An Australian Short Film following a father, being bitten during a Zombie Apocalypse, and struggling to make sure that he won't attack his baby daughter once he turns.
In 2017, Netfix released a feature-length remake starring Martin Freeman and significantly expanding the plot.
Contains examples of:
- Batman Gambit: Plays a combination of this and Thanatos Gambit on himself by tying his hands together and dangling a bit of meat on the end of a stick so that his reanimated self doesn’t pose a threat to his daughter. Sure enough, when he finally does succumb, he blindly follows the meat almost completely oblivious to the baby on his back barring the occasional look around for that suspicious crying noise until a sniper blows his head off and rescues Rosie.
- Due to the Dead: a couple of survivors from the group that shoot the father are seen digging a grave in the background while the woman in their group plays with Rosie.
- Friendly Sniper: The sniper who shoots Andy is seen waving towards a couple others in his group when they go to inspect the body.
- Minimalist Cast: Only seven characters appear, including the zombified mother, and one is in the distance and out of focus.
- Motivation on a Stick: The Father ties his hands together, holding a stick, and puts a piece of meat on the end of that stick in order to lure himself away from his daughter once he turns.
- One-Word Title
- Papa Wolf: The Father is determined to save his daughter's life even as he begins to turn.
- Token Minority: One of the survivors at the end appears to be Aboriginal.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Zombies are posing a pretty clear threat but the scope is unclear. Andy is confident of encountering other survivors, and indeed there are some nearby.
The 2017 extended remake contains examples of:
- Action Dad: Andy gradually evolves into one, and at least one of the Hunting party has a young kid as well.
- Awesome Aussie: Vic initially appears to be one, but, while good at killing zombies, he isn't too benevolent himself. The Aboriginal hunters play it straighter.
- Badass and Child Duo: Andy and his baby daughter Rosie, although a second child, Thoomi, is soon added to the mix and Andy isn't that tough.
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: When Andy and Vic end up struggling over a gun, a gunshot is only heard by Thoomi. Cut to Vic rising and stumbling, only to reveal he indeed managed to shot Andy.
- Beware the Living: Vic is willing to use other humans as bait to lure in zombies to kill and loot the corpses of, and is keeping a woman named Lorraine against her will as a Sex Slave.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Another father Andy and Thoomi encounter, in an RV, has lost hope after being bitten and is preparing to shot himself and his wife and children and advises Andy to do the same for himself and Rosie.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: One of the hunters is happily seen gathering up his own child, a toddler, in his arms after they return to their refuge.
- Casual Sports Jersey: One of the Aboriginal hunters wears one.
- Cool Old Lady: Etta, a teacher who encounters Andy shortly after he's bitten, gives him a little treatment and advice, and talks about her former students (including Thoomi) and how well they've been doing with some pride.
- Cosy Catastrophe: Australia (and potentially the world) is in complete disarray, but as far as the area where the plot is set is concerned, things aren't looking all that bad and there is a genuine chance situation will eventually improve over time. The zombies themselves don't seem to be particularly dangerous anyway.
- Doomed Protagonist: Once Andy is bitten by a zombified Kay, it's pretty much guaranteed that he won't survive the film. The suspense primarily comes from whether or not he can find a safe place for Rosie before he turns.
- Dramatic Irony: Each and every person Andy encounters turns out unsuitable to take care for Rosie, for different reasons:
- Etta is very old and on top of that is after a brain tumor, being short-supplied for vital medicine.
- Vic and Lorraine turn out to be a brutal, sadistic man and his Sex Slave.
- The family encountered early on is preparing for group suicide, having lost hope and their car, while the father being bitten.
- Friendly Sniper: Vic has a certain joviality to him (at first) and is a good shot.
- Good Samaritan: The hunters provide refuge for anyone they can find.
- Idiot Ball: The otherwise careful, competent and resourceful Andy and Kay end up both infected by passing the ball between each other. While in her case it at least can go as a fatal (if still stupidity-driven) accident, when he gets bitten, it's just to get the plot moving foward in the cheapest way imaginable. All that more jarring that in both cases it could have been very easily played out without either of them acting like complete morons just to get infected.
- It Can Think: After Andy fully turns and he’s found by the Aboriginals, he’s partially brought back to his senses temporarily after Thoomi sprays Kay’s perfume in his face and he recognises the smell, before reciprocating Thoomi squeezing his hand to indicate that they’ve found safety at last before one of the tribe put a spear through his skull.
- Little Miss Badass: Thoomi, who is a good survivor, and at one point rides on a zombie's back.
- Mama Bear: Josie has been searching long and hard for Thoomi (who avoids being found due to wanting to keep anyone from killing her zombified father) and shows joy and protectiveness of her when they finally reunite.
- Men of Sherwood: Besides Thoomi's mom, in the 2017 remake, the indigenous Australian hunters don't get much focus or characterization, but they kill zombies quickly and efficiently in every fighting scene they have. Other members of their community are also seen guarding their sanctuary and have apparently kept it safe.
- Mercy Kill: The Aboriginal tribe put a nearly full-zombified Andy out of his misery once he's assured that his daughter is safe.
- Motivation on a Stick: Literally Thoomi has a now mostly zombified Andy move forward by riding on his back and holding meat on a stick right in front of him.
- Named by the Adaptation: The Father is named Andy, and his wife is Kay.
- Noble Savage: Subverted with the Aboriginal hunting party, who have largely reverted back to their old culture, use sharpened spears as weapons, and are covered in white paint, but this is because the paint hides their scent from the zombies and the noise from using guns draws in more zombies, while killing them with spears doesn't. Two members of the group also appear to be white or of mixed ancestry.
- Our Zombies Are Different: While they lurch around like others, they don't like the sunlight and will even bury their heads in the ground to avoid it. There is a very clear time when they turn and visual symptoms that prompt it.
- Papa Wolf: Andy is very determined to protect his daughter and will do anything he can for her.
- Poor Communication Kills: Andy could have avoid a whole lot of bad things throughout the story if he was slightly more talkative and less abrasive when he finally does speak. Probably his biggest failure is not mentioning the marooned yacht has a zombie in it to his wife, which ultimately leads to Disaster Dominoes driving bulk of the story.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Thoomi and Rosie survive, are found by Thoomi's family, and are taken to a camp with lots of benevolent, mostly Aboriginal survivors.
- The Remnant: Downplayed. Andy stumbles across some zombified soldiers who, according to Vic, are from an army base that was just overrun making them a remnant that was gone before the POV character or audience had any clue of their existence.
- Safe Zone Hope Spot: Andy and his family briefly head to a rumored hospital which turns out to be just an old, underfunded for years rural infirmary.Andy: This place looked bigger on a map.Etta: We never cease to disappoint.
- Scenery Porn: Despite it being a Zombie Apocalypse story, the landscape of South Australia is still presented with all its glory.
- Serendipitous Survival: Andy and his family have survived safely for so long predominately by being on a houseboat in the middle of nowhere. A brief conversation Kay and Andy have indicates they coasted mostly on sheer luck before finding the houseboat, too.
- The Smurfette Principle: Thoomi's mother Josie is the only female member of the group of Aboriginal zombie-hunters.
- Stab the Scorpion: Vic is introduced having been crouching down, then firing a shot at Andy that was actually aimed at zombie coming at Andy from behind.
- Stay with Me Until I Die: Thoomi sprays some of Andy's wife's perfume onto his face and then holds his hand before letting the hunters put him down.
- Staking the Loved One: Andy uses one of the spring-loaded suicide kits mentioned below to put Kay down when she finally turns.
- Suicide Is Painless: The spring-loaded suicide kit provided by the government is intended to provide this. It even comes with a picture instruction to make sure it will cause a guaranteed, instant kill.
- Taking the Bullet: Lorraine does this for Andy in one scene as they try to flee Vic.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: Played With. Vic is aware that money is no good right now, but since he also believes things will eventually go back to normal, he still collects watches, cash, jewelry and alike. On top of that, he's adamant on securing a stock of things like gas and ammunition, knowing those are vital and will remain valuable even once things stabilise.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Zigzagged. Vic does put Thoomi in a cage to use as bait, but when he tracks them down and looks poised to harm Rosie in order to avenge losing Lorraine, he ultimately can't do it and lets them go.
- Zombie Advocate: Thoomi does not want her father to get hurt.
- Zombie Apocalypse: It is implied that the urban areas are gone, and the rural ones are struggling.
- Zombie Infectee: Andy, who is determined to find somewhere for his daughter before turning in 48 hours. Unlike typical example, he's open about the fact, but is advised to keep it secret until finding someone to take care for Rosie if he doesn't want to get shot or killed prematurely. The symptoms make any infectees highly visible anyway, long before they become actively dangerous.
