Ephney Tsai Have you ever imagined what would happen if a building full of selfish politicians becomes the epicenter of a zombie outbreak? Taiwanese film Get The Hell Out explores just that. In particular, the story follows Hsiung Ying-Ying (Megan Lai), a well-intentioned politician, who tries to save her home from being demolished to build a power plant which also causes the “idiot virus outbreak.” What’s particularly timely about this film is how it parallels the current coronavirus pandemic; director Wang I-Fan describes the zombie disease as a virus that can spread through droplets, and asymptomatic carriers can further spread the harmful disease that “turns people to idiots.”
An odd mixture of dark and surreal humor with gruesomely bloody scenes at every turn, Get The Hell Out is certainly a roller coaster ride. The film is action-packed from start to finish and could give any unsuspecting viewer whiplash with how quickly things move. In a split second, the scene can shift from a crying protagonist to a zombie getting their head chopped off. Despite the sudden transitions, the movie as a whole is generally easy to predict.
While the special effects and acting are overly exaggerated, it’s all to emphasize the film’s message, though the execution fell short. The movie aims to depict the reality of Taiwan’s Parliament and how the lawmakers do, in fact, notoriously often break out in brawls, but it’s a little difficult to concentrate on the issues at hand when fake blood is splattering everywhere every five seconds. The message is also made clear at the very start of the film, when Wang added a special forewarning: “Making a wrong decision when it comes to watching a movie only means suffering through the 90 minutes. Choosing the wrong politicians means suffering through four years.” When viewing it strictly as a comedy movie meant to simply entertain the not fainthearted, it could be seen as doing its job perfectly. Although the humor is a bit crude, one can enjoy it without much thought. Watching the film feels a little bit like rubber-necking when there’s an accident on the freeway; you want to look away, but you’re too captivated and intrigued to do so.
