Most of us take the time to think about what we want in a romantic partner: can you marry and spend the rest of your lifetime with them? Can you raise children together? Are they someone you want to spend your last moments with… in the wake of a zombie apocalypse? These are questions we are forced to ask ourselves in Better Off Zed, a “ZomRomCom” directed by Travis Stevens (Linked, Shelf Life) and written by Amy Tofte.

For the last decade, Guy (Graham Sibley) has worked a mentally and physically demanding 60-hour week, a soul-crushing daily grind that has frayed his nerves. Meanwhile, his wife Paige (Christine Woods) is a free spirit with multiple fine arts degrees to her name, and has had the privilege of spending her marriage chasing creative inspiration. But when a zombie apocalypse arrives (don’t you just hate it when that happens?), Paige snaps into survival mode, frantically trying to figure out how to secure themselves and stretch out their food supply, while following news reports for any glimmer of hope that they might be able to escape. However, Guy is ecstatic: no more grueling work, no more monotony, no more hopeless future. The couple—in essence—has switched places.

Better Off Zed has a specifically millennial approach, a truly nihilistic response to the idea of a zombie apocalypse that counters the desperation protagonists possess in other zombie films. Let’s face it: no one in Night Of The Living Dead looked forward to being murdered by zombies if it meant not paying bills or going to work. Sadly, Guy’s reaction is a reflection of a growing attitude amongst working-through-middle class American citizens between the ages of 20 and 40; times are so bad and we work so hard for no reward that death would be a relief. And how convenient for a zombie apocalypse to come along, and to finally have something work for us for once!

Paige represents the more privileged side of the same generation, who is one of the few who are able to enjoy their life by doing what they love, such as rich college students who can afford an unpaid internship. When faced with peril, it’s something new to her, whereas her work-fatigued husband is so miserable that flesh-eating zombies are blessing. But no matter our social status, in this political and social dumpster fire of a world, we actively look for hope and change where we can. But at the end of the day, apathy sometimes feels like the best pill to take.

Better Off Zed is also an interesting commentary on commitment and marriage, something else that is decreasingly popular (or at least thought through a bit more carefully) amongst the same group of people. Marriage is a  lifelong decision that is not only financial but emotional and mental. In the face of a crisis, all of the small fissures pressured beneath the surface of Guy and Paige’s relationship finally crack open, forcing them to deal not only with the end of the world, but with the horror of spending their last moments together–ironically, something they technically swore to do years prior. Hell, I feel compelled to show my engaged friends this film for that reason alone.

There is a good comedic and emotional chemistry between Sibley and Woods as a newly odd couple. Some jokes land and they land well. But at times the film seems to think it’s funnier than it actually is, and the joke of Guy celebrating never having to work again overpowers the overall plot, making the pacing a bit poor. The best part of Better Off Zed by far is the premise itself and its unexpectedly accurate reflection of millennial culture and attitudes, making us blow some air-laughter out of our noses while reminding us that at the end of the day (and world), life really sucks.