Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Masterpiece!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I remember seeing this film back in 2008 around the time when it came out. I really liked it back then. Mostly because it's very minimalistic style. And I hugely liked Zombie movies (I still do, but not the modern fast zombies), so I had a chance to revisit the old memories. Zombie films were already overdone in 2008 and now the genre is finally out of juice. 'I Love Sarah Jane' somehow remains one of the few good modern zombie films, although the zombie apocalypse isn't in the main focus (probably because of the low budged). This film rather tells us story about orphaned kids and of course the first real love. And it is very hard not to love Sarah Jane (Mia Wasikowska) who looks strong, but is vulnerable inside, and can be pretty cruel if needed. If you are able to look pass at some minor flaws (the CGI special effects are not quite top notch), it is quite enjoyable short film from already tired zombie genre.

"I Love Sarah Jane" is an Australian 15-minute short film that takes place in a world where zombies are apparently nothing really abnormal anymore. This was made 7 years ago, so 2 years before "The Walking Dead". People who enjoy this show can check this one here out as well. Writer and director Spencer Susser is mostly known for his work on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Hesher". In terms of the story, this could have been better I think. The crush of the male protagonist on Sarah Jane occasionally feels really just side-action to the zombie plot. And it would have been actually fairly interesting to find out in detail about what happened to the father. They threw us an interesting quote, but sadly did not elaborate on it whatsoever. Anyway, this film is an interesting example on how differently careers can develop. Wasikowska is one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood right now from her age group, Brad Ashby has never acted in another movie before or after this one. It's obvious he is only second fiddle here to the title character. All in all, not a particularly great film though and only worth a watch for huge fans of zombie movies.

This short accomplishes what mainstream Hollywood-- more often than not-- fails to do in 2 1/2 hrs. You have a solid grasp of every character in the film. You develop sympathy and disgust, you see what makes them tick. And everyone of them is genuine. Maybe even the zombie. The kids are believable, and in fifteen minutes you have a full understanding of how complicated they are, and a genuine feel for their complications. To convey that in fifteen minutes of silly whimsy is truly a work of genius. It also provided a solid sense of place and the social circumstances surrounding what truly is a complete story. No mean feat. I loved it.

This short film is like THE LORD OF THE FLIES meets OMEGA MAN....with lots and lots and lots of cussing. The film begins with a 13 year-old kid on a bicycle riding through a town where the homes are mostly destroyed, bodies lie in the road torn apart and burned out hulks of cars are strewn about the road. Some sort of apocalyptic event has obviously occurred and soon you see that a zombie plague has destroyed society--leaving some kids but no adults. And, like THE LORD OF THE FLIES, the kids mostly do nothing productive. One loathsome teen spends his time torturing a zombie who is chained up and the rest just stand back and watch. However, the boy at the beginning of the film goes in the house and tries to strike up a conversation with a young lady. After an awkward attempt at conversation, the two go outside to see the bully blowing up the zombie--but, of course, this backfires and results in a rather grisly ending.While there are lots of cool elements to the film and it sure could have been great, the overall production had me feeling like the whole thing was a definite miss. Despite great zombie special effects and some interesting plot elements, seeing nasty teens curse non-stop like drunken sailors isn't my idea of entertainment. Sure, in such an awful world, it would be understandable to have some cursing (heck, if I saw a zombie I'd surely let out an amazing torrent of epithets)--but to have practically every other word be "f-this" and "f-that" gets very old and shows a lack of discipline or respect for the audience (unless you only want to appeal to a minority of the viewers). Why in recent years independent film makers feel that dialog like this is "edgy" or "hip" is beyond me--it just shows a lack of imagination. And this is a terrible shame, because it's obvious there were some great ideas and execution in this film. Clearly an opportunity lost for greatness.