State Zero – post apocalyptic short by Andrée Wallin from Andree Wallin on Vimeo.

State Zero – post apocalyptic short by Andrée Wallin

• Director, Writer: Andrée Wallin
• Producer: Claire Fleming
• Published: May 4, 2015
• Source: www.statezeromovie.com

Synopsis (from the Youtube site): “In the near future, the capital of Sweden has turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. We join four soldiers on a routine mission in ‘Zone 3’, with the assignment to investigate an old surveillance tower that just went offline. That’s the setting in first-time director Andrée Wallin’s short film. With Andrées direction, renowned visual concepts and designs, this short film is something extraordinary. Produced by Claire Fleming, the film was shot in London with an international cast, while all exteriors were shot in Stockholm. With incredible CGI and VFX by Bläck, this looks like an excerpt from a big budget blockbuster.”

Personal Thoughts:

State Zero is fantastic and professional work, and enough to keep this science fiction fan in suspense.

The visuals are near perfection, as almost no shot goes unwasted in presenting the mood and sequence of events. The special effects seem practical, to not so much wow the viewer, but keep up a believable setting and situation. We have this outside world of “present day” Stockholm, Sweden; a mesh of a familiar world gone astray, still for reasons unclear. The effects of decay, and nature reclamation show through great scans and beautiful filmography; especially from above and afar. The interiors show enough curiosity for us to explore with the cast; where if not for duty, this would be fun with all the mystery of the creepiness that happened before. I feel every light source, every space of abandoned equipment, the use of darkness are examples of great cinematography.

The military tech seems practical, and well prepared before any players to begin their slow descent into some survival horror 1st person mode. However, I am glad the movie did not go wasted into some long stereotypical gaming cut scene type. We do not know much on the persons involved in this mission, other than their purpose and drive to see matters done to their completion. This is enough, as I look on with personal interest. We finally meet the humanoid creatures, perhaps responsible for civilization’s decline, or taking advantage of it. Either way, they look awesome in their creepiness and digital-aided effects.

The story setting itself, not so much original. It sticks to a premise that usually works well. A post-apocalyptic world, now slowly regressing back. Leftover humans must organize and fight back together, probably. All the thrills are here with a civilization slowly taken back by nature, where our first world problems are finally put to rest. The clues to what may have happened are there, though not explained. What may have happened, could be explained by the inhumane human engineering done in the beginning, brought up later in the end. It’s creepy stuff, and believable as scientific experimentation and augmentations are being done today. This leads upon the science fictions to give us subtle warnings on the dangerous unknowns we face, should we continue.

Now, the better part of this story I enjoy is near its ending, as we slowly understand there may be more to some monsters than meets the eye. Sure, we have some sort of military strategy, and some tech to handle it all. But what about these creatures? They seem to show more humanity to the regular humans than what was initially planned for them. Do this new world belong to them, or will be forgiveness and understanding to perhaps correct the mistakes that brought them there? Hard to say in such a short film, but the changing point in this does leave room for questions.

State Zero is brilliant, and thoughtful. I would love another short film set in this world, perhaps giving a different view expanding upon the themes of this video. If not, then at least more excellent work from Andrée Wallin as director and writer.

– Orion T