I Am a Hero – Toronto After Dark 2018

A loser artist becomes an unlike hero during a zombie apocalypse in I Am a Hero. Hideo Suzuki (Yô Ôizumi) is a struggling manga artist, whose latest comic is rejected by a publisher, resulting him being kicked out by his girlfriend. However, there is suddenly the spread of an infection known as the ZQN virus, which turns people into bloodthirsty zombies. Going on the run with fellow survivor Hiromi (Kasumi Arimura), Hideo comes across a group of survivors camped out above a shopping centre, including nurse Tsugumi Oda (Masami Nagasawa) and the group’s leader Iura (Hisashi Yoshizawa). However, it soon becomes apparent that this shopping centre is not all that safe a place.

I Am a Hero is a Japanese zombie action film based on the manga of the same name. The protagonist of Hideo Suzki is a self-described “hero in name only,” who discovers his heroic side during this zombie outbreak. Carrying around his prized shotgun, which he is too afraid to use, Hideo sets off to travel to the supposed safety of Mt. Fuji, where the ZQN virus cannot survive. On the way, he ends up at Fuji Outlet Park, where a group of survivors have made their home on the roof of the stores. However, with food supplies running low, the group have to brave the zombie-infested lower levels.

I Am a Hero feels like the type of zombie film that can only come out of Japan, as demonstrated by the first zombie encounter that utilizes contortionist movement straight out of something like Ju-On. In fact, the film features a large variety of zombies, who all retain an element of who they previously were. While the film does slow down in the middle, it builds up to an ultra-gory climax that makes I Am a Hero a quite satisfying watch.