Phase 7 ★★☆☆☆

As the apocalypse dawns a couple begin to have a few problems with their neighbours.

 During a national epidemic Coco and his pregnant wife must stay locked in their apartment, quarantined until it’s deemed safe to leave. There seems little need to panic though as the fridge is fully stocked and there’s plenty of entertainment at home. However, as the days unwind and the contagious virus appears to be unstoppable the patience of some of the buildings more paranoid and unstable residents begin to diminish amongst the escalating chaos occurring outside. It leads to a series of events that few of them could have previously anticipated and none of them will ever forget.

From the grindhouse style of the opening credits, to the homely humour it’s clear from the start that Phase 7 is very much made from the same genre parody mould as Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, equally as humorous as it is exciting whilst maintain a strong focus on human behaviour that a lot of similar cult films often ignore. Comparisons with [Rec] are also hard to avoid but the film’s tension never rises to the same level as the famed Spanish zombie dystopian film with its focus on comedy (whilst a nice gentle relief) often overshadowing any of the more harrowing set pieces

There are laughs and jumps dished out in equal measure which makes Phase 7 an enjoyable late night romp, perfect for a fun night out but unlike its contemporaries lacks any real sense of deeper meaning. Whilst there is a modicum of compassionate attraction to the cast there isn’t enough for us to truly connect with them enough for the film’s more heartfelt moments to successfully resonate with us. Equally the decision to make Coco’s wife pregnant seems like a misused narrative tool as not once is her condition used to incite fear or worry into the audience.

For those looking for some harmless run then Phase 7 is a perfect way to spend the evening with some friends, however, its B-movie facade is only often broken, unfortunately revelling little  to make it compulsory viewing.