S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of the Zone

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.

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.

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.

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 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.