Ziam review: Netflix's Thai Zombie thriller is predictable with Martial Arts twist

Zombie and post-apocalyptic movies have always intrigued netizens, despite being very gory and violent, and have a lasting impact on the mind. This genre of films has been showcased in Hollywood, South Korean films, and Bollywood. Netflix released a Thai movie titled Ziam that has infused a love story with zombies walking around in the hopistal. Directed by Kulp Kaljareuk, it is yet another zombie film with not so new twist.

Plot of Ziam

The film begins with a scene of a female news anchor in the background of visuals informing netizens that the global climate crisis has led to a famine crisis and riots. With ice caps melting, several unidentified fish-like creatures (similar to piranhas) come afloat. The scene then next shifts to an individual named Singh, an ex-Muay-Thai fighter and Rin a doctor are struggling to hold onto their lives, when the world around them is crippled with hunger crisis.

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It has also been shown that rich people can do anything and control the public according to their wishes. But, at what cost? Like any other zombie story, a person consumes something, and blood splatters out, and the next moment, it becomes a zombie. A very similar situation happens here in which, within the blink of an eye or skipping 10 minutes forward, a zombie outbreak has already happened inside the hospital.

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In the midst of this, Singh enters the hospital in search of his girlfriend after hearing the news on the radio. He forays into the building by killing zombies in his way, which ends with him deliberately not jumping into the helicopter with his girlfriend. I am sure by the time he ran and sat in, he could have evaded the zombies.

Why wouldn't Ziam have worked in cinemas?

Sure, the one hour 36 minute movie started off with great information about global warming and famine, but the for the rating of the creativity of the film is zero. The scenes at the beginning of the movie reminded me of Resident Evil and the scene of Quiet Place 2 in which Cillian Murphy and the kid fight off the goons. An ex-Muay-Thai fighter running around the hospital to save his girlfriend, ends up not saving himself when he had a chance, which was a lame scene in my opinion.

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Coming to the effects, CGI? Nothing extraordinary! It will be forgotten. Dialogues? Not much! Male and female lead shouting their name at each other, and of course, the screeching sounds of zombies. Higher corporations trying to profit out of a crisis? This, we have been seeing it for many, many zombie movies.

The director tried to make a love story a part of this movie, but it's not even a bit nearer to South Korean cult classic Train to Busan, which had seamlessly infused emotional family storytelling, which made it so compelling to watch. In this, the male lead kept having backlash of him and his girlfriend looking at each other lovingly, nothing more than that, which is frustrating! That part of the story could have been explored more, just to engage the audience.

Will there be a second part of Ziam?

In the last scene, someone kicks a zombie in the face, which turns out to be Singh, who had survived the massive blast that had been ordered by the military. Given the last part, the director has already given a hint that the sequel is already in the works. Hopefully, to see more details in the second part of the film, if there is even a sequel.

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Ziam is helmed by Kulp Kaljareuk and written by Vathanyu Ingkawiwat, Kulp Kaljareuk, and Nut Nualpang. It stars Mark Prin Suparat, Nuttanicha Dungwattanawanich, and Johnny Anfone in key roles. The thriller movie premiered on July 9 on streaming giant Netflix.