Director: Bing Bailey
Cast: Geraldine Mcalinden, Rory Mullen, Todd Fletcher, Gerry Shanahan, Patrick Murphy, Steven Neeson, Sara Eavans, Sonya o Donoghue, Paul O’Bryan, Ciaran Davies
Country: Ireland

“Portrait of a Zombie” is one of those films that really ought to be fantastic, but doesn’t quite make it. These aren’t uncommon at Cinequest, but they’re always a little saddening when you run across them.

The premise is gold: a zombie apocalypse is winding down in Ireland, and an egotistical American filmmaker shows up to do a film about a family keeping their zombified son in their house. The film opens promisingly in mocumentary style, including interviews with the parents and some other people. The fellow’s mother comments that when he was a teenager, Billy would eat just about anything — “and in that way, not much has changed!” There’s a streak of very dark humor running through the film, and I was all set to have a blast.

Unfortunately, regular horror-movie type sequences show up, disrupting the  mockumentary feeling and making it sometimes hard to tell just what is going on. By the time the film comes to its not-entirely-surprising end, it’s hard to avoid feeling wistful for what might have been. A Spinal-Tap-style mockumentary about the same subject could have been a fantastic satire on overprotective parenting, for example.

Instead, we have an uneven movie that can’t quite decide what it is. The special effects range from fantastic to laughable, and the tone wanders between pitch-black humor, actual drama, and silliness. The acting, particularly from Geraldine Mcalinden as the zombie’s unlucky mother, is good, but its hard for the actors to do much with such an uneven script.

If you’re a hardcore zombie fan, you still will likely want to see this, as catching an independently made Irish zombie flick on the big screen is a rare opportunity. Most other folks, especially those who were hoping for a proper mockumentary, should stay away.

Remaining Screenings:
3/5 9:30 PM Camera 12
3/10 4:30 PM Camera 12