February 7, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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Far From A Stale Undead Tale – MadS (Fantastic Fest 2024)

A scene from MadS of a young girl with blood covering her face while another girl laughs behind her

MadS, which had its North American premiere at this year's , is the latest feature from The Eye director and Them writer David Moreau. While it may seem light on an overall plot, with more focus on filming style and structure, it succeeds in what it sets out to do. It brings in its own lore and rules, giving audiences just enough to draw their own conclusions. MadS has a chaotic energy that matches the characters it follows, which only increases as the story moves along. And by choosing only to follow a few characters it allows us to see a microcosm of the pandemonium typical in the zombie subgenre.

The film starts with a teenager named Romain who is picking up some new drugs from his dealer before going to celebrate his birthday. While heading home he attempts to assist an injured and distressed woman he sees on the road. Her behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre, and Romain, being hopped up on drugs, has no idea what to do. This random encounter changes the trajectory of his night and the night of his friends. This single-take story follows Romain and a handful of his friends as the night proceeds and mounting mayhem ensues.

While many zombie stories focus on hordes of undead humanoids wreaking havoc on the population, MadS is much more contained. In this way, it aligns with films like Shivers and Rabid and newer releases like Handling the Undead. Much like the characters involved, we have little to no idea what is going on, just that people begin acting erratic and violent. While audiences might want more of an explanation, it would not add much to this tale. Considering how overdone the subgenre is, it seems unnecessary to continue giving us the same variations on the same disease. But Moreau does leave us breadcrumbs to craft a simple enough explanation but otherwise leaves us guessing much like the characters embroiled in these events.

Focusing on a handful of characters means that performances carry much of the story. Romain is not the most compelling character, but once we follow his girlfriend and her best friend, the story ramps up. These girls excel at expressing the cacophony of thoughts and emotions that take over in such an unprecedented moment. The undead also have a unique set of behaviors and personalities which make it interesting to spend time with them as well. In this way, it feels like a breath of fresh air from a subgenre that can often get as stale and old as the undead creatures they follow. Even to the point that we get a great monstrous feminine performance.

Moreau brings a bleak sense of humour to the story as we frequently see characters interacting with modern technological advancements that offer little to no reassurance when the world around them falls apart. It also increases the sense of loneliness as people are unable to trust anything they would find comfort in. Ultimately we are left with the bleakness that the genre often carries along with the almost humorous madness of such an unexplainable event. MadS is a subtly clever ride that offers plenty of fun and chaos for its viewers.

MadS had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2024 on Saturday, September 21. It is available to stream via on October 18.