Dastardly undead cadavers do catastrophically destructive damages destroying humankind’s fundamental needs and dawning a disturbing delirious downfall of deterioration unless undeniable profundity of determination is demonstrated by rapidly distributing medical products to desired destinations.

Strain 100 is a new zombie movie that starts with a brief exposition dump explaining how Vaccine C100, a cure for influenza, inadvertently caused a zombie apocalypse. The focus shifts to a group of twenty-somethings who have their camping trip interrupted by a zombie attack. Lone survivor, Jessie, escapes but slowly discovers the downfall of society taking place. Along the way, she finds other survivors who explain the situation further. Once the safety of the diner their holed up in is compromised the remaining people must venture out to find sanctuary somewhere else. Will they be able to find the cure for the zombie virus in order to save humanity?

Director Hassan Hussein takes full advantage of the landscapes of the filming locations in Michigan. The way the city and countryside are filmed shows the beauty of the state. The pace of the plot is quick but never feels rushed. The lack of music adds tension because the silence while waiting to hear noises is unnerving. The makeup for the zombies looks good. It’s simple yet effective. Minimal CGI is used by when they do use it, its very noticeable. Written by Todd Klick and Hassan Hussein, the script is surprisingly character-driven. People have long conversations shot in long takes. This helps get to know them because conversations feel more personal. This made it so I cared when certain characters died. It’s full of random, off-beat quirky humour too. Sometimes the comedic timing works but other times it feels forced or unnecessary because it undermines dramatic or scary moments.

Jemma Dallender plays Jesse, the highlight of the film and the best actress of the bunch. She exhibits a wide range of emotions while performing, which increases the audience’s understanding of her trying journey. The rest of the cast includes Matt Carriker, Alex Rogers, Tori Nonaka, Robert Forte Shannon III, Alexis Boozer Sterling, Jennifer Jelsema, Erika Hoveland, Keyna Reynolds, and Sonya Joy Sims. The acting isn’t great but it’s not distractingly terrible either. Some actors aren’t that bad while others probably should have been recast.

Overall, Strain 100 is a dialogue-driven zombie flick that doesn’t have much action, but when it comes time for it, it’s worth the wait. These are the rabid, running zombies like how they are in 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead (2004) so they do pose a serious threat. In between those scenes is a basic premise which is fine when it’s done in clever new ways but most of the generic story is exactly what we’ve seen before done better in other films and TV. It tackles topical themes of vaccinations, the CDC, pandemics, sensationalism in the media, and religion. The wrap-up leaves things a bit too open for me, though.

Despite its flaws, I’d still recommend Strain 100. It’s still enjoyable for what it is because there’s still worse out there than this. And remember, after being bitten once or twice by bad zombie movies you shouldn’t be shy about watching this.