the paramilitary stuff, I can feel how this is emulating a video game, but I would have liked more anomalies. In this they seem like a bit of a nuisance that can be avoided if you're careful, where in the book they're beyond human understand entirely and the stalkers are simply the people who have good instincts and recognize patterns well enough to get through the zone. Until they eventually don't.

So if you're looking for a Roadside Picnic adaptation this probably won't scratch the itch, but I thought it was better than the Tarkovsky movie. Maybe not as faithful, but certainly more entertaining.

At best, this feels like some sort of college project or assignment. Everything in the film is as flimsy as a soaked sheet of newspaper. The lack of budget is the first and most obvious flaw-it shows in every single frame. The action scenes creak like rusty gears. The dialogue sounds like it was written by an AI without a premium subscription.

I'm not even a fan of the video game of the same name, and still, I can't understand how the copyright holder allowed such an abomination to be made-let alone carry the name STALKER (insert dots where necessary).

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone.

So the movie is good for the budget it has and when you play the game it follows and matches up unilaterally and would be better if they had a larger crew and budget for characters and for more visuals but as it stands the movie is great for it's budget. Story could also use more work but ultimately if you understand the games and books you get this movie. I would not recommend watching the movie unless you know about c-conscienceness and the noosphere and what the scientists were after from x1-x11 projects. The film lacks visuals for mutants and zombies and emissions and shows a few anomalies. The monolith troops need some more work and the visual "white dead eyes". The movie follows a group of mercs a stalker and one scientist.

This movie gives you nothing if you haven't played S. T. A. L. K. E. R., and if you have played S. T. A. L. K. E. R. And lived with Strelok in its deep, desolate, ruined, poetic, dark, eerie, and dangerous world, then you will find this movie an insult to yourself and to that masterpiece of game making.

This film is shallow and worthless, a waste of even its very small $340,000 budget.

About 55 minutes of this film are wasted, and the film could have said All its own tasteless joke in about 15 minutes.

The only three stars I give this movie are because of the acting.

They are good actors who are stuck in a bad story and trying to save the movie from falling apart.

Chris James Berberidis and Michael Scott Crabb are far beyond a movie like this.

The world of S. T. A. L. K. E. R. And its story, creatures, and strange phenomena have great potential and merit to become a great and beautiful film.

A world that has been destroyed by this film.

As a long time fan of the game series, directors and actors both did source material justice while providing a new spin on, what would be just one of the stories happening within the Zone, and provided they are a small studio with limited funds and resources, they did amazing job portraying life and dangers in the Zone! I honestly wish they would get proper funding and access to resources to do a full fledged 2-3 hour movie because 1 hour is just not enough for the huge potential that Stalker world offers, and that is also my only complaint, that the runtime is too short for the action - horror - adventure type, but also I understand why that is.

I have been waiting for the release of this film since it's announcement and I have not been left disappointed

From the very start of this film, it grips you with a well choreographed action scene steeped in an knowledgeable amount of realism you don't see everywhere and the rest of the action in the film follow suit.

The story is easy to follow and straight forward but is by no means lacking, every exposition through dialogue or through the scene feels natural and each scene leaves onto the next leaving the former with distinction.

The cast are brilliant although the dialogue between them is mostly kept brief it's perfect for the setting and keeps everything left to the point. The scenes where Russian is spoken it never feels uncanny and it feels like it really made a big difference. The sets and locations feel like you are in the Exclusion Zone and help you place yourself in the setting.

The costumes and gear are a bit clean especially for the Monolith agents but the gear and weapons feel appropriate and the vests and rigging look full and like they are actually being used properly.

The whole film had me gripped tightly for the approximate hour it took to watch and I will watch it again. Massive props to all the crew for all the hard work they put in. It has paid off, I want to see these folks succeed and move on to bigger things.

I was introduced to this film by Wendigoon, I am a huge fan of his channel, and I followed the development of this film, and let me just say... I loved it!!

I haven't played the STALKER games, but I feel like it's not really required, since it's non-canon.

The special effects and the film itself is really impressive for a YouTube production.

The characters are really cool, Crow is my favorite and I'll defend him.

It's an hour long, so it's not really that long, the duration is really good.

Wendigoon, Stephen Hancock, Evan Royalty, and everyone involved in this film DELIVERED. This is an amazing film!!

Anyways, please check out and support this film!!

Despite the fact that I love the mysterious atmosphere and the dark vibe, it is rare for anyone to be able to be creative with it and make it at the desired level. It is neither richer nor vulgar. This film succeeded in that... I was excited about this movie from the teaser for it, but I did not know that it would live up to my expectations for it.. It is wonderful in terms of everything, the atmosphere, the settings, the colors, the filters, the cast, the audio, the visuals, everything, everything is wonderful, I loved it.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this project and good luck in your future projects.

I am not a huge S. T. A. L. K. E. R.-fan, Ive only really played the most recent release but from all the videos and lore Ive researched about it - this movie is a perfect addition.

I was surprised how truthful it kept to the lore but also adding to it that doesnt seem too farfetched even in this world. You have a seasoned stalker leading a group of mercenaries to investigate an odd signal deep in the Zone. We get just about enough information about the characters that we are invested in them and the actors do a fantastic job portraying the rugged mercenaries.

The cinematography is exceptional and really captures the eerie and mystical landscape. I would even go as far as to say that a lot of cinematography was inspired by the old STALKER-movie by Tarkosky. The story has both emotional depth and twists - you really get a sense of what kind of characters chooses to visit the Zone. For this movies budget, I'd say that this movie is doing far better than most video game adaptations. If you love S. T. A. L. K. E. R. Then you will absolutely love this movie.

Good hunting stalkers.

One of the best movies I've ever watched , super emotional at tye end , music was great , plot was gold , acting was priceless , I hope to see a part 2 , such a amazing movie , I really enjoyed how well it was made , very inspiring , it's just too good. Something about the movie just made me so satisfied, and I can explain how good it is. I hope a part 2 comes out cause ill be waiting for it , such a masterpiece, props to the actors such as crow and brain , hope to see this become a series like the game , also is very informative and fun to watch , this minimum charachter required is so long but now it's met :) , watch this movie btw.

Disclaimer: Every people who gave a thumbs down to this review is because their girlfriends are in love with me.

So, I pressed Play and thought: "Here we go again. 2 minutes in I'll be shutting down whatever this is". Ended up watching the whole movie.

As a (very) old school PC gamer, and player of every S. T. A. L. K. E. R game franchise to date, I must admit you need to have to some understanding of the video game lore in order to understand what in God's good name is happening in the movie, who is what, when is now, why is where. Duty, Monolith, Signal, Chernobyl Power Plant, what a soup. But then again, if you are familiar with the video games you'll grasp everything from the start and it will make sense.

Story feels short yet on point, no weird twists or unnecessary climatic moments. Flick happens fast, meaning it was entertaining for me. I feel it would've been a great mini series more like a single movie, in the understanding the game story is extremely just to be told in a few minutes.

Not my intention to spoil, but to praise in fact, are the combat scenes. They are very game-like in the sense they do feel realistic, with very well exhibited infantry tactics and maneuvers, using game-like weapons and equipment, sound included.

Photography is *very well* achieved, music and acting are good overall, props and scenography in general are great, filming also compelling and in the action, with no abusive usage of visual effects to complement a very well done final aesthetic.

Surprised cause it did surpass my expectations. Good flick if you like action movies, great flick if you enjoyed any or all of the video games. Plenty of room to improve and I'd love to see sequels to this.

Solid eight.

I knew nothing of the Stalker game when I watched this film, but immediately I was captivated by everything that was on the screen. The actors were perfectly placed. The location with production design looked too good to be true even though at the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival we were told it was a true location. The actors...THE ACTORS! One could hardly breathe with the tension and intensity each of the actors brought to the film.

What really also kept my interest and attention was the military accuracy of movements and weapons. The added effects kept a wonder in my brain while things were happening in so many moments.

Stephen and his team really outdid expectations with the project and we all look forward to more. Special kudos to the actor, Chris James Berberidis who brought so much intensity to the character and truly embodied the main protagonist trying to do the right thing. Austin Rearden was phenomenal with his ever shifting personality and truly made the narrative between the two much more real.