In the old days zombies basically shuffled about slowly and semi-uselessly. Unless you were careless enough to get yourself trapped in a confined space, you’d probably be alright. Somewhere in the 1980s (many argue Return of the Living Dead) they began to run. Since then, there have been so many different takes on the sub-genre that you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was no new ground to cover. The Cured proves that there’s life (or undeath at least) in zombie movies yet.
Years after Europe is ravaged by the Maze Virus, which transforms its victims into bloodthirsty zombies, Ireland is trying to come to terms with what’s happened. Senan (Sam Keeley) is one of ‘the cured’, struggling to come to terms with what he’s done. Abbie (Ellen Page), the wife of his late brother, takes him in. However, they face prejudice and bigotry, which leads his best friend (and fellow former infectee) Conor (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) to take matters into his own hands.
The Cured is a clever take on the zombie movie, extrapolating what would happen should a cure be found. With undercurrents of sectarianism as well as flashes of the hostility faced by migrants and refugees in Europe, writer and director David Freyne has created a social drama crafted within a genre film. It’s extremely well done. The Cured poses the question about how a society would react in the aftermath of an outbreak. The results are frighteningly realistic and extremely depressing.
The Cured is out in cinemas on 11 May and released on DVD and Digital by Arrow Films on 14 May.
