We Are Little Zombies
Nikkatsu | Release Date (Streaming): July 10, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistJoe BlessingJul 9, 2020
We Are Little Zombies is much more about style than story. Nagahisa delivers a visual tour-de-force, careening wildly through an unimaginable array of arresting shots. Read full review
90
VarietyJessica KiangJul 10, 2020
No pulsating, psychedelic, pop-punk phantasmagoria ought to be as moving and smart as We Are Little Zombies. But Makoto Nagahisa’s explosively ingenious and energetic debut (imagine it as the spiritual offspring of Richard Lester and a Harajuku Girl) holds the high score for visual and narrative invention, as well as boasting [insert gigantic-beating-heart GIF] and braaaains, too. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJul 11, 2020
Nagahisa's script dares to embrace true nihilism: not selfishness, not posturing decadence, but the genuine commitment to your core that the meaningless of the world isn't a bug, it's a feature. These zombies may be dancing in the trash, but at least they're dancing. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsJul 10, 2020
A relentless, but emotionally well-balanced character study of Hikari (Keita Ninomiya) and his bandmates as they receive a series of transformative reality checks, and also perform post-millennial garage rock that sounds like a cross between post-shoegaze emo rock and video-game-style chiptunes. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 8, 2020
We Are Little Zombies is the most entertaining thing to come out of Japan since sushi, “Iron Chef” and the Miata. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJul 8, 2020
As this unclassifiable wildfire burns itself out, all you can say for sure is that these little zombies are alive in ways that most adults have lost the ability to imagine. Whatever demented game its characters are playing, Nagahisa’s live-action Twitch-fest is delightful for how it lets us watch along. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJul 10, 2020
A rainbow-colored scream into the abyss, Nagahisa’s story of a quartet of orphaned tweens who start a chiptune rock band is as rigorous in its exploration of grief as it is stylistically exuberant, and one of the most exciting premieres at Sundance this year. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 9, 2020
Smart, noisy and flashily assured, We Are Little Zombies is entirely, gleefully its own thing. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDerek SmithJul 2, 2020
The film is a kaleidoscopic portrait of a world where emotions are accessed and revealed primarily through digital intermediaries. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJul 10, 2020
Blissful, whacked-out, inspired, juvenile, dementedly inventive, hyper-energized — all of this and more apply to music video and advertising whiz Makoto Nagahisa's first feature We Are Little Zombies. Read full review
70
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaJul 9, 2020
Saying We Are Little Zombies is “a bit hectic” is a bit of an understatement, and yet, as Nagahisa’s passion project exploded across the screen, I found myself giving my heart to it. Read full review
58
The Film StageDan MeccaJul 9, 2020
Every eye-popping sequence and strongly-performed scene feels too far from the next. Perhaps with a little less, there would be quite a bit more. There’s so much to respect in We Are Little Zombies, just not enough to hold on to. Read full review
50
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJul 10, 2020
Fitfully-entertaining, the film says many things in many different ways about one subject – the de-sensitising effect of the have-it-all media age on young people. Prolonged exposure to it will certainly reawaken the senses, although not in a way that’s always welcome. Read full review
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