E.N.D. - The Movie is a zombie movie composed of three interconnected segments whose story takes place over a time span of about ten years. Giving the title to this interesting zombie project is the acronym for the chemical compound of impure cocaine (E.N.D.: Erythroxylum coca - NaOH - Desipramine) that is the cause of the contagion and thus the epidemic. The film, presented at the 35th edition of the 2015 Fantafestival in Rome, features the collaboration of, among others, Federico Greco (The mystery of Lovecraft - Road to L., Liver, Nuit Americhèn, Angelika) and Domitian Christopharo (Hyde's Secret Nightmare, Doll Syndrome, Red Krokodil), two of the most important directors of Italian independent cinema.
Here is the interview with the filmmakers on E.N.D. - The Movie.
"Day Zero" is the title of the short prologue showing the cause of the contagion. Locked in a club bathroom, a girl (Regina Orioli) snorts cocaine that will soon turn her into a zombie hungry for human flesh. The incipit is by Luca Alessandro, Allegra Bernardoni and Federico Greco.
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"Days 1 and 2" is the title of the first episode, made in 2012. The segment was written and directed by Luca Alessandro (episode “Dream Door” of The Pyramid) and Allegra Bernardoni. Federico Greco himself appears in the cast and was also in charge of editing, photography and production of the film.
The story of the short film focuses on what happens inside an Italian funeral home where the owner, the hearses driver and the tanatoesthetist will be forced to deal with the zombies menace.
The cast includes Antonio Bilo Canella, Francesco Sannicandro, Federico Greco, Marco Di Stefano, Francesca Antonucci, Giuseppe Ragone, Ilaria Baiocco and Fabrizio Di Giorgio.
"Days 1 and 2" is a 26-minute short film rooted in the macabre and the more painful side of life resulting in a zombie movie to which a dash of humor is added but which disappears in the film's more pain-filled peaks.
Well-directed and discreetly acted, this episode introduces the viewer to a funereal journey punctuated by death, which here becomes an omnipresent theme, thanks to the perfect location, filled with coffins, that becomes a focus of grief for the living but also an attraction for the living dead who, in this first chapter, represent a barely perceptible threat. The strong claustrophobic power of the funeral home increases in the finale, turning it almost into a huge coffin for the protagonists.
The music (Paolo Baglio, Gabriele Caputo, Antonio Genovino) well accompanies the tragic and tension-filled moments. The make-up by Lucia Pittalis is interesting.
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The second episode, "Reveniens" (Day 1466), is directed by Domiziano Cristopharo for a screenplay by Antonio Tentori. The film stars Wayne Abbruscato, Aurora Kostova (Doll Syndrome), Alvia Reale and Elio Mancuso. Five years have passed since the epidemic spread and the world is overrun by the living dead. To escape the zombies, a soldier and a pregnant woman end up locking themselves inside a house lost in the woods. The birth of the baby will complicate their situation.
"Reveniens" is the rotten heart of this choral film. Deprived of any humor present in the first segment, this one makes its boundless negativity its strength. "Reveniens" comes up with a story that, while simple, has a damned retro charm that lovers of old movies about the living dead can only appreciate.
Much of the story takes place outdoors in the midst of lush, unspoiled nature, a mirror of life in which death, in the form of putrescent zombie lenses, is reflected. Life and death brush against each other, and even the sounds of nature mingle with the wails of the dead, becoming one. On the notes of a gloomy and funereal background, the story of the two protagonists slips by: a surprising Aurora Kostova who was assigned a not easy role and played by her impeccably and Wayne Abbruscato who well conveys the weaknesses of his character.
Cristopharo's slow zombies bring back memories of Romero's and Fulci's creatures, thanks to the shots and cinematography that capture the living dead in unforgettable chilling moments. How not to mention the zombie who, after being shot, slowly rises from the ground offering his back to our vision... A powerful image, this one, that has the power to excite the viewer and convey to him that subtle masochistic pleasure that one only gets from watching the glorious genre films of the past. Even the simple wadding in the nostrils makes a walking dead spectacular (this is the young corpse from the first episode), a detail, this one, that along with others, translates the care Domiziano Cristopharo has put into his zombies and this episode.
Dialogues are absent because it is the landscapes, the zombies and the fate of the protagonists that do the talking and convey that sense of pleasant uneasiness, anguish and death. The ending with the siege and a sequence reminiscent of The Lord of Evil and The Afterlife - And You Will Live in Terror is surprising. Also effective is the make-up (by Domiziano Cristopharo) that well accompanies the film's more splatter and gore scenes.
The only sore point is the CGI effects, which, in addition to being unbelievable, are forced and clash with the vintage aura of this episode.
The music is by Antony Coia.
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The concluding segment, "Z-Sapiens" (Day 2333), is directed by Federico Greco and shows us a world dominated by zombies. Ten years have passed since the outbreak and the living dead have evolved while the survivors are now ready to carry out any havoc, even sacrificing the weakest in their community, in order to survive. The cast includes Francesco Sannicandro, Francesca Antonucci, Alessio Cherubini, Antonio Bilo Canella, Daniele Della Sala, Giò Di Colore, Simone Della Torre and Francesca Di Vincenzo.
Federico Greco brings a novelty to the genre: living dead who, in addition to being endowed with intelligence, are able to feel fear and conscientiously band together against the human threat. His zombies also communicate by emitting moans, translated for the audience with subtitles. A choice, this one, that may unsettle the viewer accustomed to the classic figure of the living dead, coming across as ridiculous despite enjoying a certain fascination since it represents an absolute novelty on the theme.
Remarkable direction and the entire technical compartment for an episode with an innovative and original story. It is a pity, however, that Greco's episode has remnants of the mood of the first chapter thus breaking the suspense and the feeling of overall evil generated in the viewer by the episode Day 1466.
