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Cast: Keegan Connor Tracy (Final Destination 2), Jett Klyne (The Boy), Sean Rogerson (Grave Encounters), Sara Canning (War for the Planet of the Apes), Stephen McHattie (Watchmen), and Chandra West (White Noise)
'Z' tells the story of Kevin and Elizabeth Parsons and their son Joshua. Elizabeth is having a rough time taking care of her son, her ill mother and her sister who has problems of her own while her husband is busy with work. Joshua seems to be a withdrawn kid. He doesn't play with the other kids much but one day his mom notices he is talking to someone upstairs so she goes up to check on him and finds him playing with his toys and talking to an imaginary friend. Joshua's behavior seems to get worse as he continues to have his imaginary friend to do things with. One day Elizabeth is called in to school and is told Joshua is suspended for acting out in school, hitting his fellow mates and using vulgar language. As time goes on we find out Joshua's friend has a name and it is Z. As Joshua's behavior gets worse his mom decides to put him on medicine without her husband knowing and the boy's behavior starts improve but now Elizabeth starts to see Z and soon she learns of a dark family secret.
'Z' was a mixed bag for me. Maybe I was expecting a more sinister film with the creature causing a lot more havoc but the creature is only seen a few times during the film and if you blink you are going to miss him. I suppose the lack of seeing more of Z is because of the budget.
On the plus side the film does have a certain creepiness to it the entire time and the mystery of Z is finally revealed later in the film as Elizabeth begins to go through her mother's belongings. I did enjoy the ending which left it open for a sequel if they want to go there.
While 'Z' has its moments and I did enjoy it I would not want to visit it a second time. So in the end I recommend renting it first to see if you like it enough before adding it to your collection.
Z will be released on September 1, 2020 on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray so check it out.
Released by RLJE Films
** 1/2 Out Of *****