by Ken Wynne
Featuring the grotesque special effects of Marcus Koch (American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore, Frankenstein Created Bikers), Johnny Z is an action-horror hybrid not too dissimilar to the martial art gore-fests of the noughties like Ryuhei Kitamura’s Versus. However, whilst the Japanese export paid homage to the OTT splatter of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, Johnny Z‘s tone is far more serious, far less stylish, and relies far too heavily on CGI. Directed and co-written by Jonathan Straiton (Night of Something Strange) alongside co-writer Ron Bonk (She Kills), Johnny Z is set during a zombie epidemic that decimated the human race. The few who survive, who are looking for a cure, discover that ‘Test Subject Z’ – a human-zombie hybrid whose blood is resistant to the virus – could lead to the development of an antidote!
Sheltered by Kali grandmaster Jonray (stunt performer Felix Cores) and trained in the martial arts – despite his brother Crisanto’s (Jason Delgado) drunken apprehensiveness – Z (Michael Merchant), later named Johnny after Jonray’s deceased son, seeks merciless vengeance against his nefarious creators: NORDAC. From Johnny Z‘s opening sequence until the end credits, Straiton’s bilingual English-Spanish post-apocalyptic romp oozes fun despite some questionable acting; and although Koch’s contribution is minimal, the blood splatter is plentiful! It may take itself far too seriously, and the low-budget production can become a distraction (faux muzzle flashes aplenty!). Johnny Z has just enough zom-action to justify this recommendation.
Johnny Z is released on digital platforms on August 14th.
