Okay so Shudder just dropped this trailer and my brain is doing that thing where it can’t decide if it’s into this or deeply concerned about the dialogue choices happening here.
This Is Not a Test is basically what happens when you take the high school detention energy of The Breakfast Club and add zombies pounding on the doors. Which sounds incredible on paper. The execution? I’ve watched this trailer three times and I genuinely cannot tell if the dialogue is intentionally stilted because it’s set in the 90s or if it’s just… like that.
The This Is Not a Test Premise Actually Hits Different
Here’s the setup: Olivia Holt plays Sloane, a suicidal teenager who gets trapped in her high school with a group of classmates when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. The thing that’s supposed to make this interesting—and I think it does?—is that Sloane starts the movie not really wanting to live. Then suddenly survival becomes the only option.
That’s a genuinely compelling angle for a zombie movie. Most of these films assume everyone wants to survive. What happens when your protagonist has to find reasons to keep going while also fighting off the undead?
Director Adam MacDonald made Pyewacket back in 2017, which was this slow-burn occult horror that absolutely traumatized a very specific subset of horror fans. He also did Backcountry (bear attack survival horror, incredibly stressful) and Out Come the Wolves. The man knows how to build dread.
The 90s Setting Is Doing A Lot of Heavy Lifting
First thought: oh cool, period horror.
Second thought: wait, why the 90s specifically?
Third thought: probably because no cell phones means no easy escape routes, no calling for help, no doom-scrolling while zombies break down the door.
The aesthetic looks committed—there’s something about the color grading and the costumes that feels genuinely 1990s and not just “we threw some flannel on everyone.” But I’m still processing whether the retro setting elevates the tension or just makes the already-clunky dialogue feel even clunkier.
The cast is stacked though. Carson MacCormac, Corteon Moore, Froy Gutierrez, Chloe Avakian, Joelle Farrow, Luke MacFarlane. Farrow is also in another high school horror called Lice that’s being described as—wait for it—”The Breakfast Club meets Lord of the Flies.” So apparently she’s cornering the market on 80s/90s high school horror mashups and honestly good for her.
The Dialogue Thing Is Going to Be Divisive
I’m not going to pretend I didn’t notice. Some of these line readings in the trailer are rough. “We have to do things we don’t want to do if we’re going to make it” is the kind of line that works in a novel but lands weird when spoken out loud.
This is adapted from Courtney Summers’ YA novel, and sometimes that translation from page to screen doesn’t fully click. Or maybe it’s intentional—maybe the stilted, almost theatrical way these teens talk is supposed to mirror 90s teen movie dialogue? I genuinely don’t know. It’s either a choice or a problem and I won’t be able to tell until I’m actually watching it.
The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival apparently loved it enough to premiere it in 2025. Toronto After Dark programmed it too. Festival horror crowds tend to know what they’re looking at, so that’s a good sign.
The Details That Are Actually Worth Talking About
Shudder is betting on this hard → February 26th release means they’re giving it proper rollout, not a quiet drop
Pyewacket director means slow-burn potential → MacDonald doesn’t do cheap scares, he builds atmosphere until you’re physically uncomfortable
The suicidal protagonist angle is rare → Most zombie media ignores mental health entirely; this is putting it front and center
90s period setting removes technology crutches → No phones, no internet, just vibes and viscera
YA adaptation pedigree → Courtney Summers writes heavy stuff; this isn’t going to be lightweight
FAQ: This Is Not a Test Zombie Horror Trailer
Why is everyone comparing This Is Not a Test to The Breakfast Club?
Because it’s teenagers trapped in a high school dealing with interpersonal drama while something horrible happens outside. The 90s setting amplifies it. Whether it earns that comparison or just borrowed the aesthetic is the actual question.
Does the dialogue in the This Is Not a Test trailer actually sound that rough?
Some of it lands weird, yeah. But YA adaptations often have this problem where internal monologue doesn’t translate to spoken dialogue. Could be the trailer edit, could be the source material, could be intentional stylization. Won’t know until the full thing drops.
Is Adam MacDonald actually good at horror or just okay?
Pyewacket was genuinely unsettling in ways that stuck with me for weeks. Backcountry made me never want to go camping again. The man understands sustained dread. Whether that translates to zombie action is the variable here because his previous stuff was all about isolation and slow build, not—
