This Is Not a Test (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Sloane and a small group of her classmates take cover in their high school to escape the apocalypse.

My Take – Despite saturating the market with countless films and television shows, zombie horror continues to endure as a lasting and popular sub-genre, with filmmakers constantly attempting to bring something unique and fresh to the table. Such is also the case with this latest release from Shudder.

Adapted from the 2012 novel by Courtney Summers, the film joins a long line of cinematic offerings drawn from the pages of young adult fiction, though it fully embraces its R-rating by leaning into the violence of a wild zombie outbreak. There are shades of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead (2004) remake, but its character-first focus helps it stand apart from many entries in the genre. Directed, written, and produced by Adam MacDonald (Out Come the Wolves, Hell Motel), the film often plays like a moody teen drama tailored for the post-The Walking Dead crowd.

It contains the familiar genre staples—fast-moving zombies, paranoia over who may have been bitten, and the inevitable power struggles over leadership—but its most distinctive element lies with the central character, Sloane, played by Olivia Holt. Like much of the zombie canon, the film uses the undead as a metaphor for its protagonist’s emotional turmoil. Sloane’s depression and upbringing in a violent home mirror her profound sense of isolation as a survivor.

In doing so, the story offers a refreshing exploration of the complexities of girlhood, touching on themes ranging from suicidal thoughts and fractured families to the tentative sparks of young love. Part coming-of-age character study and part brutal fight for survival, the film attempts to tear the flesh from this familiar horror subgenre and swallow it whole.

Sure, its relatively low intensity does present an issue—particularly for a story set amid a zombie apocalypse. At times, it leans more toward psychological horror than outright apocalyptic chaos, relegating the zombies themselves to the background. This is somewhat disappointing, as the creatures are impressively gnarly whenever they do appear.

Still, the film ultimately delivers raw emotion wrapped in a grim package. About how the true test may not be surviving the undead, but choosing to keep living in spite of them. With so many recent zombie films competing for attention, this one stands as a modest curiosity—worth a look for genre fans, even if it never becomes as dramatically compelling as it might have been.

Set in the ’90s in the small town of Cortez, the story follows Sloane (Olivia Holt), a high school teen struggling to survive within a deeply dysfunctional home, shaped by an abusive father and the absence of her older sister Lily (Joelle Farrow). But before she has the chance to carry through with a suicide attempt, everything outside her house changes forever.

Her alcoholic father is suddenly bitten by a frenzied stranger, blood dripping from his mouth, and Sloane is forced into the streets in a frantic scramble for survival. Along the way, she joins a group of fellow high schoolers—Rhys (Froy Gutierrez), Cary (Corteon Moore), Grace (Chloe Avakian), and Grace’s younger brother Trace (Carson MacCormac). Together, they take refuge in the one place that makes the most sense to them in the midst of the chaos: their own high school.

Here, director Adam MacDonald makes effective use of the high school environment, transforming it into a maze of shadowy hallways, tight corners, dim classrooms, and cluttered storage areas that naturally amplify the film’s tension. Although the group claims the gymnasium as their main refuge, they do not instinctively gather together. Instead, each of them drifts toward their own section of the building, as though the invisible social boundaries of high school life still linger even in the middle of an apocalypse.

As the story unfolds, the characters gradually reveal their individual personalities. Rhys forms the closest connection with Sloane, remembering that his locker once sat diagonally across from hers at Cortez High. Outspoken and fiercely loyal, he quickly becomes one of her most dependable allies when danger looms. Grace and her younger brother Trace, however, represent opposite ends of the spectrum—Grace is empathetic and quietly forms bonds with the others, while Trace carries a volatile, rebellious streak.

Meanwhile, the confident and athletic Cary naturally steps into the role of leader, coordinating decisions and organizing the barricading of the school. The dynamic inevitably invites comparisons to The Breakfast Club (1985), especially once their teacher, Mr. Braxton (Luke Macfarlane), becomes part of the group.

In terms of originality, the film is not particularly interested in reinventing the zombie formula. Instead, it anchors the narrative in Sloane’s emotional journey—her desperate attempts to reconnect with her sister Lily and her struggle to find meaning in continuing to live at all. By filtering much of the story through Sloane’s perspective, the film explores the apocalypse as an extension of her internal turmoil, even revisiting fragments of her memories with Lily. When it comes to violence, the film does not shy away from the brutality of its premise. The practical effects are impressively visceral, lending the zombie encounters a raw and unsettling edge. Although the gore is deployed sparingly, its impact is felt each time the horror breaks through.

Produced on a modest budget, the film leaves the origins of the outbreak largely unexplained. Still, it shows restraint in how it stages its zombie attacks, deploying them strategically rather than constantly. The glimpses of grotesque makeup work are striking given the limited resources, and MacDonald stages several eerie moments—particularly when the zombies wander aimlessly without human prey, only to snap into predatory focus once a new target appears.

Placing a character like Sloane at the center of the story is both an intriguing and admirable creative decision, and director MacDonald found a deeply committed performer in Olivia Holt to bring that role to life. Her performance carries much of the film’s emotional weight. Holt, no stranger to genre roles, throws herself completely into the anguish that defines Sloane.

She delivers the expected horror beats with conviction along with a palpable sense of fragility that suits a character forced to sleep while zombies claw at the walls of what is meant to be a safe refuge. Even during the film’s quieter stretches, when the script confines her to long bouts of silent despair, Holt’s performance continues to anchor the character’s emotional turmoil.

Alongside her, Froy Gutierrez, Carson MacCormac, Corteon Moore, Chloe Avakian and Luke Macfarlane are effective and commit to the film’s serious, somber tone. On the whole, ‘This Is Not a Test‘ is as a modest yet reasonably engaging coming-of-age zombie horror, anchored by its emotional focus even when its execution proves uneven.