When Z-O-M-B-I-E-S premiered on Disney in 2018, I don’t know if people thought it would be the next High School Musical or Descendants, but it sort of did become that.
Hence, when the movie premiered on Disney this July, I was excited for the new flick, neither HSM nor Descendants has been a quadrilogy. (Descendants: The Rise of Red of 2024 was set in the same universe, but no characters apart from Uma returned.)
But after finishing Zombies 4: Dawn of the Zombies, now I can kind of see why my favorite franchises have stopped after trilogies. Maybe the character’s stories all become used up. Because that’s how I felt with the Zombies 4 movie after the first 30 minutes. So, check out what the pros and cons of the latest installment are:
But, First, The Plot:
Addison and Zed, alongside Will and Elizago, are on their way to summer camp, but after a small accident, they go in different ways to find help. Zed and Meg are separated into different magical places, the former on the Daywalkers’ side, the latter in the Vampire zone.
Afterwards, they find out that the groups are rivals and both need “Blood Fruit” for power. For that, they have to work together to unlock the fate of the Blood Fruit orchard, for which Zed and Addison take the roles of literal guidance counselors.
Pros are coming, but let’s take a look at the cons first…
Things That Do Not Work:
Lack of Side Characters
Lack of Side Characters Only 4 members from the previous movies are in the latest installment: Addison, Zed, Willa, and Eliza. No other humans, Zombies, werewolves, or aliens, which were introduced in the previous three installments. Instead, basically six more characters are introduced: Daywalkers’ group leader Nova, Vampire leader Victor, their “second in command” Ray and Vera, and, of course, one leading elder figure for both clans.
Now, I have no problems with these new additions, but neither the side plots nor the side characters are that interesting.
We do get Eliza, Kelly Russell, back again from the cast of Zombies 4 Dawn of the Vampires after she was interning at Z-Corp in Zombies 3. But she doesn’t have more than 3-4 scenes. I believe she had more dialogue in the previous film when she was talking through a screen.
@The Walt Disney Company
The Storyline
Going to a camp and getting stuck in a magical place seemed nice enough. What the storyline should’ve done is just that, but it seemed uninspiring. Why are Meg and Zed acting like they are actually training 6-7-year-old campers? Like, Daywalkers and Zombies are at the same age you were in the first movies, guys. Meg Donaneley’s and Milo Meinheim’s characters feel like side characters in their own (literally produced) movie, where “Nova” and “Victor” are leads.
Where’s Comic Relief?
In every Zombie movie or any Disney movie, really, comedy becomes one of its major elements. If we are talking particularly about this franchise, all throughout the trilogy, we’ve had Bucky, Bonzo, Seabrooke’s principal, and more provide hilarious sequences.
But I don’t think this feature or character has been passed on to Zombies 4 full movie. Even if you didn’t have a returning cast, at least include some Zombies 4 cast members who add some funny situations, dialogue, or scenes.
Zombies 4 Soundtrack
Still 8 years after the premiere of Zombies 1, I have the Bop hits, “Shrimpy In The House” and “Someday.” Over the years, my Musical playlist has become more and more vibrant with the addition of other Zombies movie hits as well, including “Flesh and Bone,” “One For All,” “Come On Out,” and more.
But when it comes to even the most top-rated Zombies 4 songs, such as “Don’t Mess With Us” or “The Place To Be,” I don’t think they will be added to my playlist, much less stay there for years and years.
Of course, whether it be the Zombies 4 soundtrack or any other movie, it’s quite a subjective matter, but my guess as to why the songs are not working as much is that maybe due to the fact that the composer for this film is different than previous Disney movies of the series. The Zombies 4 movie is composed by Tom Howe, while the rest of the movies were done by George S. Clinton and Amit May Cohen.
Pros
@(Disney/Matt Klitscher)
The Choreography
Even if the Zombies 4 songs are not as big hits as the other movies in the franchise, I believe the choreography is just as fast and fun. The dance sequences happen at the right time and look perfect for kids.
The Acting
Whether it be the High School Musical, Descendants, or Zombies franchise, the acting of these top-rated Dcoms has never been bad, according to me. Yes, they are a little dramatic, but none of the actors look out of their characters to me, especially for movies made for kids.
(Disney/Matt Klitscher)
Same goes for the direction by Paul Hoen, who’s been with the franchise since the start. The sets and production quality are okay for a Disney Movie, as in the previous movies.
Special Note:
In one of the IMDB Zombies 4 reviews, I read that a user, Luckylavallee, wrote, “I’ve never seen the first three Zombie films, but decided to give the 4th a try—and I loved it!” And this is where I get the positivity towards the cast of Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires might be coming from.
If you haven’t seen the rest of the movies in the franchise, then of course, you won’t be connected to the rest of the characters apart from the two main leads. If I had watched the Disney Dcom without having watched the rest, I too probably would’ve been fascinated with the fantastical land where monsters of every kind just mingle.
Q. Does Zombies 4 Dawn of the Vampires have an after-credits scene?
Ans: Yes, the movie ends on a supernatural Water Tornado/ spout forming from the ocean as Nova and Victor hug. This makes us anticipate the upcoming sequel, if there will be one.
(Disney/Matt Klitscher)
Conclusion
If you wanted to add more characters to the same universe as Seabrooke, the producers and the team could’ve done so; They’ve done it to the Descendants franchise last year with only Uma returning from the previous movie, and it was a hit.
If this romantic Romeo and Juliet movie were marketed in the same way, I probably wouldn’t have made this big of a disappointing Cons list. If it was all about “passing the torch” to the next generation, then it should’ve been clear who the main stars are and who are just guiding them towards the goal from the posters and the promotional material.
Lastly, I’d say, as someone who has grown up with the Disney Franchise, I’m pretty disappointed. If I hadn’t seen the previous movies, I would’ve liked it a bit more, but now I know how funny the people of Seabrooke can be. Zed and Addison’s journey seems to have officially ended (as they seem to hint in the movie at every other conversation) but I’m excited to see Nova and Victor’s journey, granted Disney doesn’t disguise who the storyline actually makes a star of
