Wyrmwood: Apocalypse

Six years after 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead', Kiah Roache-Turner returns as director for this sequel. The weirdness (and uniqueness) of this comedy horror franchise continues.

'Wyrmwood: Apocalypse' follows directly on 'Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead', so best to watch the first film prior to 'Apocalypse'. This film has better cinematography and better visuals. It is also weirder and funnier. And our hero, Rhys (Luke McKenzie) is mighty sexy!

After delivering a hybrid zombie to a group of ruthless people, Rhys then captures her sister and deliver her as well. However, realizing they will treat the normal sister like the rest of the hybrids, he risks his life to save her. Together with a handful of survivors they search for a cure for the zombie infection.

'Wyrmwood: Apocalypse' is not as bloody and gory as 'Road of the Dead', and has a lot more action. The film also has a very good score. This is once again a unique addition to the zombie genre.

Remember the 2014 horror zombie "Wyrmwood"? No? Well, I have seen it, but I can't actually remember it. But as it would turn out, then there is now a 2021 sequel to the 2014 movie. I remember that the 2014 "Wyrmwood" movie was enjoyable, and I rated it a six out of ten stars.

So needless to say, with the 2021 movie "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" being a zombie movie as well, of course I had to sit down and watch it here in 2022, as I had the opportunity to do so. And I was actually hoping that writers Kiah Roache-Turner and Tristan Roache-Turner would deliver something wholesome here.

And they did. Oh yeah they did. "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" turned out to be a fast paced and enjoyable zombie movie. It is the kind of movie where you just lean back comfortably in the seat, grab the snack of your choice, and just go along on the ride. Sure, "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" doesn't require much brain activity - pardon the pun - from the viewers, but it is an enjoyable movie nonetheless.

The storyline in "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" was good, albeit somewhat generic. But hey, this is a zombie movie meant for entertainment, and director Kiah Roache-Turner did step up and deliver. So mission accomplished. And there are some things in the storyline where the writers deviated from the generic and standard formula of how-to-make-a-zombie-movie, so love it or hate it, I guess.

The acting performances in the movie were fairly good. I wasn't familiar with the cast here, but I will say that all people on the screen definitely added something to the movie, and it was an all-round good performance throughout the movie.

Visually then "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" was good. I liked the special effects and the zombie make-up. So that definitely spoke well in favor of the movie. Good effects, good costumes, good props and sets.

If you enjoy action zombie movies, then you certainly should sit down to watch "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse", if you get the chance.

My rating of "Wyrmwood: Apocalypse" lands on a six out of ten stars, just like the 2014 predecessor.

What I enjoyed about the first movie was the ability to mix the zombie horror genre with comedy and it worked just great. It was not a masterpiece, but a nice and funny film. The sequel takes itself way too seriously and to be honest it feels almost nonsensical at all. Basically they threw away the winning formula and tried to do something completely different, however "Wyrmwood" was never supposed to be like that. There are a couple of good moments, but for the rest action sequences look lazy and predictable. CGI is not so great, but I can give it a pass, considering that these movies do not have a big budget. I think that focusing more on practical effects was the right choice and the final result would be a bit better. Characters were pretty much boring and forgettable. The cast is very cringey and obviously these actors don't know how to act. The villain was insufferable, I hated every single moment that he was on screen. To be honest I cannot find many positives in this sequel and it is perfectly avoidable. Personally I was perfectly content with the original one and did not feel the need for another installment, especially after so many years.

Geared up with the same playful exuberance of it's predecessor, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse boast some wild photography, gleefully crafted gore and some truely brilliant set pieces. But sadly lacks the charm and humour that helped make the first film what it was.

Protagonists of the original were sidelined and replaced for a great deal of the movie, but any new characters where given very little development. Too little to be fully invested in their archs as a whole. Which is a shame as there are some amazing new characters played by some truely talented actors.

That being said, I liked what I saw, it was a massive amount of fun and I will be watching out for more!

Please watch the First one before watching this one. Honestly I loved it, cheezy AF and that to me is good for a Zombie flick. The Bad Guy Doctor toally reminds me of how Jim Carry plays Dr. Eggman in Sonic The Hedgehog. I swear though there was supposed to be a series for Wyrmwood. Not sure what happened there.