In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

EXTINCTION is a cheap Hungarian zombie flick that goes for the post-apocalyptic vibe on what is obviously a tiny budget. The setting is a snowbound house, where survivors hole up a decade after an apocalypse wiped out mankind and replaced them with feral, super-fast flesh-eating creatures. The protagonists are a couple of rival guys and a kid and they spend most of the screen time either fighting or in an uneasy alliance. The horror aspects of the production turn out to be very limited, at least until the climax, and for the most part there's just one zombie on screen at a time. What I disliked about this film was the look - all dark, cold and blue, just like many modern digital horrors - and the fakeness of the CGI effects, which render all of the big stunt scenes quite laughable. The acting is okay and the story offers more structured characters than you typically see in this genre, but this is nothing to get excited about.

Extinction feels like a movie that can't decide what it wants to be. Zombie flick or a PG drama about a single Dad bringing up a child. Maybe the writer handed over some scribbled notes and then disappeared.The sets were all well done, with high level production values, but where's the damn story. NOTHING of any interest occurred for long sections at a time. Mostly centring around feeding the kid and listening to her whine. The first hour should have been compressed into 30 minutes.The tension between the men was confusing. Stringing out the audience can be effective if information is fed in appropriate chunks. But we actually need the clues before the end of the film if we're to draw conclusions early enough to care. The 'cliffhanger' wasn't pivotal to the story.On the plus side, I thought the Zombie was excellent. As a hybrid, evolving species it was a formidable hunter despite it's lack of sight. There are no explanations why it might be evolving in this way though. And something that bleeds before it has been injured will probably be weakened, not made stronger.Extinction is a slow film. The only reason a person of my tastes would watch it is for the unique Zombie footage.

In recent years I have really struggled to come across a zombie horror movie which really interested me. This movie is not the most original I have ever seen and it is relatively predictable however I did still find myself entertained through 90% of the film. The characters were, for the most part, likable and it had some tense moments. The 'zombie' design was not very original but creepy nonetheless. The acting was decent and the setting was interesting. As the movie went on I felt it comparable to the likes of 'I am Legend', 'The Descent' and 'Signs'. All of which I consider pretty good movies so I wasn't too bothered about the obvious similarities. All in all I felt it was an hour and a half well spent and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of this genre.

When are they finally going to stop making so many redundant, derivative and overly pretentious new zombie movies?!? No wait… Better question: when am I finally going to stop watching all those redundant, derivative and overly pretentious new zombie movies? If there are two sub genres that have truly outstayed their horror welcome, it's the light-headed zombie comedy and the depressing zombie apocalypse drama. The first of the two can still be enjoyable, in case you manage to switch off all brain functions, but the latter are usually very tiresome and pompous movies from aspiring young directors that desperately try to add something new without realizing that literally everything has been done before in the zombie film industry. The unique selling point of this "Extinction" (apart from the fact that it's a Spanish-American- Hungarian-French co-production) is an allegedly heart-wrenching sub plot about two fathers emulating for the love of their 9-year-old daughter Lu and, later in the film, the strange discovery that the zombies have seemingly evolved into robotic/mutant type of creatures. Their bite apparently isn't infectious anymore and they communicate with each other through shrieks, but seriously who cares? There's quite a bit of action in the opening ten minutes of the film, with a bus full the humanity's final survivors violently getting invaded by a horde of zombies, and then the plot leaps forward nine years in time. The world turned into a snowy apocalyptic wasteland and former love-rivals Jack and Patrick live as neighbors but don't interact with each other in a town called – ha ha – Harmony! Even though they haven't spotted a zombie in years, Jack is totally paranoid and doesn't allow his daughter Lu to set foot outside of the house. Patrick sends out radio broadcasts and goes out hunting with his dog. When the new and improved zombies return, they are forced to set aside old disputes and rivalries in order to survive. 80% of "Extinction" is dull and predictable. The remaining 20%, the opening and climax, aren't dull but nevertheless predictable and identical to dozens of other zombie flicks. The drama aspects entirely miss their effect and, in fact, aren't even that remarkable. Truly worthwhile zombie apocalypse dramas do exist but are rather scarce, like "The Battery" for example, while "Extinction" is just another millionth forgettable zombie flick.