The horror genre is littered with monsters that are equal parts menace and metaphor, and perhaps none feel so potent in times of political strife as the zombie. Time and again, this undead creature has stood in for consumerism, mob mentality, loss of individuality, “the other”—the list goes on. But in This Is Not a Test, which is based on Courtney Summers’ book of the same title, the zombies take on a new meaning: they represent the internal life of a profoundly depressed and suicidal teen girl, Sloane (Olivia Holt), and her struggle with the desire to go on living—or not.
It’s grim, and This is Not a Test is suitably bleak as well.
The film picks up on the morning of the zombie apocalypse, in a sequence reminiscent of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. But here there are added layers of emotional dynamics: Sloane is already actively considering ending her life, having written a suicide note when the undead come knocking on her door. During this sequence, as she witnesses the horde tear her neighbors apart and eventually turn on her, there is a moment in which she stands frozen, watching the oncoming instrument of her doom, considering. Textually, she is in shock; thematically, she is making a choice—to fight to live or give up and die. It won’t be the last time she wrestles with that decision.
Froy Gutierrez in 'This is Not a Test'
Shudder
Eventually, Sloane connects with a group of her classmates who make their way to the relative safety of their high school—or so they hope—as they wait out the zombie onslaught and hope for what comes next. Among her classmates are brother-and-sister duo Trace and Grace (Carson MacCormac and Chloe Avakian), angry jock Cary (Corteon Moore), and Rhys, Sloane’s would-be love interest, played with genuine sweetness by actor Froy Gutierrez. If Sloane represents hopelessness, then Rhys is her counterpart, clinging to kindness and humanity as their only hope. He not only keeps Sloane from going over the edge; he is the one bright spot in an otherwise resolutely bleak landscape.
Luke Macfarlane also appears in the film, playing very much against type as their English teacher, Mr. Baxter. You can imagine that, before the world became a horrifying flesh-eating horde, he was once the student body’s favorite hunky teacher. But now, surrounded by this shockingly violent new reality, he has become nearly feral. He’s secretive, hyper-vigilant, unpredictable, and peers out of haunted eyes. Macfarlane, who has made a career of playing lovable, charming himbos, chews up the scenery as he breaks out of that lane, weaponizing his hunky physique into a hulking threat. He delivers a genuinely intimidating and effectively frightening performance.
This is Not a Test
Shudder
As with many zombie stories, the monsters quickly become secondary to the horrors humans inflict upon one another, but this film gives that dynamic added weight through Sloane’s internal struggle and complicated family dynamics. While it may be lighter on scares, it delivers on gore and reminds us why the zombie remains our most malleable, human, and horrifying metaphorical monster.
This is Not a Test arrives in theaters on February 20. Check out the trailer below.
