Extinction (DVD)
Starring Matthew Fox, Jeffrey Donovan, Quinn McColgan
Directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas
For someone who hates kids, I sure do love apocalypse fiction. It seems like delving the depths of human depravity and triumphant conquest of the human spirit in the face of utter devastation just isn’t complete without a glossy-eyed preteen, torch of enduring human goodness and innocence, reminding the band of survivors of their own lost compassion. It’s effective, but generally trite. It’s something that I would balk at as cliché if the last dead vestiges of my capacity to feel didn’t well up every time the protagonist, worried that the rape-cannibals of the sodomy clans had finally caught up to them, stumbles upon their charge looking with gleeful wonder at a pair of butterflies dancing in a ray of sunlight breaking through the overbearing urban decay.
Something about the juxtaposition of the worst of us with the best of us is what gives the genre its punch. Survival is necessary, but dehumanizing. We become beasts as we make more and more concessions to stay breathing another day. Childlike wonder is in essence a more ideal form, free from the practical concerns of avoiding the grave for another day. This conflict between the practicality of survival and the greater goodness of our human dreams and compassion is the core of this narrative. We want to shelter our young, away from the needs and depression of the world for as long as we can, and when the world is nothing but pain, this innocence becomes all the more transcendent.
Extinction is this tale brought to the extreme. Two households, both unalike in dignity, in fair Harmony, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new dickery, where mutant blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of one of these two foes, a star-cross’d love takes one’s life; whose misadventured piteous overthrows do with his death bury the parent’s strife. The fearful passage of this death-mark’d love, and the continuance of these parents’ rage, which, but their child’s survival, naught could remove, is now the two hours’ traffic of your screen; the which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
While a good 20% of that was a solid “suck it” to my dad for questioning the validity of my choice to pursue Shakespeare over Physics and Law, a good 30% of that was because it is fitting (with a given natural writer’s leeway of 50% for just showing off). After a brief and violent intro, the scene is set in the snowy town of Harmony. Patrick and Jack live next to each other, each in their own fortress of a house, but without any contact with the other. It is immediately apparent that something has happened between the two, and despite the dire odds they refuse to cooperate. Patrick is more savage, drinking heavily and heading out every day to hunt for meat and supplies. Jack lives with the 10-year-old Lu, and his house resembles much more of a home.
There are subtle differences between the two that really sells the survival vs. humanity aspect. Patrick’s house has electricity, music, a radio broadcast station, good food, a dog, and the comfort of alcohol. Jack’s house is meager, with candlelight and only a single broken watch for time. Jack’s food is scarce, a fact that he hides from Lu by providing her a more ample portion than the one he takes himself. Despite this discrepancy of means, Patrick’s house is lonely and chaotic. It is without the comfort that humanity brings and serves as the framework for his descent into feral madness. Jack, on the other hand, lives a life full of love and fulfillment despite his meager means. His companionship with Lu brings him something that Patrick could never attain with all the booze and gasoline in the world.
While both men are dead set on staying separated, the wrench in this plan is Lu, who as a strong-willed young girl is determined to live her own life. If not for her often foolish attempts at rebellion, the men would go on forever at odds, never coming to terms with the tragedy that tore them apart. This isn’t the innocent questioning of a girl who doesn’t know better accidentally asking hard questions until they come to terms. This is a girl who knows she shouldn’t be doing the things that she does, leading them on a course that forces them to come together despite not wanting to. They don’t want to work together again but have to for Lu’s survival. It is an incredibly compelling framework and, while not entirely free of contrivance, one that works.
The fact that I refuse to spoil the details at this point should speak volumes, since my traditional approach to spoilers has been somewhere along the lines of “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.” It isn’t that the plot twists are particularly unexpected or clever, just that how the story progresses is such an integral part of appreciating the film. That being said, I will now be getting into my criticisms, which will require spoilers. So, for the sake of everyone…
*Abandon Hope Of Not Having The Movie Spoiled, All Ye Who Enter Here*
There are several plot holes and inconsistencies that really got in the way. First of which, why the fuck was the wife still alive after the first encounter? They start the movie with a dramatic action scene, which culminates in her being bitten by an infected person (hitherto known as zombies). We fast forward 9 years, and have no idea why the men hate each other, but would assume that the reason isn’t the woman who clearly was dead at no fault of either of them. But no, it turns out they cut her arm off and she survived. Did her disability in some way play into her death? Nope, it was just a red herring. Done cleverly, red herrings are just fine, but it didn’t serve any purpose other than obfuscating the plot.
Another big point, why the hell was the unnamed woman just standing there in the freezing cold when they found her? I get that she was in shock, but this is a person who has lived in the zombie apocalypse for nine years. I don’t care what the shit she saw; she does not stand still in the middle of the freezing cold without responding to any stimuli while pregnant. She’s bound to have seen some shit by now, and her ingrained survival instincts would not just be overridden that hard.
While on the topic of the cold, what’s up with the cold? To my recollection, they don’t establish that the world has descended into a perpetual winter. Why is it always snowing? This doesn’t seem to be a seasonal thing either, since they explicitly state that the zombies are all dead because of the cold. The ending even makes a big point of showing a triumphant sunrise across a field thawing from a freeze. I can accept that things are just happening because they are, but I prefer not to.
Those are the big points that don’t make sense. There are several small ones. Patrick at one point states that his dog is “the last dog,” which while I can accept as an ignorant assumption, doesn’t make logistical sense. So, all the people in the world are dead because these ravenous zombie beasts eat everything, but he found a puppy? These animals ate all the people; puppies don’t stand a chance.
While talking about the zombies, why the hell did they go blind? I understand the resistance to cold, as it is cold, and quick regeneration of damage, as that is bound to be useful when your primary hunting method is screaming neck bites. Did eyes just somehow become evolutionarily useless? Sounds unlikely, since basically all land based creatures have them.
Speaking of a barren and abandoned world, why the fuck do they not hear the bestial callbacks of the infected? The thing has been chained up in their yard for days, shouting its head off, and we can hear them in the distance howling back. The world is so barren, that the sight of a single rabbit near their house shocked Jack, and they can’t hear the echoing cries of the murderbeasts that navigate with sound. And what, they don’t expect that the echolocation white walkers might hear the constant pained shrieks?
*Fear Not, For The Spoilers Have Passed*
While the plot was as loose as your long distance girlfriend after rush week, the overall feel is exceptional. It’s a slow-burn film where the characters shined. While a long way off from the same level of quality, it is the first apocalypse fiction that made me feel since The Last of Us. The struggle to balance protecting the childish human spirit and teach the next generation how to ensure their own survival was subtle, yet poignant. The symbolism was at times overbearing, but it was overall incredibly narratively satisfying.
I cannot stress enough that without the aforementioned plot oddities, the film would be at least a full star higher in rating. An excellently conceived film, Extinction deserves a watch from any horror fan looking for a more human narrative. The acting is spot-on, camera work emotive, and story compelling. It isn’t perfect, and unfortunately the flaws so strongly contrast the strengths that it is denied any higher critical praise.
As far as personal praise is concerned, unfettered from the constraints of my film-snob perception, I would watch this movie again. I watch a good dozen movies a week professionally, many for enjoyment or background. To be not only willing, but actually eager to give the movie another run-through should speak a lot to the film’s emotive qualities. Critically, it was good, but not great. Personally, I really loved this film. The little touches sold me on the world, and the characters made me care about what happened in that world. It might not resonate with you the same, but for the chance, you should watch it. For never was a tale of woe more true, than that of Patrick, and his Lu.
Special Features
- The Making of Extinction
- The Apocalypse
- The Creatures
- Visual Effects Progressions Reel
- Clara Lago and Quinn McColgan
- Matthew Fox and Jeffrey Donovan
- Digital Effects Part 1
- Digital Effects Part 2
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Film
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
