Rarely does an animated family film come along claiming to be from the mind of Clive Barker, but here we are! Serving as splendid gateway horror for the entire family, Night of the Zoopocalypse brings monster mayhem to the colorful world of Colepepper’s Zoo. When I was a young lad, movies such as Gremlins, Return to Oz, and Hocus Pocus were very much my bread and butter. Night of the Zoopocalypse lovingly continues this tradition, paying tribute to genre movies while still giving the younger kids in the crowd plenty of quirky characters and silly moments. A potent mix of horror and comedy along with a dash of meta humor make this weirdly heartfelt flick into an especially memorable potential franchise-starter.
A nightmarish opening sequence eventually reveals that a pack of wolves are content in their enclosure at Colepepper’s Zoo. The central one we follow is rambunctious dreamer, Gracie (Gabbi Kosmidis), who thinks nothing interesting ever happens here. Each part of this zoo should be familiar: sectioned off and housing different breeds of animals. At the end of each business day, a giant clock adorned with replica animals sings its own off-brand iteration of “It’s a Small World” to signal that everyone left needs to go home. Unfortunately for Gracie and the others, this day will be rather abnormal. A small purple asteroid crash-lands into the zoo, burning its way into a nearby bunny barn.
An adorably chunky bunny eats a piece of the asteroid; the next time we see what has become of this fluffy creature, the bunny hangs encased in a goopy chrysalis. When it eventually bursts free, the bunny sports sharp claws and has eerie glowing eyes, quickly infecting the other bunnies. As the zoo falls into utter chaos, a small group of survivors barricade themselves inside the zoo’s vet office. The unlikely combination of animals makes for a particularly entertaining watch. Obviously, Gracie ends up among this group. Also along the ride are several others, including a snappy French lemur, a cowardly capybara, a deceitful monkey, and a driven ostrich. Gracie teams up with Dan (David Harbour) the mountain lion in an effort to get back to her pack, and potentially escape the zoo as those around them become zombified one by one.
Probably the main draw for many here will be the inventive creature design and horror elements. The zombified animals are mesmerizingly bizarre—they appear slicker and more jellylike than their lively counterparts. Their transition from normal zoo animals to grotesque alien mutations contains just the right amount of body horror so as not to fully put off younger audiences. There are plenty of them to go around, too; the zoo overflows with interesting creations that somewhat resemble intimidating video game bosses. In addition to the physical elements, screenwriters Steven Hoban and James Kee fold in a meta throughline by way of Xavier (Pierre Simpson) the lemur. Obsessed with the lessons of the “late night movie,” this oxygen-huffing lunatic is one of the film’s most memorable characters. He prattles on about what’s coming in act three well before we arrive there. My favorite, though, absolutely has to be Poot (Christina Nova), the tiny but fearless pygmy hippo. This cute-as-a-button youngster tags along mid-journey and steals almost every scene.
Featuring breakneck pacing and overstuffed with ideas, this unique animated movie remains a total blast from beginning to end. Its zoo setting feels like a wild theme park gone awry. The careful balancing act of horror tension with humor makes even tense moments feel fun. A specialized animation style carries a glossy aesthetic evoking Madagascar, whilst the genre pedigree should sit nicely alongside other spooky animated gems such as Coraline and Paranorman. In the end, Night of the Zoopocalypse evolves past its hybrid format into a truly engaging experience.
Terror rains down from the sky in Night of the Zoopocalypse, hatching in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 7th.
