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Growing up in the 80s was the perfect time to be a young horror fan. Between movies that catered to kids and teens like Gremlins and Monster Squad and the fact that the PG-13 rating system didn’t exist until 1984 and allowed films like Jaws and Poltergeist to skirt that child-friendly rating, gateway horror abounded. In the years since, it seems as if younger generations of horror fans lack the same kinds of films that introduced a generation of kids to our favorite genre. Let’s face it, movies like Monster House and ParaNorman don’t come around very often.
Enter Night of the Zoopocalypse, a CG-animated film about animals trapped in a zoo and forced to deal with a mutant zombie uprising. Oh, and did I mention it’s based on a story idea by Clive Barker?
A very brief interlude introduces our primary characters, including Gracie (Gabbi Kosmidis). She’s a wolf who doesn’t understand why her grandma Abigale (Carolyn Scott) pushes her and her pack to run disaster preparedness drills when they live in a relatively harmonious zoo. Nothing ever happens at Colepepper Zoo, Gracie whines. But Night of the Zoopocalypse wastes no time proving her wrong when, that night, a meteor chunk careens through the exhibits, ripping holes in the wolf’s den and, more concerningly, through the new mountain lion exhibit.
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We follow the path of the meteor as it bursts into the petting zoo, a barn where a big-eyed, adorable bunny mistakes it for food, consumes it, and quickly begins changing. Concerned about the damage across the zoo, Gracie leaves her wolf den and follows the meteor’s path of destruction to the barn. Inside, vine-like growths have slithered up the walls and, in the center of the barn, a big seed hangs from the vines, pulsating like a heart. Gracie cautiously examines the weird seed but curiosity turns to horror when a clawed arm bursts from it, splatting goo everywhere. The seed falls to the ground and the arm drags itself along the floor after her.
She tries to escape, but has a run-in with Dan (Stranger Things’ David Harbour), the recently added mountain lion. Then the two of them get darted and carted off to the zoo’s vet. Meanwhile, in the barn, Bunny Zero (Bryn McAuley) begins changing the rest of the animals into bendy, globulous mutant zombies (that the animals begin calling “gumbeasts”) and the narrative quickly brings together a diverse group of survivors. Joining Gracie and Dan are flamboyant ostrich Ash (Scott Thompson, The Kids in the Hall), selfish proboscis monkey Felix (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, The Mandalorian), sassy capybara Frida (Heather Loreto), and baby pygmy hippopotamus Poot (Christina Nova). Rounding out the group is the horror/film nerd lemur Xavier (Pierre Simpson), who acts as the movie’s Randy Meeks…except less annoying and in love with puffing the vet’s laughing gas.
Together, the tumultuous group must learn to trust each other as they work together to stop the rampaging monsters unleashed at Colepepper Zoo.
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Night of the Zoopocalypse began its life as a graphic novel concept about a zombie virus spreading in a zoo. While Barker’s original idea sadly never came to fruition, he allowed prolific horror producer Steve Hoban (Splice, Ginger Snaps) and writer James Kee (the criminally underseen A Christmas Horror Story) to take the reins and turn his concept into a family-friendly horror film. They and co-directors Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro take the concept and run with it, using smart ways of showing typical zombie mayhem in a PG format.
The monsters are more globby blob than zombie, which creates some fantastic visual gags as well as allows the creative team to get away with showing typical zombie mayhem and violence in a kid friendly format. For instance, these “gumbeasts” are bendy like their Gumby namesake, so they can lose limbs and body parts that can later be re-attached. The best of these visual gags is Fred (Kyle Derek), a mutant gorilla who feels like a throwback to not only The Blob but also The Thing, as it reconstitutes itself in a variety of ways. Meanwhile, some of the spawns created by Bunny Zero feel very Critters coded while also resembling hamburger buns with legs, teeth, and long tongues that they use to pull the “top” part of their unattached mouths down to the bottom half of their bodies.
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The Night of the Zoopocalypse might not bring anything new to the table for horror fans, but the way it fuses 80s gateway horror ethos with modern animation elevates it to one of the most enjoyable kids films I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s paced to perfection, giving us enough character development and stakes before turning into a non-stop thrill ride. From the bowels of the zoo, where monsters race through the air ducts above the heroes to a perilous fight on a skyfari, the film careens from set piece to set piece.
The film never gets incredibly heavy-handed with a moralizing message, focusing instead on the simple idea that disparate people must put aside their differences and work together. This is a very stylishly animated B horror movie that contains more than enough excitement to keep parents (and horror fans) entertained while balancing horror and silliness to thrill younger kids.
For me, the best part is that some young child will watch this, hear how film-loving Xavier dissects the plot structure of a horror film as it plays out on screen, and not only become interested in the horror genre but also, maybe, become a budding writer. As a horror fan who wants new generations to embrace our favorite genre, I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Summary
This is a very stylishly animated B horror movie that contains more than enough excitement to keep parents (and horror fans) entertained while balancing horror and silliness to thrill younger kids.
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