Back in the 60s the youth in revolt had a saying, "Never trust anyone over 30". The movie DON'T GROW UP takes that thought, drops the age bracket down to 18 and adds zombies to the mix. What more fun could you expect than that as a premise?

A group of six teens at a juvenile detention center on an island in England, Bastian (Fergus Riordan), Pearl (Madeleine Kelly), Liam (McKell David), Shawn (Darren Evans), May (Natifa Mai) and Thomas (Diego Mendez), wake to find no adult supervisors in the building. One of them is about to turn 18 and they celebrate having fun seemingly being the only ones in charge of the place. But after a while the novelty of that wears off and they begin wondering where everyone is. To find out they leave the center and head to town.

What they discover surprises and shocks them. Something has gone terribly wrong and adults are now little more than psychotic killers driven mad by a virus that has them killing the children that they find. The only ones unaffected are young people like themselves who they find as they go through town. Deciding the safest thing to do is get off the island they head for the nearest sea port they can find.

Along the way they meet up with other survivors who are less than trusting, especially since a few of the group seem to be on the verge of becoming older and potentially infected. They also fall prey to attacks with one of them wounded early on and others taken out one by one. The question remains from the start, will any of them be able to survive and the nagging question of whether it is just the island or the entire world weighs heavy throughout.

The movie works on so many levels and for horror fans and especially those who love the zombie genre there is a lot to be enjoyed here. It also works as a metaphor for the problems teens face when confronted by adults as well as a coming of age film where reaching adulthood not only deprives you of your youth but of your sanity as well. Some adults would say that becoming an adult truly does result in loss of your mind.

For a movie like this to work you have to believe the actors in their portrayal of the situation they've been thrown in. All involved here do an admirable job when it comes to that requirement. That some are older than the others with the potential of turning at a moment's notice also works well with not only the performance on display but the threat that exists in the story as well.

The frightening aspect of an adult driven mad for whatever reason adds to the tension seen here. Adults are supposed to be the ones in charge, the protectors of the innocent. Here they are little more than killing machines seeking out the young. And these are not the lumbering zombies that we've seen in decades past but the fast running zombies that have some semblance of thought process still raging in their rabid frenzied minds. That only increases the fear factor here.

The further the group gets from town and the fewer the group dwindles down to decreases the pace of the film as it moves forward but it doesn't stop the story. It's still thought provoking and scary at moments, enough so to keep fans awake and watching. If this is the type of programming that Shudder, the streaming network responsible for the film, is presenting my guess is it will make fans of horror decide their monthly rate is worth investing in. If not at least fans can watch this film and enjoy a new twist on an old genre that is entertaining and frightening as well.

44 years old and I still don't feel like an adult. So, yeah. I probably won't.

While we're waiting 28 years for a 28 Months Later sequel, I guess we can settle for Don't Grow Up. Though it's a very toned down and lower budget than the 28 Days/Weeks series, it would've been nice to be thrown post-made into the 28 universe much like Cloverfield parasites on other projects.

In a youth center on the world's largest island, a surprising low number of residents find the sole adult supervisor gone and so the bad kids do bad things. Until...they find out the adults have...all gone mad!

Presumably, any person on the island that's old enough to {fill in the blank} gets a mild case of the rabies. My guess the budget only allowed enough scenes of the horror of the show so, sadly, this movie heavily relied on the kids' drama.

Luckily, the kids' acting is fairly good and the movie was well shot, it's the lack of budget (or ambition of the writer/director) that makes most of this a missed opportunity. Half the time, you forget you're watching a horror movie or that there's any real threat out there. The kids aren't that likable, so you're never really rooting for them and with the little information we're given, apparently, they might become adults (SEE: Title) and get sick themselves, so, there's no real hope.

Still, the movie and kids' mission is to get off the island as they're hunted by both the sick and those younger than them. So, fine, I guess there's a tiny sparkle of hope.

I can think of many more movies that kinda takes these themes and did it far better (like the aforementioned 28-series in addition to Train to Busan, Dawn of the Dead, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, etc.) but considering this is only 81 minutes and it's pretty to look at, it receives a mild pass.

***

Final thoughts: On a horror podcast I'm addicted to, Shockwaves, I heard a glowing review of this and I knew this was new to my subscription of Shudder. Always loving their recommendations and new-to-me horror, I jumped at the chance. Apparently, that one review was the one good one...well, that was a shock.

Teens at the St. Madeline Youth center wake up and discover they have no adult supervision. After breaking all the rules they opt to go to town only to find the streets empty...almost. It seems adults have contracted a disease which causes them to go into a berserker mode as they kill each other.

Yes it reminded me of Star Trek "Miri" from the first season with Kim Darby and Michael J. Pollard. Fergus Riordan and Madeleine Kelly took the lead in a film with drama, killing, blood, and teen sex. In spite of all that promise, there was a desire for realism which toned down the entire film.

Guide: F-word, brief sex, no nudity.