I love movies of this nature but they need to be well written to pull it off. Free itThis didn't happen here and the story was not that compelling. To make matters worse the production has a very cheap look and the cast are horrific actors which makes it even more burdensome to get through the movie on top of it all the main characters are highly unlikeable so you really don't care what they got going on.
11 Reviews
Decent Low-Budget Sci-fi Film about Trauma.
betchaareoffendedeasily21 May 2019
It seems people miss the point of this film, although the plot description on here gives you a fairly accurate idea of what to expect here, there is more going on under the surface than than just the basic "time loop" premise, which fyi, this is not a time-loop movie, if anything, it is a memory loop film. It has a lot to say in regards to how we deal with trauma and pain from our past. It is very low-budget, with a small cast.
The acting is decent, no one was bad, unless I suppose you're not used to low-budget films. At first I wasn't feeling the acting, but it got better as it went along, I was afraid the acting was be awful throughout the film, but it is not. The script isn't bad as some people may imply here, the story and characters are interesting, and the film does not overstay it's welcome.
The concept of the drug Zootropics is interesting in it, it is a highly addictive drug, that's purpose seems to be to make you forget things and put you in a blissful state, but on the flip side, it has permanent effects on your memory. This is the crux of the film, it is really painful memories and trauma and what we do to forget them.
I was a little confused why some people had some type of English accent and some had an American accent, but other than that, I enjoyed the movie. I thought, while it definitely borrows a lot from films such as "Groundhog's Day" and even "Inception", it does it very well. It isn't a carbon copy, it takes the barebones of the concepts in "Groundhog Day" and "Inception" to some degree. The earlier film "11:59" used the same concept as "Groundhog Day", before "Groundhog Day" came out, and many movies since have used this plot device. Zoo-head" genuinely tries to put a fresh spin on the concept, and while it doesn't totally succeed, largely due to budget constraints, I give it points for doing a decent job and putting in some fresh ideas.
The main character Charlie, at first, is a pretty awful and loathsome person, like the friend you don't want, but keep helping anyway. He is a total addict and doesn't care that he is a mess and eats rotten meat because he's so wasted. Despite this, there is an actual character arc and growth for the main character, and the side characters are interesting enough. His girlfriend is actually not an awful person, and really grounds the film. This is a movie about people in desperate circumstances, some who want to get out of them, and some who don't. I felt the lead character's journey was genuine, and the conclusions that he had reached by the end actually made sense, they felt like a natural progression of his character, not just convenient plot contrivances; that, for me, is one of the things that elevates this film above average. It isn't extremely technically proficient, but it is serviceable in regards to direction, lighting, pacing, sound, etc.
This film was not overly ambitious, but it had interesting and a few unique plot turns, and realistic characters. There are several possibilities by the end, it is left fairly open, and having watching the movie twice, there are several hints of what could actually be taking place, several different ideas, but it is wisely left open for us to interpret.
I also love the movie cover art, it is pretty eye catching.
God Bless ~Amy
The acting is decent, no one was bad, unless I suppose you're not used to low-budget films. At first I wasn't feeling the acting, but it got better as it went along, I was afraid the acting was be awful throughout the film, but it is not. The script isn't bad as some people may imply here, the story and characters are interesting, and the film does not overstay it's welcome.
The concept of the drug Zootropics is interesting in it, it is a highly addictive drug, that's purpose seems to be to make you forget things and put you in a blissful state, but on the flip side, it has permanent effects on your memory. This is the crux of the film, it is really painful memories and trauma and what we do to forget them.
I was a little confused why some people had some type of English accent and some had an American accent, but other than that, I enjoyed the movie. I thought, while it definitely borrows a lot from films such as "Groundhog's Day" and even "Inception", it does it very well. It isn't a carbon copy, it takes the barebones of the concepts in "Groundhog Day" and "Inception" to some degree. The earlier film "11:59" used the same concept as "Groundhog Day", before "Groundhog Day" came out, and many movies since have used this plot device. Zoo-head" genuinely tries to put a fresh spin on the concept, and while it doesn't totally succeed, largely due to budget constraints, I give it points for doing a decent job and putting in some fresh ideas.
The main character Charlie, at first, is a pretty awful and loathsome person, like the friend you don't want, but keep helping anyway. He is a total addict and doesn't care that he is a mess and eats rotten meat because he's so wasted. Despite this, there is an actual character arc and growth for the main character, and the side characters are interesting enough. His girlfriend is actually not an awful person, and really grounds the film. This is a movie about people in desperate circumstances, some who want to get out of them, and some who don't. I felt the lead character's journey was genuine, and the conclusions that he had reached by the end actually made sense, they felt like a natural progression of his character, not just convenient plot contrivances; that, for me, is one of the things that elevates this film above average. It isn't extremely technically proficient, but it is serviceable in regards to direction, lighting, pacing, sound, etc.
This film was not overly ambitious, but it had interesting and a few unique plot turns, and realistic characters. There are several possibilities by the end, it is left fairly open, and having watching the movie twice, there are several hints of what could actually be taking place, several different ideas, but it is wisely left open for us to interpret.
I also love the movie cover art, it is pretty eye catching.
God Bless ~Amy
The concept is good, but the story is not.
XueHuaBingYu19 May 2019
Zoo Head is sort of seems to be low budget film with amateur directing and performances. Although this film is kind of sloppily done, I like the concept of living the same day over and over again. So, I'd say the concept is good but the story needs to be better than this. I mean instead of making the story based on the guy who is using drags, it'd be better if the story is based on different type of guy.
The running time is too short. I mean normally, for a film, it should have at least 1 hour and 30 minutes. So that the viewers will have satisfactions. But as for this film, I think having 1 hour and 20 minutes is better. At least we don't have to endure for such a long time.
The ending is the worst. The audiences didn't get what is real and what is not. It's like Charlie said, we don't even know what is real and what is fake. We don't get to know the truth. They should have continued to the scene where Charlie got out of the loop. But now? It's like kind of cut off in the middle.
All in all, Zoo Head is kind of a bad film, but it's still watchable. The speed is slow and it's kind of boring but the concept is good and I like it. If they could improve the story line and all, it'd be better than this.
The running time is too short. I mean normally, for a film, it should have at least 1 hour and 30 minutes. So that the viewers will have satisfactions. But as for this film, I think having 1 hour and 20 minutes is better. At least we don't have to endure for such a long time.
The ending is the worst. The audiences didn't get what is real and what is not. It's like Charlie said, we don't even know what is real and what is fake. We don't get to know the truth. They should have continued to the scene where Charlie got out of the loop. But now? It's like kind of cut off in the middle.
All in all, Zoo Head is kind of a bad film, but it's still watchable. The speed is slow and it's kind of boring but the concept is good and I like it. If they could improve the story line and all, it'd be better than this.
Let's Rip Off Not One Movie, But TWO!
royalallenactor18 August 2020
The movie itself was tolerable...pretty much just a low budget sci-fi version of Groundhog Day meets Requiem for a Dream...
...and then the first blatant rip off: Fight Club. The whole "father/god" speech of Tyler Durden is repeated here almost verbatim, and the character was even identical.
...and again at the and, yet another near verbatim rip off: The end of Vanilla Sky, where Kurt Russel's character busts through the rooftop door to exclaim his "realness"... except it happens here on a beach with the same Tyler Durden ripoff.
An homage is one thing, but when your film is only 80 minutes long and you STILL can't write your own material so you steal scenes from other popular films...then your movie itself is trash.
Next time, write your OWN material!
...and then the first blatant rip off: Fight Club. The whole "father/god" speech of Tyler Durden is repeated here almost verbatim, and the character was even identical.
...and again at the and, yet another near verbatim rip off: The end of Vanilla Sky, where Kurt Russel's character busts through the rooftop door to exclaim his "realness"... except it happens here on a beach with the same Tyler Durden ripoff.
An homage is one thing, but when your film is only 80 minutes long and you STILL can't write your own material so you steal scenes from other popular films...then your movie itself is trash.
Next time, write your OWN material!
Repetition In Its Own Cannot Make A Great Film
HLX199217 July 2019
To do this film justice, Zoo-Head is still a watchable film, in spite of all of its traits of cult films. The reason for an average rating of 4, I presume, lies in many classic works that came into light much prior to this one, such as Triangle, Groundhog Day and Rola rennt, among many others that might be easily cited by any cinema lovers. Well, this is a passable one, but to use the theme already exploited by other great filmmakers, this film is totally overshadowed and may even seem lame in many ways.
Best indie movie so far this year!
ron_iamamo21 May 2019
Zoo-head is a very entertaining sci-fi story about a junkie stuck in a loop. The direction was great and one could feel the diverse influences Navin Dev had (fight club, etc...).
The actors were really passionate about their role, the lead actor even lost 20kgs to look like a real junkie! Remember his name, he'll definitely make it big!
The story wasn't never seen before and yet, you do want to know how it ends. I saw it at the Sci-fi London Film Festival and everyone at one point hold their breath to know what would happen next.
Zoo-head is a very fresh approach to « loop movies » à la Groundhog day or Run Lola run! With a dash of Trainspotting and a splash of Fight club, Zoo-head is for sure a movie that will stay in my mind for a while!
I also must mention the incredible soundtrack that put me back directly to classic John Carpenter tensions (especially « Prince of darkness » and « the thing »). Huge gratz to that!!!
I give it 10/10 also to balance the unfair (and dumb) 1/10 from those who simply didn't get it.
The actors were really passionate about their role, the lead actor even lost 20kgs to look like a real junkie! Remember his name, he'll definitely make it big!
The story wasn't never seen before and yet, you do want to know how it ends. I saw it at the Sci-fi London Film Festival and everyone at one point hold their breath to know what would happen next.
Zoo-head is a very fresh approach to « loop movies » à la Groundhog day or Run Lola run! With a dash of Trainspotting and a splash of Fight club, Zoo-head is for sure a movie that will stay in my mind for a while!
I also must mention the incredible soundtrack that put me back directly to classic John Carpenter tensions (especially « Prince of darkness » and « the thing »). Huge gratz to that!!!
I give it 10/10 also to balance the unfair (and dumb) 1/10 from those who simply didn't get it.
Fight club?
stanulir9 February 2020
Genuine review. Trippy, complex, meaningful!
jamiekevindee15 May 2019
Before anyone tries to accuse me of being part of the film crew I can assure you I am not...
Honestly though if you have the patience.. this film is trippy as f#ck lol... At first I thought the acting was a little off but it got better, seriously... Great indie film.. and like I said trippy and complex..
Worth a watch definitely!
Honestly though if you have the patience.. this film is trippy as f#ck lol... At first I thought the acting was a little off but it got better, seriously... Great indie film.. and like I said trippy and complex..
Worth a watch definitely!
Wow
james06199320 May 2019
The director went all in
jrneptune21 July 2022
Navin Dev wrote and directed the movie and got it started with his own money as well.
Betchaareoffendedeasily provides a great review, but I feel compelled to add a few more points.
People that get addicted to a drug that takes away all the bad memories in effect lock themselves away in a prison of their own making.
I took the time to watch an interview the Director gave, and he explained some of it but, I would also add two or more people interacting together can create a synergy they would not see working alone. Explaining why some couples or teams can be so successful.
I would also add I loved how the end could be interpreted so many different ways as well.
Well worth the 80 minutes to watch it.
Betchaareoffendedeasily provides a great review, but I feel compelled to add a few more points.
People that get addicted to a drug that takes away all the bad memories in effect lock themselves away in a prison of their own making.
I took the time to watch an interview the Director gave, and he explained some of it but, I would also add two or more people interacting together can create a synergy they would not see working alone. Explaining why some couples or teams can be so successful.
I would also add I loved how the end could be interpreted so many different ways as well.
Well worth the 80 minutes to watch it.
Good one
drhajermohdd8 August 2019
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