Apocalypse: Day One

I was looking forward to watching this movie. I'm a die hard dystopian/apocalyptic fan, whether that be movies or books, and love a sole survivor style situation; so this should have fit the bill perfectly for me.

Now the plot line and the cinematography is good. Most scenes are fairly well shot and the story - although it flits from scene to scene and back and forth between the present and past - is easy enough to follow and blends in quite nicely. Some of the darker apocalyptic scenes are shot very well and show Lilith (Suzanne Tufan) struggling to survive and walking through the apocalyptic wasteland, and bedding down in her basement at night.

Suzanne Tufan plays a decent role whilst also narrating many of the scenes well too. But there are one or two that let the whole game down. Well, mainly one, and that's her on-screen husband. It's been a long time since I've wanted to put my fist inside of the TV and punch someone just for the role they play. And I don't mean because of the person he portrays, but because of the way he acted it out. It's like watching Joey from friends when he acts as Dr. Drake Ramoray in 'Days of our Lives'. Just awful.

I wish I could unwatch this.... Purely was curious about this one, because ( going by title) to me it was an obvious follow up/remake of it's awesome predecessor Population: 1. Only a puking gargoyle could have been more off the truth: this flick ( and I use that term very positively now) has nothing to do whatsoever with said predecessor and what I came to watch was nothing but a slow moving, never ending stale production of something that should have been locked up in a non-existing online dungeon. Everyone 'acting' here should lower their heads in shame every time it comes up in a friendly chat. I'm not a fan, as you obviously can see...burn this movie and let nobody in the future ever know it actually was recorded.

I fast forwarded to the end thinking there might be some 'big' ending but alas... the entire movie was boring and lame from start to finish. Some characters even talked in a monotonic tone as if they were also bored to even be in the movie.

Where were the post-nuclear mutations? Rats the size of cars? Come on!

If you have some time to waste and you are looking for something to do I recommend going outside and watching the clouds float by as you will find much more entertainment than you might find from watching this movie... or perhaps watching paint dry is your thing...

In any event, please do yourself a favor and pretend you never even knew that this movie existed and your life will be richer because of it.

I saw this film at the Worldfest International Film Festival in Houston, TX where it won a Platinum Remi for Best Sci-Fi Feature! The filmmakers, Gil Luna and Jonathan Stark, were present and shared their story about the struggles and triumphs in making this film. If you support independent film and post-apocalyptic awesomeness, then you need to BUY this film. The story will make you cry, laugh and really appreciate your life.

The DP also did excellent work. There's one shot where the lead actress is looking at her reflection on some broken glass. I remember that one specifically because it was one of my favorite shots from the film. I even remember talking about it with my friends at the Houston screening.

And the lead actress….OMG! I was cracking up when she was talking to herself. She's very versatile. I can't wait to see her in future films.

Way to go Population 2 team!

Can I give it negative stars? I'm certainly glad to hear about the struggles that Gil Luna and Jonathan Stark had making this movie. But let me tell you about the struggles I had staying awake. It starts out slow and goes down hill from there. And if you get excited about hearing a couple of fighter pilots babble endlessly between themselves, while they fly along and we watch graphics that look like a flight sim from 10 years ago....this is for you. Why that's even in the movie, I don't know. Doesn't add anything to the movie at all. And that's saying something. I found myself wishing the only survivors would just give it up and die, then it would be over.