The change from mockumentary to mocku-horror film is one that the viewer will see coming from virtually the start of the film, but it is one that Zombie should have done its best to avoid. As a horror film, Zombie has little to offer that viewers haven't seen before. While it is all still filmed in a realistic manner, the tension never gets sufficiently ratcheted up to make the viewer feel any sort of peril.
Additionally, the turn comes at a point in the film when the audience knows that the story has just about run its course; the switch is the film's last gasp and nothing more. Perhaps the problem is that the viewer has been waiting for the move to horror since the film began and it is only once it occurs that the viewer can finally sit back and relax, thereby destroying the goal of the horror (to scare people).
Whatever the reason for the shift in tone, it does the film a great disservice. The original idea – learning about the zombies that make up a part of our culture and what they choose to hide from us – is fascinating a one. With the switch to horror mode, Zombie never answers the questions it lays forth. Thus, at the end of the film, the viewer sits there and can't help but wonder just a little bit why exactly they bothered.
The DVD release of American Zombie features behind the scenes documentaries which, while the shed little light, may be more interesting than the ones one usually finds on a DVD. As an independent film, it feels as though there are fewer intermediaries between the viewer and the filmmakers, and the production size much more manageable for the viewer to understand.
In the end, American Zombie presents an interesting concept and yet leaves the viewer feeling distinctly unsatisfied. The ending chosen was the easy way out and wholly undercuts that which precedes it.
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