OVERVIEW
This Is Not a Test is a coming-of-age movie where a group of students finds refuge from a zombie apocalypse inside their school. The main character is young Sloane, whose life before the outbreak was even worse: her mom had died, her once close sister had left, and she was stuck living with her abusive father. As Sloane and the others try to survive, they face danger both inside and outside the school, especially when an old teacher makes his way through their barricade.
BACKGROUND
Directed, written, and produced by Toronto horror director Adam MacDonald, and based on Courtney Summers’ YA novel, the film joins We Bury the Dead as the second early 2026 zombie film that uses the genre more as a metaphor for trauma than as a pure genre film.
EXECUTION
If the theme was already rather clumsily handled in that Daisy Ridley vehicle, it is unfortunately even more so here. Before the actual outbreak (which happens within the film’s opening 10 minutes), MacDonald introduces us to Sloane with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Within minutes, we see her attempt suicide, get hit by her father, and get a blunt download about how the sister she loved abandoned her. Once the attack hits, the film slips into an awkward structure, jumping back and forth in time in one of the most whiplash-heavy first acts you will ever experience. Even though she is introverted and withdrawn, it takes a while before we are simply allowed to connect with her without being bombarded with more information.
It does get better once the group finally settles and the movie gives itself room to breathe. The teenage characters are not necessarily complex. Most are defined by one trait, if you can even call it that. Still, seeing students roaming around an empty school, in a Breakfast Club meets Dawn of the Dead meets The Walking Dead premise, is appealing enough that even a messy version of it can remain tolerable.
If you can look past thin characters making questionable decisions and repeating themselves (they are teenagers after all), plus poorly staged action scenes that lean on shaky cam to hide the lack of creativity, you might still get pulled in by the group’s dynamic with the teacher played by Luke Macfarlane. Macfarlane does not hold back and plays for the back row, but he brings real menace to the film’s most memorable sketch. Whenever he is not the focus, the movie starts to feel like a long homework assignment.
AFTERTASTE
Overall, This Is Not A Test does not make good use of its premise or setting, failing both as a zombie film and, even more, in its intended exploration of grief, which is handled in a painfully heavy-handed way. It does not help that the first act is downright terrible and awkwardly structured, which undercuts the film’s sense of agency and our connection to these characters. The setup is not the worst and keeps it from being a complete dud, but it is not far off.