13 EERIE

A group of forensic medicine students is taken to a deserted island for a final test that will determine which of them are fit to join the F.B.I. Upon arrival, the students are divided into pairs, each tasked with analyzing the evidence of a mock murder and drawing scientific conclusions. In the forest, the examiners have placed several corpses that must be examined in detail. As hours pass, the protagonists realize that something strange is happening around them, starting with the appearance of additional corpses that suddenly vanish. After moments of disbelief, they understand they are facing a sizable group of zombies, who are actually convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and brought to the island long ago for unspecified genetic experiments. Thus begins a frantic race for survival with the sole goal of escaping from this cursed place. This is yet another zombie movie, directed by the relatively unknown Lowell Dean but backed by a respectable producer like Don Carmody ('Wrong Turn', 'Silent Hill'). The cast is relatively diverse and includes actors familiar with the genre, starting with the well-known Katharine Isabelle (protagonist of the 'Ginger Snaps' trilogy), along with lesser-known faces such as Michael Shanks ('Stargate', 'Smallville'), Brendan Fletcher ('Freddy vs Jason'), Nick Moran ('Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'), and Brendan Fehr ('Bones', 'CSI Miami'). With a cast of this caliber, viewers expect a high-quality film, an expectation that is partially disappointed by the fact that, while the movie is not of poor quality, it fails to excel in any particular area. The plot is of decent interest, diverging from the typical zombie movie cliché where, too often, an unknown epidemic threatens to destroy humanity, filling the screen with hordes of shambling, vacant-eyed undead. Here, the protagonists face only a handful of undead, brought back to life by an unspecified genetic experiment, who, unlike what we usually see in the genre, are far from weak and shambling. The monsters are former convicts, muscular and strong, who, in some instances, even manage to use part of the intelligence they had when alive. The only real flaw in the film is the stupidity of the protagonists, who, despite the repeated disappearances and numerous screams echoing on the island, continue their work as if nothing is happening, attributing it all to their imagination. With a decent budget at the director's disposal, the film features several impactful and quite interesting special effects, accompanied by professional makeup without major flaws. Although not particularly original, the location fits perfectly with the plot, providing notable suspense, especially in the more action-packed moments. The shots do not suffer from significant flaws, and there is no excessive visual noise, even in scenes shot with a steadicam. The film flows smoothly without major hiccups, thanks also to the use of the 'I see nothing strange, but I feel something is wrong' method, which keeps viewers hooked until the final scene. '13 Eerie' is, overall, a good film in almost every aspect, which could be improved with a more careful characterization of the characters and especially their behavior in the presence of zombies. It is a film that may seem banal to overly critical viewers but is undoubtedly recommended for fans of the genre.