Dubbed as the very first Chilean zombie movie ever made, "Descendents" (or "Solos," as it's referred to in its native country) has all the right pieces to be a great low-budget horror flick, but it has none of the execution.
The story follows in the footsteps of pretty much every other end-of-days movie that has come before it, modeled most strongly after the seminal Richard Matheson novel, "I Am Legend." Only instead of a Price/Heston/Smith action-hero archetype, the film centers around a small group of children miraculously born with an immunity to the death plague that has riddled the world with the walking dead.
Within the first five minutes of the film, it is made apparent that the narrative is being told through the eyes of a little girl. Born with a series of lesions on either side of her neck, 9-year-old Camille is an orphan in a post-apocalyptic world on the brink of extinction. The plot itself is new and intriguing, but I just couldn't muster the energy necessary to become invested in the lead role.
The meat of the plot is comprised of a series of flashback sequences, each edited together with a dizzying, seizure-inducing speed — not to mention that a number of the scenes are rehashed several times over throughout the movie. In particular, one scene involving Camille's mother turning into a zombie is revisited to the point of nausea. Nearly an hour goes by, and yet the film's narrative barely seems to progress past the initial opening scene. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the film ends on one of the most bizarre and unexpected notes conceivable. All in all, "Descendents" is a rollercoaster with more downs than ups.
Even given the low budget and overall schlockiness of the whole affair, the special effects are stunningly terrible. At times, it almost feels like watching the trailer for a video game. Blood splatters on the screen like a MS Paint graphic. The cinematography is just atrocious. The landscape is a drab mish-mash of sepia-toned skies and gray overtones. I assume this particular use of color is meant to represent the bleakness of the situation, but it instead comes off as a visual onslaught that is hard to sit through.
And, for an end-of-days movie, there sure is a lack of zombie carnage. Because the children are immune to zombie attacks and infection, there seems to be more emphasis put on the the government forces who attempt to keep order via firepower. The threat of zombies is thusly eradicated. There is seemingly no point in even including the zombies, seeing as they are reduced to a novelty concept. "Descendents" effectively manages to shoot itself in the proverbial foot by minimizing the only cool aspect available in the movie.
As far as special features, there is a pretty in-depth making-of piece featuring writer/director Jorge Olguin. Unfortunately, the film itself (outside of the spectacularly bizarre final minutes) is just not interesting enough to warrant learning more about it. The ideas are all there, but the film just falls flat in nearly every aspect imaginable.
Film: 2 Yaps Extras: 1 Yap