The Cured

Zombie films are ten a penny these days. Netflix is littered with ropey Romero rip offs. The Walking Dead has been boring massive audiences for years now. A once fun and interesting genre is shuffling and smelling of decay like the creatures it depicts. Every now and then though something fresh pops its head up and breathes a bit of life into proceedings

The Cured is one such film. Out now on DVD and it's really worth watching.

Ireland has been decimated by the Maze virus that turned a sizeable portion of the population into zombie-like killers. So far so 28 Days later. There's a twist though. Scientists have found a cure and most of the infected have been turned human again. But unfortunately those who have been saved can remember everything they did in their other form. Every single bloody thing. Because of what they did they are treated like filth, given the lowest forms of work to do and no one trusts them. This uneasiness can only go on for so long as a cured man named Senan finds out when he is released back into society to live with his brother's widow Abbie. At the same time Senan's friend Conor is also released and he is not one bit happy with the way his life has turned.

I thought this was really good. A genuinely effective and creepy take on an old tale that's both intelligent and action packed. It's a realistic look at a zombie crisis if such a thing is possible. It sets out it's stall fast and wastes no time in explaining whats going on, loaded dialogue and snippets of radio chatter explaining the political and social climate of the film straight away. Imagine yer Nights, Dawns and Days of the Dead but if the creatures in them were sentient and knew what they were doing but couldn't stop themselves doing it. Imagine the effect that would have on your psyche when you were cured. It would be like the worst dose of the hangover horrors ever but with less puking in Abrakebabra and more intestine ripping. Imagine having to face the people you tried to kill or the families of those you did. A task made even harder by the fact the film is set in Ireland and we are a nation of people who can hold a grudge against the most minor of slights forever.

This is a horror film for modern day Ireland. The treatment of the cured reflecting Irish society's treatment of asylum seekers and travellers, the rehabilitation centres for the cured being not too far off direct provision centres, classism, medical dilemma's clashing with ethical dilemma's, the cured losing and fighting for their basic human rights mirroring the battles gay people, transgender people, non nationals and the women of Ireland have fought and still fight for. It feels ultra topical in this political era. It's deep stuff that will make you think but as a horror film it totally succeeds also. It's scary, it's deeply unsettling and when all hell breaks loose as always tends to happen in a zombie film it's pretty damn action packed and tbh quite exhilarating. We rarely get to see full scale carnage in Irish films and I've got to say, it kind of rocked seeing the streets of Dublin get splashed red. Errrr....this probably paints me in a bad light. Eek.

As with all the best horror movies it works because you care about the characters leading the story. Senan is a young man traumatised by what he did but because he was under the influence of a virus you never feel ill will towards him you can never bring yourself to hate him. Sam Keeley is great in the role. A young and very talented actor from Offaly, his career is already on a roll and I've a feeling he'll go far. Ellen Page as Abbie is grand in her role but doesn't really bring much to the table. I thought more would be made of her part considering she's an American trapped in Ireland. You get the feeling she was hired to add a well known international face to the film. Tom Vaughn-Lawlor as Conor is excellent. A product of upper class Dublin who's lost it all. The bang of entitlement and privilege off him turning into something darker as the film powers forward, another example of toxic masculinity going wrong. Tom's a super actor and it's deadly seeing him getting out from under the shadow of Love/Hate. Keep an eye out for a nicely cynical joke involving him late in the film btw.

It's full blooded, thought provoking stuff that doesn't spoonfeed the audience everything. A lot is left to our imagination and lines of dialogue help us fill in the blanks. It's grim but the rare splash of dark Irish humour here and there leavens proceedings to keep it all from getting too much. Writer/Director David Freyne has made a film to be proud of. It's a fine, fine first feature film. It's just a pity it didn't get a proper cinema release here in the country of it's origin. It really deserved it and I hope it finds it's audience eventually.