Saturday, April 13, 2013

Expiration Has a Short Shelf Life: A Movie Review


*there are spoilers here.

Director: Alastair Orr.

Writers: Jonathan Jordaan and Alastair Orr.

Expiration is a film that completed in 2011, under the title Rancid. Since then, this film has received a release date through Grand Entertainment Group (April 19th, 2013). This low budget indie film was shot in South Africa and Expiration features a few characters stuck in a research lab. Fans of film will become familiar with these hallways as they are shot over and over again. Much of the film involves cat and mouse chase sequences, which create few thrills. Expiration is a fairly average zombie styled feature and most horror fans will likely be disappointed by this outing.

The budget for this film was small and so is the story. The plot involves four participants in a research experiment. Unknowingly, they consent to allow the scientists to clone them. Then, their clones are given an experimental drug, called B15. This drug heals some of debilitating injuries and turns others into raving lunatics. The survivors are then chased, continually, by those seeking an easy meal.

This film is indie in nature because of its small budget. Expiration was made for under 70K. This small budget does not allow for a large cast. There are really only six central characters in this film, with a few minor ones. Often found in independent films, one primary set is used for the whole film, an abandoned government facility. Viewers will see certain hallways and rooms shot over and over again. Also, the story is simple, to keep costs down. The plot is focused, but it does not allow for very much exterior shooting. Thus, the shooting style is simple and unexciting. This indie film is unable to rise above the many challenges of a small budget.

Expiration houses a lot of filler. There are a number of sequences that are repeated. A solider enters the research facility to fix a camera. He is hounded by the film's zombie-like lab rats. Another soldier enters the facility to track down the remnants of a previous experiment. He and his comrade are also chased by the experiment-gone-wrong denizens. A large portion of the film is full of cat and mouse scenes, which become repetitive and monotonous over time. The pacing suffers because of these scenes. And, this title needed to move ahead at a quicker speed.

Thus, this film is not recommended. This style of film has been tried in other features: The Terror Experiment (2012) and The Ganzfeld Experiment (2013). The plotline is nothing new. And, the small budget for Expiration does not allow the film to step out of its small confines. The film grows tiresome over time, despite some interesting characters. The acting in the film is also well done. But, characters are often only one meal away from being eaten. The music from composer Fabian Sing is also well put together. Yet, there is very little tension to amplify on the screen. Expiration is simply an average indie zombie film.

Horror fans might be enticed to see the film based on promotional material. The scenes in the trailer are most of the exciting shots compiled in under two minutes. The other eighty-eight minutes or so involve only a few thrills and lots of repetitious scenes and scenery. Cinephiles are encouraged to see other better indie zombie films such as Extinction: The G.M.O. Chronicles (2011), 13 Eerie (2013), State of Emergency (2013), or a host of other films. Expiration grows old and moldy after only a few hours on the shelf, or a few minutes in a home entertainment player.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (good characters, solid music, shaky cam', repeating scenery, monotonous).

A trailer for the film is available here, on 28DLA:

Expiration Trailer on 28DLA

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