Wyrmwood: Apocalypse delivers hard-hitting action in a merciless dystopian wasteland overrun with zombies. A few distinct characteristics set the zombies apart from their traditional counterparts. The undead release a gas used as fuel and other purposes. There are hybrid zombies with unique abilities, which makes for some interesting fight scenes. Set in Australia, the world is filled with hidden research facilities where scientists are “working on a cure.”

Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is Mad Max meets Resident Evil. Rhys (Luke McKenzie), a rogue soldier, abducts human survivors and delivers them to a bunker, where the Surgeon General pays him with medication that suppresses the virus. His actions are morally gray and lead to a series of unforeseen consequences. A Ragtag group of soldiers are on a journey of their own to stop an organization from experimenting on people.

One of my biggest gripes with Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is how the walking dead are presented. Unless a person is severely injured or disabled, the zombies don’t pose much of a threat. With little to no variation in how fast they move, zombies are simply a nuisance you can outrun with a fast-paced walk. Usually, humans cause a lot more chaos and grief. From epic explosions to shootouts, viewers have plenty of visual stimulation. That’s about all they’ll get.

As a sequel, little background is given on the characters from the previous film, Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead. Most of the cast are indistinguishable from one another. They’re all dirty, angry, and well-trained in combat. This hurts the film, because viewers have no reason to care for the characters as individuals. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is the adult equivalent of a Saturday morning cartoon. For this reason, it gets a 4.5 out of 10.

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