Don't Grow Up - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Don't Grow Up

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Zombie movies have been a staple of my horror education for countless years. Growing up with George Romero films, the 28 Days/Weeks Later movies, and countless other brain munching have kept me in a constant need for brains. While the American zombie craze has pretty much died out (except The Walking Dead, which is still gasping on its last fumes), but the overseas market for good old brain munching is alive and well. Don’t Grow Up (originally titled Alone overseas) was made back in 2015, and I heard a few WHISPERS about it from the horror community, but became a forgotten remnant in my mind as no home video release was announced in the United States. That is until indie film company, Shudder Films, decided to drop the long defunct title on to home video, allowing us state side viewers to actually check it out, outside of expensive import discs.

If you’re expecting a straight up classic zombie film, let me stop you right here. Don’t Grow Up is more of a coming of age story that takes place IN a zombie apocalypse, rather than actually being a full blown traditional movie about brain munching undead. We open up the production with a few kids from a halfway house in some English island waking up to notice that EVERY adult is gone from their life. Reveling in their newfound freedom, these kids soon become restless with their unexpected vacation and decide to venture into town (even though NO ONE is around ANYWHERE). As they come into the isolated little village they find out the true reason for their lapsed bonds. There are no more adults alive except for a select few who are running about trying to eat the corpses and surviving kids.

Running away as quickly as possible, this group of disenfranchised teenagers have to come to grips that their world has been turned upside down. The adults who structured their lives are gone, leaving only the young ones to make adult decisions in a world that hasn’t prepared them for that type of responsibility. Ironically the movie doesn’t go all Lord of the Flies, but rather focuses in a couple of the teens as they try to make the most of their situation. Bastion (Fergus Riordan) and Pearl (Madeline Kelly) both have their own demons holding them back, but in this world they have no choice but to become adults (in a world where you will turn into a monster when you come of age), or fall apart at the seams.

I had a sort of “mixed bag” reaction to Don’t Grow Up. I knew from the descriptions that I read that we weren’t going to have a full blown zombie movie, and rather liked the slow buildup that the coming of age story sets up along the way. It’s cleanly paced, methodical, and at times completely engrossing. The talented young mixture of unknown thespians do a fantastic job at playing British teenagers, completely unaware of the gravity that life is going to weigh down on their shoulders throughout the film. Their stumbling around and learning to live in a world without structure feels natural and not forced, making their portrayals all the more realistic.

On the other hand the movie just can’t seem to find its footing. The slow and steady buildup leads to the movie spinning its tires in the mud, unable to find out what could propel it forward towards the bleakly realistic ending. Do we ever find out WHAT caused the epidemic? What happens when EVERYONE reaches adulthood? Not to mention multiple times where the film editing was so poorly done to achieve a contrived ending that you kind of rolled your eyes (the bodies in the lake was done rather sloppily I have to say). The movie is intriguing, entertaining, but ultimately can’t seem to grasp what it wants to be by the time the short 81 minutes is up.




Rating:

Rated R for disturbing violence, language throughout including some sexual references, and teen drug and alcohol use




Video:

Supposedly shot with Arri Alex cameras and finished at 2K for the home video release, Don’t Grow Up is given a usually impressive looking 2.39:1 AVC encoded release for the this month’s Blu-ray. The movie is a bit desaturated, with a sort of bleak and bland color grading to the film that doesn’t exactly lend itself towards exciting details and eye popping colors. There’s a blue/green/gray shade to the movie that covers the entire landscape for a good majority of the picture. That being said, there ARE some moments of bright outdoor shots, with stunning clarity and a really sunny disposition (look at when they come out of the city into the sea shore). Fine details are more than appropriately done, with good facial details and sharp clarity in the backdrops. The blacks are a bit grungy, but show enough shadow detail to be satisfying, and despite some overall softness to the digital image, is more than pleasant to the eye.








Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is pleasant, but never really too exciting due to the very talky nature of the film. The action sequences are loud and boisterous, but there are LAAAAAAAAARGE swaths of the movie where Pearl and Bastion’s discussions are the mainstay of the audio mix. The surrounds can be quite visceral at times, reverberating with a shotgun blast, or carrying the eerie score throughout, but it also can fade into the background when the talky portions of the film take over. Dialog is crisp and clean (despite some heavy accents), and the overall clarity of the track is excellent. It’s not a wild action track, but there is more than enough auditory tension and excitement to keep it going.








Extras:

• Making of Don't Grow Up
• On The Set: Languages And The Director
I• nside The Group: Cast And Characters

Final Score: ​

Don't Grow Up is a solid horror movie, but not one that really follows the traditional moires and tropes of your standard horror movie. It has a solid cast, and some good acting by a teenage group of thespians, but there was just something "off" in the film. Most likely due to the fact that it was more of a coming of age film that felt like The Crazies meets Lord of the Flies (although Shudder Films lists it as The Breakfast Club meets 28 Days Later. Something which I have a hard time correlating). The action is nice when we have it, and the introspective moments between Bastion and Pearl interesting. The slow paced horror flick isn't the greatest zombie movie on earth, but it is a solid horror movie that plays more on methodical pacing and a coming of age story amidst terror as its greatest asset. Worth it as a rental, in my opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Fergus Riordan, Madeleine Kelly, McKell David
Directed by: Thierry Poiraud
Written by: Marie Garel-Weiss
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Shudder
Rated: R
Runtime: 81 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 3rd, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Todd Anderson]

Looks like a pass

 

[tripplej]

"Truth or Dare isn’t a horrible horrible horror movie".. I suspect this is a typo.

If it shows up on amazon prime/netflix I may give it at least a few min to see if it keeps my interest.

 

[Michael Scott]

"Truth or Dare isn’t a horrible horrible horror movie".. I suspect this is a typo.

If it shows up on amazon prime/netflix I may give it at least a few min to see if it keeps my interest.

good catch. I accidentally didn't paste in my final paragraph and left Truth or Dare's in its place. I just fixed that.

 

[tripplej]

Great. Thanks for fixing.