M: Beyond The Wasteland (2023) Review

M: Beyond The Wasteland (2023) Review

Following its festival run, including at Grimmfest 2024, the award-winning Macedonian sci-fi, M: Beyond the Wasteland, is set to arrive on UK digital 10 November, courtesy of GrimmVision.

In a post-apocalyptic dystopia where zombies, known as the Evil Ones, have decimated human civilisation, a profoundly lonely boy, Marko (Matej Sivakov), lives in a secluded forest under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father (Sasko Kocev).

An encounter with Miko (Aleksandar Nichovski), a kind-hearted boy with Down syndrome, brings a glimmer of warmth and connection into Marko’s isolated world, as well as a new yearning to uncover the secrets that lie beyond the confines of the wilderness.

When a fateful turn of events grants him his wish sooner than expected, Marko’s journey becomes one of unknown dangers and, ultimately, a glimpse into a world forever changed.

M: BEYOND THE WASTELAND, the latest film from director Vardan Tozija (AMOK), aims to be a harrowing and heartbreaking post-apocalyptic fable but lacks the emotional oomph to make it so. Instead, we have a warm and fuzzy zombie-laden coming-of-age tale where two young lads hold hands and venture into the unknown but once the youngsters are on their way the film runs through half-baked ideas on the way to a rushed finish. There are elements of A QUIET PLACE, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, THE LAST OF US, and THE ROAD in the mix so it never feels like its offering up anything unique even if does present us with a slightly more twee zombie flick to the norm.

On digital 10 November from GrimmVision

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