Chrysalis

source: Battle Apocalypse

This Z-Apocalypse movie is a lot better than most of the other low budget films in the genre. I simply don't understand the hate that some reviewers exhibit in their reviews and comments. What are they creating? What are they doing with their free time... other than leaving nasty remarks on IMDB about other people's projects? (The first time I saw this film was a few years ago when IMDB still had message boards, and the comments being left kinda ticked me off as they really were undeserved). Anyway, I just re-watched it and here's my take fwiw. The film starts with a young couple trying to get by in a desolate environment. They come across another survivor and slowly all hell starts to break loose, but the movie ends on a satisfying tone. It's not perfect, but as someone who has seen hundreds of zombie films, I appreciate movies that try to do something a little different than the typical "run for your life" theme in this genre. If you're looking for adrenaline and explosives, this is not that film. But if you enjoyed the movie "The Battery" and "Maggie", you will probably enjoy this one.

...around halfway through, "Chrysalis" should have remained the extended short it was likely conceived as when its first desolate locations were discovered by its creators. Undoubtedly inspired by AMC's "The Walking Dead" (no small surprise given director John Klein's association with Ross "Aaron" Marquand), this regrettably retitled-for- video-release apocalyptic tale just doesn't offer up enough legitimate conflict to fill out its bloated running time. DP/writer Ben Kurstin extracts maximum atmosphere from the fortuitous ruins, and the cast tackles his sparse script as gamely as one might ask of a lo-fi production, but the truth is that the whole thing could've been tightened right in half with no loss of information and a probable increase in impact. I think there's a lot of talent wrapped up in "Chrysalis" that has yet to flower, but I can only recommend it to genre completists and followers of low budget indies.

Had to review this film since the rating is so much lower then it deserves to be. The quality of this independent lower budget movie is absolutely OUTSTANDING. The cinematography, editing, sound, score, to the acting and special effects are close to ga-zillion dollar budgeted Hollywood films. It may be considered slow paced by some,(this movie is more along the lines of the film "The Road") It was perfect for me. I good human story in the setting of apocalyptic survival. With characters I cared about mixed in with some really good zombie monster bashing, without gratuitous gore. The perfect balance.