JP Nunez
Post-apocalyptic horror films are everywhere these days. Just this year, we’ve gotten Never Let Go, Arcadian, and A Quiet Place: Day One, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. These movies are as popular as ever, and while your mileage may vary, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure, I don’t love every post-apocalyptic film, but I love the idea behind them, so when I heard about Beyond the Wasteland, I was instantly intrigued. I couldn’t wait to see how these characters would deal with a world devoid of civilization, and when I was offered a screener for the movie, I jumped at the opportunity to review it.
Beyond the Wasteland was directed by Vardan Tozija, and it stars Matej Sivakov, Sashko Kocev, and Aleksandar Nicovski. The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies called the Evil Ones have decimated human civilization, and it follows a boy named Marko who lives deep in the woods with his overprotective father. The pair have no contact with the outside world, but as you can probably guess, they don’t stay isolated for long.
One day, while exploring the forest, Marko comes across an intellectually disabled kid named Miko, and they quickly become friends. An unexpected turn of events soon forces Marko and his crew to set out beyond the only home the boy has ever known, and in the course of their journey, they learn that the Evil Ones aren’t the only things they have to fear.
Like most zombie movies, Beyond the Wasteland isn’t really about the monsters. Sure, they show up every now and then to remind us that this is a horror flick, but they’re not the focus. The real stars of this show are the people, and thankfully, the three main ones are excellent.
Let’s start with Marko’s father. Right from the get-go, this guy doesn’t have an ounce of humor in him. He’s so concerned with surviving and keeping his son safe that he simply doesn’t have time for things like joy or frivolity, and that’s a risky character choice. It could make the man completely unlikable, but actor Sashko Kocev will win you over with his great performance. He absolutely nails the father’s stern single-mindedness, so even though this guy doesn’t sound very interesting on paper, he’s actually pretty fun to watch whenever he’s on screen.
In contrast, Marko is a typical fun-loving kid. He’ll play with anything he can get his hands on, even the food he and his dad are about to eat, and he loves exploring the woods around them. But as joyous as this boy is, his life also has a dark side. Remember, he’s living in a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic world, and he reacts exactly like you’d expect from a child his age. There are numerous scenes where Marko gets scared out of his mind, and actor Matej Sivakov totally nails those moments. You can see genuine fear in the kid’s facial expressions and body language, so if you didn’t know any better, you’d never think Sivakov was acting.
Last but not least, we have to talk about Miko. He’s played by Aleksandar Nicovski, and of the three main stars in Beyond the Wasteland, this boy is given the least to do. His character’s disability is severe enough that there’s not much depth to the kid, but Nicovski still manages to make him pretty endearing. He has excellent chemistry with his fellow child actor Matej Sivakov, so once Miko and Marko’s friendship really kicks into gear, you’ll love seeing these two boys together. They have a super sweet sibling-esque relationship that will melt your heart, and soon enough, they become the heart and soul of this story.
Those three main characters carry Beyond the Wasteland for much of the film’s runtime, but unfortunately, the story loses nearly all of its steam in the final 30-40 minutes or so. Once the characters set out on their journey, the narrative devolves into a series of disappointingly shallow encounters with woefully underdeveloped newcomers.
For example, there’s a stretch where Marko and his crew encounter a group that’s obviously villainous, but their motivations aren’t entirely clear. We get just enough of their backstory to be intrigued, but almost all our questions about these people go unanswered. They end up being the kind of paper-thin, generic bad guys you can see in about a million other zombie flicks, and given how much potential they have, that misfire is incredibly frustrating.
Along similar lines, there’s another faction that’s much more ambiguous, but their role in Beyond the Wasteland is just as underwhelming. They’re one step above a convenient plot device, and the one time they finally display some real heart, it’s way too little way too late. By then, the narrative has already unraveled past the point of no return, and not even the touching relationship between Miko and Marko can save it.
So at the end of the day, I’m sad to report that I wasn’t a fan of Beyond the Wasteland. Sure, there’s quite a bit to enjoy in this film, like the three lead performances and the frightening zombies, so if you’re dead-set on seeing it, you won’t be wasting your time. In fact, on a purely quantitative level, the good here easily outweighs the bad.
But on a qualitative level, it’s the other way around. The story just takes an absolute nosedive in the last 30-40 minutes, and by the time the credits begin to roll, it loses all the goodwill it worked so hard to build up. It’s a disappointing way to close out an experience that started with such promise, so if you’re looking for some good new horror to watch, I suggest you look elsewhere.
Beyond the Wasteland is set to hit VOD on November 5.
