I Love Sarah Jane

I Love Sarah Jane (2008)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nice short film from Australia about a small group of kids living in a post apocalyptic world where one of them wants to be with the lovely Sarah Jane. While his buddies stay outside torturing a zombie, he'd much rather be inside with her. There's not too much to this short but for what it is it remains mildly entertaining from start to finish. I liked the idea of having a group of kids being the last people on Earth and I think the film benefits from having a rather fun way of them picking on a zombie like we'd normally just see them picking on a dorky kid. The zombie is tied up and can't defend itself so we see them slapping him around and even taking a weed eater to its face. The movie is well directed and the kid performances aren't too bad. We get some mild gore for horror fans as well as a nasty kill.

I remember seeing this film back in 2008 around the time when it came out. I really liked it back then. Mostly because it's very minimalistic style. And I hugely liked Zombie movies (I still do, but not the modern fast zombies), so I had a chance to revisit the old memories. Zombie films were already overdone in 2008 and now the genre is finally out of juice. 'I Love Sarah Jane' somehow remains one of the few good modern zombie films, although the zombie apocalypse isn't in the main focus (probably because of the low budged). This film rather tells us story about orphaned kids and of course the first real love. And it is very hard not to love Sarah Jane (Mia Wasikowska) who looks strong, but is vulnerable inside, and can be pretty cruel if needed. If you are able to look pass at some minor flaws (the CGI special effects are not quite top notch), it is quite enjoyable short film from already tired zombie genre.

This film has done what so many short films and feature films fail to do. it's created a world of its own that has depth. it's created characters with believable actions and reactions. and it creates a free flowing story that progresses naturally through the film.

i've read several reviews that complain about the amount of cussing that the kids do in the film. if this offends you, then you're probably out of your depth watching a genre film to begin with, and if you don't think this is realistic behaviour then you don't know kids (real kids). if you left a handful of kids to their own devices in a post apocalyptic world, what do you think they'd get up to? they'd torture zombies with whatever tools they can get their hands on. they'd swear. they'd drink beer. they'd do anything they wanted, particularly the things they'd been told never to do.

i can't explain how impressed i was by this short film, and i sincerely hope it leads to great success and further features from the writers and director.

This short accomplishes what mainstream Hollywood-- more often than not-- fails to do in 2 1/2 hrs. You have a solid grasp of every character in the film. You develop sympathy and disgust, you see what makes them tick. And everyone of them is genuine. Maybe even the zombie. The kids are believable, and in fifteen minutes you have a full understanding of how complicated they are, and a genuine feel for their complications. To convey that in fifteen minutes of silly whimsy is truly a work of genius. It also provided a solid sense of place and the social circumstances surrounding what truly is a complete story. No mean feat. I loved it.