The First Day - Festival Review

Zombie films often run wild with hardcore bodily violence and rapidly nefarious torture of the mind, body and soul as we watch society form into segregated packs amidst years of undead carnage and bloodshed. The exhaustion of prolonged terror is a crucial part of many zombie films, with horror acting as a gritty vessel for the consequential sequestration of humanity to be laid bare. However, what is even more terrifying than desolate landscapes littered with the crusted old remains of entire neighbourhoods is the chaotic sequence of events that led to the cinematically familiar scene of pure societal desecration. Writer and director Manu Pons traces the crumbs of exactly how a vicious outbreak began, exposing the anatomy of a brutal plague that will rip the world apart. This is 'The First Day'. 

Sandra (Nerea Barros) sits at the dining table with her partner Liam (William Miller) and their children, teenager Emma (Alma Bruno) and her younger sister, Lucia (Claudia Lilley). Although charming with their inside jokes and nicknames, a tension brews between the couple as they passively distance themselves from one another, with Sandra expressing her homesickness for her native Spain. As they embark on their mundane but emotionally tense day, strange occurrences arise: phones are left barren with no signal, the tills at supermarkets are rendered dud, and emergency signals alert to an anonymous but terrifyingly ominous warning that a worldwide collapse is imminent. All of which come to a rip-roaring boiling point when helicopters soar, explosions erupt, and screams emanate from every corner. The end is near as a fatal and unforgiving virus takes over and turns every living being into flesh-hungry, ruthless and violently fast zombies. 

Although The First Day leads with an iron fist of savagery and gore, the film is rounded out by its backbone of incredibly strong characterisation and the impeccable acting that gives credence to the character-first narrative. Ample time is spent developing intricate backstories that are fleshed out enough for a feature-length drama, making the ensuing threat of slaughter all the more painful for this flawed, but nevertheless real and close family. Lending the sense of raw truth to the family are the performances from Barros and Miller, whose portrayals of a deflated couple continually butting heads despite a deep and profound aura of genuine love and connection is something that feels tender and unfiltered. Adding to this heavy personalisation is the range explored by the on-screen sisters, who, although young in their eventually thriving careers, displayed such a commendable level of breadth and sincerity within their portrayals of grief and nerve-gripping fear. 

The First Day surpasses expectations even more in its expressive camerawork that continually reacts to the tonal shift in emotions, shifting colour palettes and atmospheres to perfectly suit the chilling sequence of events. As the virus takes its toll throughout its detailed inception, the world transforms from familiar to feral, playing with the audience's worst nightmares of the disintegration of everything we know. Pons understands what the worst-case scenario is - being trapped, surrounded and preyed upon - and exacerbates it in such a cruel light. 

All of this turmoil plays out amongst the monstrousness of one of horror's most abject creatures, the dreaded zombie. These venomous creatures are merciless on their hunts, sparing no expense to feed their insatiable appetites for gore, guts and viscera, with The First Day taking pride in showing some terrifically manic scenes of zombie mayhem. The film's resident killers seem to be knowingly evil, smirking at their prey and taunting them, with their sole purpose being to create as much dread in their weakened victims before eventually eviscerating and consequently transforming and evolving their evil clan.  

The First Day has no qualms in squashing preconceived notions about indie zombie horror, essentially flipping the script and delivering a tale of equal carnage and grief-stricken, empathetic terror that cements its unforgettable rendition of classic undead nightmare-fuel.

Catch the UK premiere, followed by a Q&A of 'The First Day' at this year's Dead Northern Film Festival on Saturday 26th September at 16:30

You can grab your tickets to watch The First Day at this years Festival here!

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