The Night Eats The World
by Dominique Rocher

I really don’t need to explain how much I love the post-apocalyptic subgenre of horror, just like I don’t need to go into detail about how much I love zombies despite the saturation in the genre. I also probably never need to mention again how much I love foreign horror, but hey, it looks like I’ve touched on all three of those things I said I didn’t have to… so let’s dive into my review of a veryawesome film called The Night Eats The World.

Let me start by bringing up the fact that even though this is a French horror film from Dominique Rocher, the film is entirely in English (except for bits of recorded audio heard on cassette tapes). So, for those of you typically put off by subtitles, there’s no need to worry and you should have no excuses here! Things start off with our main character, a musician named Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie), dropping by his ex-girlfriend’s place to pick up some old tapes. She’s throwing a party and Sam isn’t exactly thrilled because she’s acting like an idiot and won’t give him the tapes. He eventually makes his way to a guest room and passes out only to wake up and find the apartment covered in blood and completely empty. He discovers soon enough, though, that overnight, Paris has been overrun by zombies. Sam decides to clear and fortify the building in order to survive, but when you’re the only one left alive in a city of the dead, how do you keep your sanity intact?

The film is very reminiscent of 28 Days Later and for the most part, an extremely quiet film. I think that’s what makes it so unique and creepy, too. The zombies in this film are fast and violent, like those in 2004’s Dawn of The Dead, but they are completely silent, which is something I’ve not seen done before. I mean, if the idea of super-sprinting zombies wasn’t already enough to assure you that you’d be dead in minutes, imagine them not making a single fucking sound! The silence of the living dead only adds to their danger factor and really makes for some daunting visuals. The makeup and special effects are wonderful, and what little sound and music you get sprinkled throughout the film never takes you out of the moment.

While I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending, I thought it was fitting. All films must end, and I suppose this one was as good as it could be. There are also enough “why the hell would the main character do that” tropes to keep you satisfied if that’s your thing, but Sam’s actions and mistakes really do drive home the fact that he’s kind of losing his mind and nobody in that situation would be making very good decisions.

Overall, The Night Eats The World is a great addition to the zombie genre and I’d even give it a second watch.

(This review was originally published on Horror Metal Sounds.)