Brain Freeze

I reckon if you take one message from this movie, it has to be: only drink Coca Cola ... I'm kidding of course, but there is some movie truth in there. The brain freeze of the title does happen during the run time of the movie - of course it very likely is also a wordplay on what happens to many people in this.

A nice little movie, with interesting leads. The main focus though (and not just because the director said it), is the baby of the movie. And while for some, babies in movies can feel cliche and annoying (I emphasize I am talking about movies, not the real world), the baby in this movie is amazing. I doubt it will get nominated for an Oscar/Academy Award, like the director suggested in his video message to us festival goers, but you can clearly see how good the little ones are (played by twins).

Other than that, you can expect the usual ... good effects overall though, well acted and edited too. Predictable and a bit of a let down when it comes to the ending (which is a bit cliche to say the least), but nobody is perfect, right?

So, if you are one the entitled rich you have three necessary things you need to survive a zombie apocalypse:

1. Never drink tap water.

2. Always carry a smartphone.

3. Have blue collar friends to help you.

If you want to rejoice at the schadenfreude of the misfortune of the upper classes in the form of mother Nature claiming her own, then you are dead right with this movie.

Otherwise, don't bother.

There is a definite symbolism in a green revolution eating the rich, as it were.

Also the fact the filming was interrupted by COVID, somehow adds to the setting.

The closed minded radio DJ narrator is just obnoxious with his preaching the revolt against the rich while making racist remarks in the stride about immigrants while personally he is dead worried about the virus spreading. Nuke them all but not me, seems to be his train of thought.

Maybe some more explanatory notes maybe in the form of a conspiracy would have saved the plot.

Still, politics aside, a decent small budget effort at a zombie flick.

Well, the 2021 Canadian movie "Brain Freeze" is a fun little foray into the zombie genre. And I do believe that this is actually the first Canadian zombie movie I have had the pleasure of sitting down to watch.

Sure, before I sat down to watch "Brain Freeze", I must admit that I hadn't even heard about this movie from writer and director Julien Knafo. So I wasn't sure what I was in for here, aside from it being a zombie movie. And from the movie's cover/poster and its listing as a horror comedy here on IMDb, I figured that chances were that this could be a good movie. Needless to say, that with it being a zombie movie, of course I had to watch it regardless.

And I will say that "Brain Freeze" is certainly watchable, and does have some nice enough aspects to it. However, the movie just sort of had a strong feeling of mediocre permeating it. And the movie just never really managed to shed that mediocre feeling and step up into the big league. Now, don't get me wrong here, because I am not saying that "Brain Freeze" is a bad movie. Not at all. It just wasn't a particularly outstanding zombie movie. And truth be told, amidst the sea of zombie movies, then "Brain Freeze" just sort of fades into the background.

The storyline told in "Brain Freeze" is pretty standard stuff, something you see nine out of ten times whenever a new zombie movie is released. So there is nothing grand or innovative about writer Julien Knafo's storyline here. Sure, it was entertaining enough for what it was, but it was just too generic, if I have to be bluntly honest.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and actually carried the movie a great long way. I wasn't familiar with the cast here, so that was something I enjoyed. If I have to point out a single performance that stood out from the others, then it would have to be Roy Dupuis (playing Dan), because he really carried the movie almost single-handedly.

Visually then "Brain Freeze" was actually good enough. This is not your average infection-type of zombie movie, so that works in favor of "Brain Freeze". Writer and director Julien Knafo managed to create something interesting enough here for that aspect of the storyline.

Ultimately then "Brain Freeze" is a mediocre addition to the zombie genre. A shame, though, because there definitely was some potential here.

My rating of "Brain Freeze" lands on a five out of ten stars.

A French Canadian zombie movie with an emphasis on quirky comedy alongside the usual invasion scenario. I wasn't too impressed with this low budget feature which I felt was just going through the motions without innovating or offering anything new at any point. A cold blur filter on the filming and cheap contact lenses for the zombies. Uninteresting characters and humour that fails to hit the mark. Not for me.

The film follows a teen as he takes care of his baby sibling during a local outbreak of zombies on a secluded island. This is definitely not a comedy unless your idea of such are Twin female assassins in wet suits and carrying pistols with silencers showing up about half way through the movie. THAT was pretty humorous. Perhaps light hearted is a better phrase. A bit too long. 5 out of 10 stars.