The Winter Hunger (2021)

A rabies virus has spread to humans and left the population white eyed, drooling, and ready to bite anyone not infected. The radio repeatedly plays warnings to only go out during the day and shut off lights at night. They also advise getting out of the city since they have large crowds of infected.

Five survivors are holed up in the city, but running out of food. When the infected gain access to the building, the group waits till day break to head to a rural area and find a new place to stay.  After being chased out of an abandoned building by a horde, they stop in a small village. 

When an infected spots them, they are saved when someone waves at them to follow her and leads them to get into an enclosed courtyard. The four people living there invite them to stay the night and feed them meat, which is odd since the radio said the animals were infected. We all know where this is going.

In the morning one of their party is gone and the door to the courtyard is open. When they insist on searching for him, the man of the house accompanies them. While they’ve been told no one else is around,  they are stalked by three people in the woods who shoot at them. 

There are many questions to be asked. Who are the people in the woods? How do they know the people in the house? Why aren’t the travelers more careful about who they stay with? How does the old lady find the time and supplies to dye her hair black? What is behind the locked door that leads to the basement? And who thought the last scene was a good idea and didn’t realize you should never end with ann over used cliche?

This movie is far too long clocking in at almost two hours.  It’s a lot of talking and sometimes a lot of no talking.  It would have been more effective if it had been shorter. Also the relationships between the two groups in the village is never clarified. The infected are like fast zombies but they aren’t in the movie much. Lastly most of the characters are odd. While I was hoping the original group would make it, they aren’t all likable.