Viciously violent visceral virus vividly vanquishes various veritable vulnerable victims eventually venturing to the inevitable verdict with evidence veering viably to the development of the vipers’ unavoidable venom.

C.A.M. is the new British found-footage film about the beginning stages of a looming zombie apocalypse. We follow a pair of documentary filmmakers as they venture with a trainee tactical police force as they start the evacuation of workers at a meatpacking plant. It’s been contaminated by a virus unlike anything seen before. Those whom are already infected exhibit extremely malevolent behaviour. They conclude that if this virus gets out to the general population then it could result in its catastrophic destruction on a global pandemic scale. It could even reach an apocalyptic scale. The word CAM is an acronym for “Contagious Aggressive Mutations.” It all escalates to intensely severe violence from the infected so the group must escape with their lives. Will they survive?

Directed by Steph Du Melo and Larry Downing, with a script by Du Melo, C.A.M. is full of social commentary about the speculation of how the is government conspiring some sort of population control. Interestingly enough, a disclaimer early on states the footage was found in 2013. It makes me wonder if that was done to separate the film from reality or if this film has been shelved for that long in some sort of development hell as some motion pictures do. Regardless, the parallels to current events are all too prevalent, albeit taken to the utmost extremely brutal worst-case scenario. They utilize a variety of handheld cameras to capture what transpires. This also includes body cams on the police involved. This way they show multiple perspectives leading to interesting first-person accounts with different reactions based on which point of view is on display. It’s an exhilarating way to keep things moving instead of the usual point and shoot what is happening with a shaky cam. The catchy, memorable music is another great aspect. Found footage films don’t usually have a film score so it was another nice surprise. The use of practical effects over CGI gore is always welcome. Here it’s emphasized with brutal realism. Zombies have never looked better.

The main cast convincingly portrays their roles adding authenticity to C.A.M. We get to know them gradually when things calm down in between the carnage. Charlotte Curwood plays the main protagonist Jo. She’s an aspiring filmmaker who’s strong-willed with an intuitive mind. This helps her navigate through the chaos. Tom Ware plays Kyle, her filmmaking partner. He provides comic relief and, more importantly, moral support when things get really scary. He plays him as the best friend you could have with undeniable energy. He’s sarcastic or sincere depending on what’s happening. Their chemistry is also fantastic. Michael Swatton plays an unidentified medical worker explaining the gravity of the situation while keeping his identity secret to protect himself. His commentary is heard over audio recording and his face is never shown. His powerful voice acting provides drastic implications are afoot and he drives the film with his intensity.

Overall, I admire the filmmaker’s boldness to tackle such topical issues head-on while unabashedly putting a new spin on more familiar, arguably overdone at this point, subgenres. The story itself examines aspects I wasn’t anticipating but appreciated. It all culminates to a satisfyingly stunning conclusion with fleshed-out characters I cared about. They establish fear by conveying how it feels to be in each character’s shoes making the viewing very impactful. I highly recommend seeing C.A.M. because of the brilliant directing, clever writing, and impressive acting. It’s both an enthusiastic tribute and welcome addition to the horror family.

9 Out of 10