Lord of the Flies meets The Road in this ruthless, thrilling romp about posh boarding school kids fighting a deadly virus
Adapted from a trilogy of young adult books by Scott K Andrews, that forms part of the “shared world” Afterblight Chronicles series, this gory
British boys’ school-set sci-fi posits a deadly virus that swiftly kills almost everyone everywhere except those with a particular blood type. If The Lord of the Flies crossed with The Road and a dash of Tom Brown’s School Days sounds like your bag of blood, than this ruthless romp will be a kick in the head.
Director Oliver Milburn, who has made a bunch of horror-themed shorts and one feature (The Harsh Light of Day), has a real knack for staging action and coaxing sincere, punchy performances from his mostly young cast. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Lee (Oscar Kennedy, actually 22 but babyfaced enough to pass for a teenager), one of the few scholarship boys at St Mark’s, a posh all-male school deep in the English countryside. Busted by the headmaster (Anthony Head, forever Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) for a silly prank, he gets expelled on the same day the
UK government starts talking about closing the border to prevent the spread of a deadly virus.