Routine

Does anyone feel like their world has been placed on a complete halt this 2020? Where you live your day just browsing through your phone, checking up on families and friends through social media platforms, and getting yourself entertained by mobile apps or movie streamings? We try our best to normalize our life by doing things that will make us sane. And as our present condition doesn’t seem to show good improvements which lengthen our days of self captivity. We develop a system within us to get through the experience. We start to establish a pattern, later on, it becomes a much needed to accomplish routine in order to fulfill something, like a hunger inside us, to feel complete for the day. Today’s feature short will ignite your wildest thoughts of the aftermaths of this pandemic. So make sure you grab a cup of joe while reading this review because this short film titled “Routine” by Russ Emanuel will intensify your day with a zombie apocalypse tomorrow.

“Routine” is like a time-bomb. It kept me thinking as the time winds down, and in the last few seconds before it explodes, it intensifies then gives out an unforgettable blast that will linger for a very long time. I like how the story surprised me. Well, you see, the film began focused on a set of feet of a young lady contemplating how life has been and how she’s been trying to get a hang of it. When every day seems like the same and doing nothing is counted as doing something. Our lead character, Cassie(Paige Laree Poucel), tries her best to follow her everyday routine in order to feel alive. Wake up in the morning, contemplate on the bed, get up, fix her bed, look out the window while drinking water, then get her daily fix of a cup of warm coffee. But what if the day doesn’t go as planned? What if something’s gone missing? Like for example, the cup of coffee. What would happen if she ran out of supplies? What would Cassie do to get the routine done? Living in a world where going out is a risk factor and is only advised if it is an absolute necessity. Where staying at home is highly advisable due to the inevitable constraints that await them in the outside world. Do you think Cassie will take that gamble on the peril to complete her day? Well, you have to find out.

Routine relive my crazy dream of a zombie apocalypse world. It may sound strange but Russ Emanuel was able to visualize and produce the perfect zombie world story from my head, as well as the perfect feisty heroine. The thing that I love more about this movie  is the butt-kicking ending scenes. It was fantastic, the comic-like animation blew me away. My jaw just dropped. The idea is fresh, creative, and engaging. I am begging for more, and I bet I wouldn’t be alone in this, if this film starts streaming, many more will do the same. Apart from directing, the musical score is also awesome! You wouldn’t regret watching this short film, this is a must see zombie apocalypse movie! Amazing work with very limited budget and in the midst of pandemic!