This One-Take Horror Movie Is Giving The Zombie Genre New Life On Streaming

The zombie movie isn't dead, but it certainly feels like its been shuffling on its last legs for the last few years. George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" didn't quite create the zombie movie, but it more or less solidified the ideas and tropes we now associate with it. There were many zombie movies in the years following the 1968 release of "Night of the Living Dead," some of them directed by Romero himself. But at some point, zombie horror became ubiquitous and overdone. If I had to pinpoint the start of this oversaturation, it was probably the combination of Danny Boyle's low-fi zombie flick "28 Days Later" in 2002, Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead" remake and Edgar Wright's comedy "Shaun of the Dead," both released in 2004, and the 2010 premiere of "The Walking Dead." In the wake of these particular titles, it suddenly felt like zombies were everywhere. And after a while, things began to grow stagnant — there's only so much you can do and say with a particular sub-genre. 

But every now and then, someone comes along to inject new life into zombies. This year, we have "MadS," writer-director David Moreau's pretty damn good French horror movie now streaming on Shudder. "MadS" isn't a zombie movie in the vein of Romero — it feels more akin to the aforementioned "28 Days Later," with its violent, fast-moving infected people unleashing apocalyptic chaos. But the zombie-adjacent angle isn't the real hook of "MadS." No, what makes this movie special is that it's designed to look like it was shot in one long take. One-take movies vary in terms of quality — they can either be wonderful demonstrations of artistic skill or cheap gimmicks, depending on who you ask. Thankfully, "MadS" justifies its one-take approach, and never feels like it's cheating, either. 

"I needed this movie to be as truthful and as honest as possible," Morreau told Polygon. "So when I had this idea of making a oner — it has to be one take ... Moviemaking is not like a contest — it's just, I wanted this to be real and true. So we had to do it in only one take." 

As "MadS" opens, teenager Romain (Milton Riche) buys some drugs from a friend, snorts a few lines, and then heads home. Right away, director Moreau starts pulling out all the stops, not just with the one-take set-up that begins from the jump, but also with the film's title card, which appears as a huge structure Romain drives through on his journey. Blasting music, Romain is high and enjoying the moment, but this is the beginning of the end for anything resembling happiness in "MadS." After dropping his cigarette in his lap, Romain pulls over to the side of the road to make sure he hasn't burned the upholstery of his (very nice) car. While he's stopped, a bloodied young woman wrapped in bandages crawls into the car. She can't seem to speak, but she's clearly in distress. Things quickly go downhill from here.

I won't give away too much to avoid major spoilers, but as I mentioned above, "MadS" is a kind of zombie movie. Soon, we follow Romain as he ends up at a party with his friends. More drugs are consumed. And trouble spreads. Characters think they might be having a bad trip, but we know better: there's an infection spreading, and by the time the movie reaches its dark climax, lots and lots of blood will be spilled ("MadS" does not skimp on the gore). 

Moreau uses his one-take scenario to effectively show the way a virus spreads from person to person. This also enables the film to shift perspectives — we start with Romain, then move on to his girlfriend Julia (Lucille Guillaume), and so on. The movie unfolds at a fast pace, and the one-shot set-up keeps us on our toes. There were one or two moments here and there where I felt like I could see the seams of what Moreau was constructing, but for the most part, "MadS" really does seem like it's a film unfolding in one long, unblinking take. The end result feels like it's adding something fresh to the well-worn zombie sub-genre. There's a real sense of urgency here; of certain doom spreading quickly, with seemingly nothing able to stop it. It's a great twist on the formula that proves you can still do something memorable with the zombie sub-genre. 

"MadS" is now streaming on Shudder.