It’s not often that you get quality entires in the kids’ horror genre, with Goosebumps, ParaNorman, and Coraline still reigning supreme. At first glance, Night Of The Zoopocalypse might seem like your typical low-budget, direct-to-video kids’ flick—not worth a second thought. But don’t be fooled; beneath this zombie shuffle hides an unexpected gem.
Night Of The Zoopocalypse follows Gracie (Gabbi Kosmidis), a young, eccentric zoo-born timber wolf whose cushy life in her faux cave implodes when a meteor crashes into the zoo, unleashing a zombie-inducing virus onto every creature it crosses. To survive, she rallies a ragtag squad of zoo critters: Dan (David Harbour), a mountain lion; Ash (Scott Thompson), an ostrich; Xavier(Pierre Simpson), a red-ruffed lemur; Felix (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), a monkey; and Frida (Heather Loreto), a capybara. While an unlikely pair, she and Dan team up to save the zoo from Bunny Zero, the leader of the infected “zoo-mbies”, and hunt down a cure to stamp out this zoopocalypse for good.
It’s apparent that the filmmakers didn’t just phone it on, but rather poured their heart and love of cinema into shaping this movie, infusing it with life to be enjoyed by all. Much attention is given to allow the horror tropes and aesthetic time to shine. Horror fans will be surprised with how well this film delivers, fitting nicely into the horror lineup, while also serving as a child-friendly entry into the genre.
Visually, it pushes the envelope and leaps off the screen. The near-constant use of bright, neon colors is captivating, and the dramatic, creepy lighting and swirling fog heighten the low-budget horror vibe. The character designs—bulging eyes, simple silhouettes, lack of realistic fur—have a unique flair, differing from the standard Pixar look that many studios have emulated in recent years. While omitting the fur texture on most of the animals was initially meant to keep costs low, the final cut proves it was a stylistic win.
The characters themselves are mixed bag. Gracie comes off flat and underwhelming, lacking any deep motivating drive, but her wild, gruff counterpart Dan steals the show, with Harbour giving more nuance to his performance. Poot (Christina Nova), the tagalong baby pygmy hippo, is downright adorable. Yet, the other zoo animals that make up the B-team—Ash, Xavier, Felix, and Frida—are one-note and filler, unnecessarily diverting the focus from the core storyline.
Another issue is the movie-obsessed Xavier, who constantly breaks the fourth wall with unneeded lines like “Convenient plot device” and “This feels like Act 2.” Aimed at laughs, he spoils any potential character development or tension, preventing the movie and characters from exploring these concepts on their own. He breaks one of the cinema’s cardinal rules: “Show, don’t tell.” Some might chuckle at these bits—as this movie plays differently to the adults who spot the horror nods—but it needlessly weakens an otherwise solid film.
Night Of The Zoopocalypse attempts to explore some interesting themes, but they end up being pretty tame: echoing Lady and the Tramp, the film dives into the concept of classism with the rifts between the wild-born versus zoo-born animals. With the animals having broken free from their cages, the predator-versus-prey dynamic comes into play, along with the “Watering Hole Truce”, where, in times of survival, animals temporarily shelve their differences and cooperate instead of being an independent lone wolf.
If you mix Madagascar and Open Season with Five Nights at Freddies and The Walking Dead, you get Night Of The Zoopocalypse. With its bold color palette and heartfelt nod to the horror genre, this films delivers a fun, spooky-light thriller for the whole family.
★★★
Night Of The Zoopocalypse hits theaters on March 7, 2025.
