Infección

By now I have seen so many incarnations of ... zombie movies, there probably isn't anything new I will discover anytime soon. No pun intended and that being said, the movie at hand here also works as a drama. It feels ... real if you suspend your disbelief and take zombies as something that actually exists.

In this case it is about finding a cure - whether that is possible or not ... that is a different story ... or maybe it isn't. Of course this binary, so either it exists or it doesn't ... but it is well enough told, if you let the movie do its magic on you. I was expecting more of a Covid related story myself, but maybe it is better the way it handled things in the end.

Well, taking into consideration that this is a Venezuelan movie, then things weren't actually all that bad. And truth be told, the movie was definitely watchable for a zombie movie.

However, if you compare it to some of the Western or Asian zombie movies, then "Infección" sort of pales in comparison and stands out as being a mere mediocre foray into the zombie genre. When in fact the movie does offer nothing new to the zombie genre.

It was the fact that this was a non-American zombie movie that sort of made the movie interesting for me. Story-wise and contents-wise, then "Infección" wasn't overly impressive. Entertaining enough for sure, but not impressive or outstanding.

The zombie make-up was okay. Again, not outstanding. And for a life-long zombie fan like myself, I found that the movie was grossly lacking in the gore and mayhem department. I enjoy watching decaying and slow shambling zombies, not fast-running agile zombies that are little more than people in tattered garments with a few splatters of blood here and there.

If you are new to the zombie genre, then "Infección" is perhaps a good movie, but for those in the audience that have sat through an abundance of zombie movies already, it doesn't bring much of anything new to the table.

I am rating "Infección" a mediocre five out of ten stars. While it was watchable and a zombie movie - which in itself counts for something with me - it just wasn't an outstanding movie in the zombie genre. It did, however, put Venezuela on the zombie world map, so thumbs up for that.

Was OK, nice zombie make up, good idea of rabids plus drug

The ending felt rushed and ambiguos. The post credit scene is the best part of the whole movie, juxtaposing the infection with the plight of Venezuelan migrants.

Venezuela's entire economy was based on oil. For decades, it was one of the most prosperous and developed South American countries. Then it elected a dictator at the same time that oil collapsed.

Now the country is run by a madman, torture and murder are used to keep the police State in place and people are leaving by the millions. The "infected" are Venezuelans killing Venezuelans, and the epilogue about countries like Mexico, Colombia and Peru refusing entry to the country that sent them aid is true.

Unlike many of my American countrymen, I have no dog in the fight over who should be running Venezuela. I am sad to see the human suffering when any country collapses. I am, however, married to a Colombian-American, and I hear the antipathy in the discussions by my Colombian in-laws about the Venezuelans who are pushing the border between the two countries to collapse. I fear that the internal collapse of their country and the anger by the Venezuela's neighbors are going to make the lives of Venezuelans hell on earth for a long, long time.

Mediocre zombie movie. Better social commentary.