This Shudder Must-Watch With A 93% Rotten Tomato Rating Has Reinvented Zombie Horror
Shudder’s high-intensity zombie flick, MadS, is a cross between Possession (1981), and Climax (2018), and with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s sure to become a genre classic.
Released in 2024, MadS unfolds over a single night as three teenagers descend into a living nightmare. The trio has just graduated and a celebratory night of pills and partying turns horrifying after a traumatic event changes everything. But is it real, or just a bad trip? The film flirts with two potential gimmicks—questioning reality and the one-take format—but then shatters expectations to set a new bar for zombie horror.
The “is this real?” trope often kills stakes, making horror feel toothless (see: Lost’s infuriating finale). But MadS plays it right—the disorientation is terrifying, but the threats are real. Likewise, the one-shot approach (yes, it really is a single shot) can feel like a stunt, but here, it’s masterfully used to heighten tension and direct focus.
What truly sets MadS apart is its fresh take on the zombie sub-genre. Instead of mindless monsters chasing humans, we watch victims fight to escape themselves. Turning into a zombie feels like demonic possession, with characters desperately resisting both their own transformations and a drug-fueled spiral. The cast makes it all painfully believable. Each actor delivers a raw, gripping performance as fear, delirium, and possibly even a government-engineered virus take hold.
MadS had me on edge for its entire runtime. Stream it now on Shudder.
