Rest: Zombies Have Hearts Too

No one would ever expect to be compassionate about a zombie falling in love. Sounds odd to say the least. It is almost unheard of for a zombie flick to include anything but violence. This short film mixed up everything, but for the better. I have always liked zombie flicks and The Walking Dead is, in my opinion, one of the best shows on TV. I must say that watching The Walking Dead changed my opinion on zombies or rather my opinion on anything containing zombies as characters. Not everything that involves zombies has to revolve around zombies seeking humans as food. These films and shows can include human emotions. The Walking Dead manages to create a post-apocalyptic world with well-written characters with real emotions and struggles. Rest by Cole Schreiber mixes human emotions within a zombie as a main character. I have never seen this done until now.

The film opens at an isolated grave in what appears to be an abandoned world. Colors of gray and blue envelope the landscape. In a wide shot, a hand appears from the ground. Within a few frames, a dead corpse arises from the ground and returns to life. However, in this case, no extremely loud, frightening music is blaring in the background, for there is no reason to be afraid. He doesn't want humans. That fact becomes apparent as he travels into New York City looking for something. He merely passes by the crowds of people with no desire to feast on their flesh. It is difficult to determine what exactly he wants, but the intrigue leaves you wanting answers. Frame by frame, the zombies travels down roads, across rivers and through fields, searching effortlessly for something. His movements are strong, and it is clear that he is intellectual. He knows exactly where he is going...

Now, I don't want to ruin the short film, but I will mention this: zombies have emotions too. At least, they do in Cole Schreiber's film. At the end of the day, no one wants to be forgotten or lost. The heart leads the way.

As for the visual aspects of the film, I loved the cinematography. The focus on certain filters in specific scenes brought objects to life, like what appears to be a charm or necklace in one of the beginning shots. The camerawork was also extremely powerful in terms of the tone for the film. At times, images are blurred or distorted because they are supposed to represent the viewpoint of the zombie. Handheld camerawork was present. Perhaps one of the best film techniques used in Rest was the repetition of certain shots. Wide shots were prevalent in the film as were certain close ups to exaggerate or express the zombie's emotions. I won't reveal what the ending of the film was, but I absolutely loved the way it was shot. The minimal lighting was perfect, not too lit nor too dark. The candles provided the perfect amount of light. All was revealed in the end in a beautifully depicted scene.

This short film brought a whole new side to zombies. They don't just have to kill. Maybe at the end of the day they just want to be loved too...