A zombie apocalypse destroys a chance at a sale of a camp in this Canadian horror-comedy from filmmaker Ding Wang.

In an era where a deadly strain of influenza has caused a pandemic, camp owner Clay lost business and as a result, is forced to sell the business. This does not bode well specifically for Julian, a young man who was practically raised at the camp. Vanessa, a lawyer representing the new buyer, arrives to take a look at the camp and despite Julian’s objections, she is just doing her job. However, seeing that Vanessa is not exactly a bad person, Julian starts to connect with her and even begins to crush on her.

However, when the new owner finally arrives, Julian is shocked to learn that Aaron is Vanessa’s boyfriend. He has brought over some friends with him, and they intend to turn the camp into a new area to create businesses, which infuriate Julian as well as Clay. Clay decides to come up with some tricks to force Aaron and his friends out of the camp. However, there’s about to be a bigger problem when the pandemic had struck the camp and it causes a zombie apocalypse!!!

From writer Diane Janna and director Ding Wang comes this Canadian gem of a horror-comedy that features a major horror trend in the zombie apocalypse and the current idea of social media influencers taking over land to make big business. This sounds pretty familiar. Well, replace the zombie apocalypse with a certain chainsaw-wielding maniac and replace a camp with a ghost town. This film could fit with a double feature with the recently released Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The film’s breakout star is newcomer Dean Persons, a Montreal-based actor who makes his debut as Julian, a young man who lived his life at the camp. We get to see him speak in both English and French as he vehemently objects to the camp being sold. He tries to reason with his confidant and camp owner Clay, played by Osawa Muskwa. However, this is the result of banks forced to shut down and sell businesses and thus, allows unscrupulous new owners to arrive and have plans that do not bode well with the camp itself.

Anne-Carolyne Binette is great as Vanessa, a lawyer who is only doing her job and serves as more of a neutral party because she seems how passionate Julian is about the camp being sold. She seems loyal to her boyfriend Aaron, played by Michael Czemerys, but seems to have a liking to Julian as he is a loyal type. It is when Aaron reveals his intentions to tear down the camp where she finds herself in a state of conflict. Aaron’s friends are just as arrogant as he is and once the zombie apocalypse hits, the tension to get them eliminated is about the same as the bus scene in Texas Chainsaw Massacre…you just can’t wait for it to happen.

The zombie scenes are a delight to watch as we see these rivals forced to team up to prevent the outbreak. There are some insane twists to this act but still a load of fun. After all, this is a horror-comedy and there are times when things get a bit funny. However, the final moments are quite a shock because something unexpected happens.

World Ends at Camp Z is a wild film involving the zombie apocalypse and modern-day influence on taking land for their own business. Dean Persons is a new face to look out for as he makes quite the debut here and the zombie scenes are quite enjoyable.

WFG RATING: B+

A Media DW Production. Director: Ding Wang. Producers: Ding Wang, Duojie Suonan, and Dayu Li. Writer: Diane Janna. Cinematography: René Arseneau. Editing: Alexander Mackenzie King.

Cast: Anne-Carolyne Binette, Dean Persons, Osawa Muskwa, Michael Czemerys, Arthur Bussières Gallant, Nathan Foss, James Chapman, Serge Blais, Picardy Jean-Pierre, Rafaela Salomao, Duojie Suonan.