'The Cured' Explores a Zombie Outbreak Aftermath in Which the Infected Revert Back to Being Humans

It is rare for a zombie movie to feature the concept of zombies becoming humans again (I believe it was only with 2013’s Warm Bodies where I encountered it happening for the first time).  So by making it its premise, the indie film The Cured makes itself intriguing from the get-go.

Ireland has been ravaged for years by a zombie outbreak before a cure is found at last.  It proves to be ineffective for 25% of the infected, but the rest have successfully reverted back to being human, and are slowly integrated back to society.  Interestingly, those cured retain the memories of the time they were still infected, and are no longer in danger of being attacked by zombies – the remaining 25% uncured – as they still see them as among their own.  However, they are hated by the general public who deem them responsible for their monstrous actions while they were zombies.  As a result, most of them are ostracized and maltreated.

Right from the start, based on the setup, it’s quite obvious that it will have a powder keg of a plot which explores heavy themes relating to discrimination, politics, and ethics.  And that it does by following the three key characters: Senna (Sam Kelley), a formerly infected young man tormented by the memories of the terrible deeds he had done; his widowed sister-in-law Abbie (Ellen Page), who welcomed him to live with her and her son, something he’s fortunate of getting as it rarely happens to the cured; and his friend Conor (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), who was a barrister before he was infected and is now forced to work as a janitor after his recovery, and who is growing more and more bitter of how they are being treated.

The narrative moves in a tedious pace, but the tension does build up until an explosive third-act.  But it could have used a bit more excitement and surprises.  Along the way, it can get moderately thought-provoking.   However, it never becomes as profound as I wished it could be (maybe because I’m unaware of any intended historical metaphors, if ever it has these).   Moreover, the ending is a tad vague, unfulfilling, and whimper-y for my tastes.

In the end, I think The Cured is a mixed bag.  I was invested from the start, due to its cool premise, and was engrossed for most of it.  The performances, script, and direction are fairly good.  But, as a whole, the film is not notably striking.  Now, I wasn’t exactly expecting it to break ground as a zombie film, but at the very least, I was hoping it would prove to be as worthwhile as last year’s unique zombie film The Girl with All the Gifts.