I Love Sarah Jane (2008)

This short film is well known, doing very well in festivals and online – not at all hurt by the presence of Mia Wasikowska in the title role (who at the same time was being amazing in season 1 of HBO's In Treatment). The plot sees a handful of younger children and teens, who are alone in a zombie wasteland. Some of them are tormenting a zombie restrained outside, but for one of the boys his focus is on his crush for the older Sarah Jane.There is a nice idea here – or rather a series of nice ideas. The coming-of-age sort of element, with a delicate and shy crush on an older girl, playing out in such an aggressive environment; the plot development of the ending; the Lord of the Flies element of chaos and lack of restriction on those of an age who need restrictions the most. I wanted it to be stronger than it was because of all these things. Unfortunately it doesn't quite make the first half work as well as it needed to. The second half is stronger, with some brutal and heart- felt elements, but unfortunately these have the side- effect of making the first half feel disconnected from the rest – and the crush and the 'main' character suddenly seems less important and interesting.Wasikowska sells it, and stands out. The rest of the cast are not so convincing in themselves; although the special effects are much more convincing and engagingly done. There are good elements here, and it is worth seeing, but it doesn't totally make use of its good ideas, even if the ending is quite strong.

Zombie horror has become so exhausted and clichéd as of late that it's becoming exceedingly hard to find any fresh and original takes on this particular premise. Director/co-writer Spencer Susser gives the ol' lethal walking dead flesh-eaters bring about the end of the world as we know it story a much-needed potent and invigorating kick in the pants by focusing on how said apocalypse would have a profound impact on a handful of kids left to fend for themselves sans adult supervision. Naturally, said tykes would lose almost all residual traces of decent humanity and behave in the worst manner imaginable by degenerating into savagery (one particularly sadistic teenager gleefully tortures a hapless tied-up zombie), swearing excessively, and drinking beer. Moreover, there's a sweet central romance with the awkward Jimbo (well played by Brad Ashby) pining for the lovely Sarah Jane (a fine performance by the beguiling Mia Wasikowska, who went on to portray the title character in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland"!). But it's the sudden moments of raw and vicious violence that provide an extra hard-hitting edge, with an especially disturbing conclusion in which Sarah Jane proves to be the toughest of the bunch. Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw gives the picture an effectively gray'n'gloomy look while the opening smooth tracking showing a corpse-strewn suburban wasteland is truly striking and impressive. Michael Lira's spare droning score likewise does the trick. The use of the cutesy ditty "Like a Lollipop in a Candy Shop" over the ending credits is simply brilliant. Why, this short even manages the remarkable feat of making the zombie (Richard Mueck in gnarly rotting skull-faced make-up) a rather pitiable figure as he's senselessly brutalized by the kids. Highly recommended.

I Love Sarah Jane (2008)** 1/2 (out of 4) Nice short film from Australia about a small group of kids living in a post apocalyptic world where one of them wants to be with the lovely Sarah Jane. While his buddies stay outside torturing a zombie, he'd much rather be inside with her. There's not too much to this short but for what it is it remains mildly entertaining from start to finish. I liked the idea of having a group of kids being the last people on Earth and I think the film benefits from having a rather fun way of them picking on a zombie like we'd normally just see them picking on a dorky kid. The zombie is tied up and can't defend itself so we see them slapping him around and even taking a weed eater to its face. The movie is well directed and the kid performances aren't too bad. We get some mild gore for horror fans as well as a nasty kill.

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.