ZOMBIECON VOL. 1 (2024) Review
From director Kyle Valle (Journeyman) and co-written with stars Erin Áine (Class Act) and Manny Luke (Manny’s World of Colour), the blood splattered romp is a tribute to cosplayers and horror fiends alike. Following its acclaimed release in the US, ZombieCON Vol. 1 is set to land on UK digital 27 April 2026 thanks to Miracle Media.
Rocket (Luke), Claire (Áine), Punkie (Punkie Johnson – Bottoms, Saturday Night Live), and Javier (Christian Casillas – Bro’s) are on a high after winning the top prize at an LA comic convention for their showstopping cosplay…. But their victory is soon ruined when a run in with a bunch of bullies leaves an enraged Claire to declare her desire for ‘all the a**holes in the world’ to turn into zombies.
Mayhem ensues when her wish comes true and a zombie outbreak swarms the city. Now, the gang must use their home-made weapons and pop culture knowledge to race across town to save Rocket’s mother while trying to survive the zombie infested wasteland of their own making.
Blending anime-style fights, razor-sharp satire, a bucketload of blood and genre in-jokes, ZombieCON Vol. 1 celebrates the joy and community of fandom – with some flesh-eating undead creatures along the way.
ZombieCON Vol. 1 aspires to blend genre homage with character-driven comedy, evoking the spirit of films like Galaxy Quest, Shaun of the Dead, and The Goonies. However, while those films earned their enduring fanbases through sharp writing, charm, and narrative momentum, this effort struggles to capture the same vitality.
At the centre of the film is Rocket, a protagonist whose arc is intended to anchor the story but instead becomes its most taxing element. Much of the film’s considerable runtime is devoted to his persistent complaining, culminating in a predictable late-stage epiphany: he is not, in fact, a particularly good friend. The issue is not the familiarity of this arc, but the execution—Rocket remains difficult to empathise with, and the film never convincingly earns the audience’s investment in his growth.
Technical shortcomings further hinder the experience. The aural mix proves inconsistent, fluctuating between subdued dialogue and jarringly loud dramatic moments, making it difficult to settle into a comfortable viewing rhythm. Action sequences fare no better, often devolving into chaotic scenes of shouting and shoving, with excessive camera shake substituting for coherent choreography or purposeful editing. The lack of visual clarity diminishes any sense of tension or excitement.
Structurally, the film feels unfocused. Numerous ideas compete for attention without coalescing into a satisfying whole, resulting in a narrative that meanders across its near two-hour runtime. Redundant flashbacks—illustrating information already conveyed through dialogue—only add to the sense of bloat. Logical inconsistencies also undermine the premise: characters remain curiously insulated from the supposed chaos outside, raising questions about the believability of the film’s central scenario.
Even the climactic confrontation, which should provide a payoff to the film’s build-up, is undermined by overextended dialogue and the same muddled staging that plagues earlier scenes. Rather than delivering a memorable showdown, the sequence stalls in self-reflection, with Rocket verbalising sentiments the audience has already grasped.
Ultimately, ZombieCON Vol. 1 feels less like a cohesive zombie comedy and more like an overextended character study that never quite justifies its focus. The titular undead element is surprisingly underutilised, leaving one to wonder whether the film might have been better served by committing more fully to either its character drama or its genre premise. As it stands, it occupies an unsatisfying middle ground, lacking the energy and clarity needed to resonate.