Rebellion, out on Blu-ray and DVD now

Once a pandemic wipes out most of his village, schoolboy Lee returns to the perceived safety of his school.

In the first few minutes of Rebellion’s post-apocalyptic drama you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was going to be another jolly ‘kids against the evil forces’ romp like Slaughterhouse Rulez or The Kid Who Would Be King. Look, there’s even Anthony Head essaying anther evil headmaster like Mr Finch from Doctor Who’s School Reunion, and Neil’s Dad (Alex Macqueen) from The In-Betweeners, who incidentally was also in Slaughterhouse Rulez. But very quickly, as family members start dying of the unnamed virus, there’s not a lot to laugh about, and that’s to the movie’s credit.

One of the lyrics to Alice Cooper’s hit song ‘School’s Out’ is ‘We ain’t got no innocence’, a theme that’s at the forefront of the movie. Children are here subjected to the most awful world events that have reduced the civilised society to a cruel new punitive world, one where they have to fight to stay alive. Even if they make it out alive, they’ll be changed forever.

Any suggestion of a light touch is lost once shotgun-wielding villagers enter the school, demanding that some thieves are released into their custody. It’s clear that this new militia won’t be offering balanced justice in their new world order, and after a skirmish (and a horrific neck breaking) there’s no way back. The boys are excited by all the drama, drunk on the adrenaline, but the reality is that they are surrounded and the village’s matriarch (Samantha Bond, GoldenEye) won’t be leaving until her demands are met. So follows a familiar siege drama as the defenders prepare for battle.

Shot during the summer of 2019 when the idea of a real-world pandemic was still the stuff of fiction, this thriller arrives with a grimmer scenario (95% of the population die out) and feels very prescient. There’s a lot of parents currently home-schooling at present who feel like school is already ‘out’ for the term. The young cast deliver non-showy performances, living each moment as it passes, both buzzing and terrified about what’s to come.

In the absence of zombies, this is more Terry Nation’s Survivors than The Walking Dead, with impressive drone photography revealing the extent of the devastation. Writer/director Oliver Milburn takes Scott K Andrews’ first book in the Afterblight Chronicles and thrusts us into a world of grey, as the boys go all Lord of the Flies, their immaturity clouding their judgement in the moments of crisis. Special mention should be made of Oscar Kennedy (Outlander) as our everyman Lee Keegan and Liam Lau Fernandez as his friend (and liability) Sean.

Verdict: End of year report – An impressive feature debut from Rebellion, and a scary ‘what if’ scenario that would be less terrifying if we were living under different circumstances. Gritty, involving and shocking, with just enough absurd humour to stop this grim fairy tale from being too heavy. 8/10

Nick Joy

Click here to read our interview with the director and star of School’s Out Forever