BY DAY’S END hits all the markers of classic zombie movies — Shambling zombies, impending apocalypse, gross-out body horror, the whole gamut of human emotion. Zombie movies are a perfect canvas to paint with a low budget brush, and BY DAY’S END does so with love and intention. Unfortunately, just like our poor protagonists, love isn’t enough to save this doomed plot.

Carly (Lyndsay Lantz) and Rina (Andrea Nelson) are beyond down on their luck. Things have gotten really bad… to the point where they’ve moved into an extended stay hotel and are living off of Little Caesar’s pizza in order to stay afloat. Rina is trying to get herself a new job, while Carly seems to be attempting a career change – which is proving rather risky. Tensions are high, and the stress is getting to them. Rina seems to be bearing the brunt of their struggle – on an endless job search, fighting an eating disorder, and warring against her own perfectionism – while Carly spends most of her time filming and talking optimistically (but unrealistically) about how things are going to change for them. Their relationship is strained, and things seem pretty bleak.

Nothing is as bleak as the outside world, however. Wyatt (Joshua Keller Katz) doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to reminding Carly and Rina that the world is falling apart around them. A virus is coming, a bad one, and given his calculations, it’ll be here by day’s end. He’s trained – ex-military – and warns the girls that they need to lock up and prepare themselves or they don’t stand a chance. He opts to go out and face this thing – whatever it is – head on. What none of them can anticipate is how soon the apocalypse will be at their front door.

BY DAY’S END is supported by an eclectic ensemble, representing other patrons of the hotel, hotel staff, and so on. Each character feels fleshed out and fascinating – in a way that reminds me of the ensemble of Lady in the Water. It definitely benefits a film like this to give you a rich, varied cast of characters to follow through the sometimes predictable plot points of a zombie film. Mediocre visual effects and unfortunately abysmally overwrought sound design distract from a solid, viable story, and unfortunately overwhelm the subtleties of the plot. There’s an intense and heartbreaking love story here, and it’s buried underneath layers of B-Movie schlock.

There’s also some questionable character notes, particularly surrounding the character of Gloria (Diana Castrillon) – seemingly a maid or similar for the hotel, whose husband also works with her. Her character seems to be built almost entirely on bad Latinx stereotypes – including her repeatedly suggesting that the virus causing the zombie outbreak is caused by the devil, and loudly and hysterically praying in Spanish. It’s a small piece of a flawed bigger picture, but it took me out of the action and made me fairly uncomfortable. It certainly didn’t add to the “plus” side of this poorly balanced script. Throw on top of this the ill-used character note of Carly being an ex-doctor, which is basically only commented on when convenient, and lessens her strength overall, and you’ve got some unfortunate sexism and racism going on. Carly struggles far too much with the fear and panic side for someone who is supposedly medically trained, and even does and suggests things that I, as a layperson, know to be medically unsound. A word to future filmmakers- consult a real medical professional! It can make or break your movie. Carly’s trauma around her medical past, unfortunately, paints her as weaker than I’d ever like to see from a female lead.

It pains me to say that this movie, while it had immense potential, just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The cast and supporting cast are all phenomenal, and I look forward to seeing more from them in the future. Maybe with a little more experience and a few more drafts, BY DAY’S END would have fallen into the cult classic B-movie category. Instead, I was left feeling more than just a little… shall we say … hungry?

5/10 zombie brains