Harold's Going Stiff | 2011
The lonely pensioner Harold Kimble is the first man to suffer from a new neurological disease that slowly transforms him into a zombie-like state. Harold’s reclusive life is shaken by the visits of a lively nurse, Penny Rudge. Her special massage technique has a great effect on Harold, and they become close friends.
Harold agrees to test possible treatments for the disease at a private research facility, and the initial results are excellent. However, the next day, he falls into a worse state than before. When Penny accidentally overhears a doctor’s serious prognosis about Harold, she decides to secretly take him away the next morning.
Rumors begin to spread, and soon small, bloodthirsty gangs of violent people appear, chasing Harold and Penny across a dramatic wasteland in an attempt to kill them.
Throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, zombie films flooded the market, depleting original ideas. Even conceptual hybrids began to follow similar patterns. Despite this, zombie films with new ideas and unique elements are rare. Harold’s Going Stiff is one of those rare examples.
Stan Rowe, who plays Harold in Harold's Going Stiff, says the film takes an implicit mockumentary approach. For example, the characters speak directly to the camera as if they are being interviewed. At the same time, everything is acted in a natural way. The protagonists are just ordinary people from the countryside, experiencing a nationwide infection that causes men to lose their mental faculties and become zombie-like, while they continue to live their daily lives. Scenes where infected people struggle to do laundry, stand in line for food at nursing homes, or Harold serves a guest tea with detergent water are all humble and human, compared to the usual survival struggles seen in zombie films. All the actors immerse themselves perfectly in the spirit of the work, acting with complete neutrality.
