The Domestics

How many versions of the apocalypse have you seen? It's hard to count at this point, which also makes it really hard to stand-up. Do you go for a non-descript wasteland? How about a grounded approach? What about a muscle cars on fire take? And that's before we get to zombies. So it's no surprise that smaller post-apocalyptic movies have slipped through the cracks including today's movie The Domestics.

The movie follows Mark and Nina in a post-apocalyptic America. The nation is divided into two factions, the peaceful Domestics (Mark and Nina's type) and a collection of violent gangs who live by their own rules. Hoping to find a peaceful home and more resources, Mark and Nina hit the road to an alleged safe haven.

I can completely see why The Domestics flew under the radar. It's cover art invokes the standard action/horror hybrid we've come to expect from the genre without the slick cinematography or budget of something like Mad Max. But I found a few reasons you should give this a shot.

Great Visual World-Building

Apocalyptic movies have a bad habit of over or under explaining what happened or whats happening. You either get giant exposition dumps out the wazoo or you're gently told "they're zombies now ok?"

While The Domestics opens with its inciting incident, a chemical attack, we find out how things played out from action and context. Mark and Nina run into themed gangs who demonstrate their thing via action, costumes, and minimal dialogue. One of my favorite characters is a mute woman whose motivations are nigh impossible to determine until you see her facial expressions.

What exposition is there is peppered in via dialogue with new characters and radio broadcasts, not giant exposition dumps. It's a better way to craft your end of the world landscape.

Dark, But With Some Levity

If there's one thing that made me pull the chute on The Walking Dead it's the perpetual dreariness of the show. Every journey seemed like an exercise in pain, every ally is probably going to turn on you etc. 

And there's plenty of darkness in The Domestics. People who seem chill have dark secrets while others have gone feral. And death is always in the background.

But there are bright spots. Mark and Nina show people humanity and gain allies through being good people. Them being good isn't a fatal flaw and I think that's a good message.

Grimy Action

The action in The Domestics is bloody and gory as you'd expect from an R-rated apocalyptic affair. But what I like about it is how it takes place in residential areas. Mark has to use improvised weapons to take down gangs invading houses and even major gun battles happen in neighborhoods. It's both exciting bloody fun, with a good mixture of hand to hand combat and gun play, but also a reminder of how far society has fallen.

Verdict: Familiar But Fun

Though it has familiar elements, The Domestics action-packed approach is worth a watch. 7/10.