It’s been a boon both for the horror genre – both creatively and financially – so it should come as no surprise that expanding that audience would be lucrative for a filmmaker.
That is the case with “Night of the Zoopocalypse,” a ‘horror’ film for the kiddos. Working off a concept from Clive Barker, “Night” is a clever little spin on “Night of the Living Dead” that plays well for the whole family.
“Night” follows a young wolf named Gracie (voiced by Gabbi Kosmidis) who teams up with a mountain lion named Dan (voiced by David Harbour) when a zombie outbreak occurs at the zoo they inhabit after a bunny ingests a substance from a comet that crash lands on the sight.
The outbreak has pretty much taken over the zoo with Gracie, Dan and a few other animals the only ones left to stop it.
The film was co-written by Steven Hoban and James Kee. Hoban has previously served as a producer on a slew of horror films including the “Ginger Snaps” trilogy and the 2006 remake of “Black Christmas,” so has a nice feel for the genre that you can see in the basic, but effective story.
There are plenty of jump scares that won’t traumatize the target audience, but also a nice mix of humor. The best moments come from a movie loving Lemur named Xavier (voiced by Pierre Simpson), who practically narrates the film in real time with his self awareness.
Co-directors Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro move it along at a zippy pace, with some vivid colors, some nice visual setups and an overall effective ambiance that serves as a fun primer to the horror genre for the younger audience members.
Ultimately, “Night of the Zoopocalypse” keeps everything pretty close to the vest – not trying to go anywhere beyond the means of its simple premise. It proves to be a rather effective introduction to scary movies for kids. At the same time it has enough in the tank to keep the rest of the audience engaged as well.

If You Go
“Night of the Zoopocalypse”
Starring: David Harbour, Gabbi Kosmidis
Directed by: Ricardo Curtis, Rodrigo Perez-Castro
Playing at: Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10
Grade: B-