If you have children of a certain age, you’ve probably heard of the Zombies franchise. The newest installment in the series was out last week on streaming, having premiered on the Disney Channel the day before. Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is entertaining, with catchy music and a positive message of acceptance. Director Paul Hoen clearly has a niche and excels at it.
In my household, the various iterations of Zombies/Descendants‘ soundtracks are on repeat, so there has been a ton of anticipation for this film. For me personally, I was interested in watching it after having the chance to speak with Meg Donnelly as part of The Winchesters press day a few years ago at New York Comic Con. Milo Manheim as the lead was also intriguing – he did a great job as Joseph in Adam Anders’ musical Journey to Bethlehem. But having only recently seen the other Zombies movies, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this latest film.
The story is about Addison (Meg Donnelly) and Zed (Milo Manheim), who have graduated from Seabrook and just finished their freshman year at Mountain College. Eliza (Kylee Russell) and Willa (Chandler Kinney) from the previous movies also return – and in fact, the four core are the only ones who pop up from before in anything beyond a quick cameo. Coach hasn’t expanded his ice cream empire, and Bucky doesn’t throw jazz hands. But back to the story. The four are off to summer activities – cheer for Addison and football for Zed. But their road trip goes awry and their car crashes. The friends separate (uh oh) and go in different directions through the forest to look for help.
Addison stumbles upon the vampires and Zed ends up with the daywalkers. There’s predictable tension, and both Addison and Zed’s arrival is welcomed with an extreme amount of suspicion. The two groups have a history that makes them hate each other, much like the zombies and the humans in the first film. Only there’s no lime soda and power factory behind the split, but instead moonstone energy infused bloodfruit that both factions need to survive.
Addison and Zed serve as mentors in this movie, shepherding the new young leads through a path of understanding and finding themselves that the duo themselves went on in prior Zombies films. History is repeating itself here. At one point, there’s even a direct and not so subtle mention of passing the torch to the next generation. Part of the grand plan for the two groups to get along and mend their differences is a summer camp called Camp Rayburn. And the camp counselors for this endeavor? None other than Addison, Zed, Eliza, and Willa.
Freya Skye is Nova, the young leader to be of the daywalkers and Malachi Barton is Victor, the young leader to be of the vampires. There’s a forbidden romance (within PG guidelines!) that plays out as the story unfolds, that is satisfying to watch. Both daywalkers and vampires need bloodfruit to survive, and the only orchard of the vegetarian vampire delight is dying. And because of some on-screen antics, the orchard is also now locked behind a magical gate. Working together, Nova and Victor save their people and foster acceptance and community between them.
Donnelly and Manheim do an excellent job in Zombies 4, and their on-screen charisma and vocal and dance talent show why the other films were so successful. It’s fun to watch, even if there were some ret-conned character choices, like Addison’s changing blue hair. Skye and Barton are charismatic too, and do a great job opposite each other and with the music. Although there’s a lot of talent in this film from the young actors, the performances from the veteran actors are notable too. Jonno Roberts as Commander Bright, the aptly named leader of the daywalkers, brings a Kurt Russell vibe to the role and stands out.
If you’re a dance fan, it’s really hard not to appreciate the choreography on screen in this film. It’s fun, complicated, and the artistry on display is top-notch. There are lots of tricks and so many moving parts, but it’s all in service to the story. The dancing on display in Zombies 4 fully lives up to the moves of its predecessors.
Of note in Zombies 4 is how much the folks behind the film make use of the beautiful landscape of New Zealand and incorporate it into the story. We’re not in Seabrook anymore and there’s gorgeous water and gorgeous mountain scenes. It’s quite pretty.
My one large complaint for this film is that there’s something off with the lighting in the scenes in the vampire lands. Things are dark to the point of being able to see what’s going on. This is unquestionably a story choice and fits as a tool to further draw the contrast between the daywalkers and the vampires. But the way it is done in the final cut makes it so difficult to watch. It’s especially noticeable when Addison first joins the vampires and the two different are introduced musically via the song The Place to Be. And what’s worse, if you watch the trailer for Zombies 4 with some of those same vampire land scenes, things aren’t as dark. They still support the story, but you can actually see what’s going on on screen.
This film seems to plant the seeds for a Zombies 5 film, with Nova and Victor as the new leads. At the end, the daywalker and vampire leaders witness a water spout over the ocean, leading viewers to think that something in the ocean will happen in the future. But this could also mean nothing, because Zombies 3 introduced the concept of mermaids in a song, and in a brief appearance at the end of the movie, only for nothing to happen in this film. It’s probably a safe bet, though, that if there’s another Zombies film, there will be a new creature introduced entirely. After all, Zombies was about aliens, Zombies 2 was about werewolves, Zombies 3 was about aliens, and this movie was the pointy-toothed world of vampires.
In the end, Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is full of catchy songs and a great choice for a family movie night. It’s reminiscent of the golden era of Disney Channel movies like Starstruck, but with more fantastical characters. It’s about as light as a movie with aliens, vampires, werewolves, oh my, can be.
Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is now streaming on Disney+.
Learn more about the film on the Disney site for the title.
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