As terrifyingly timely as Rebellion Productions’ first feature film, School’s Out Forever might be, this bleakly comic exploration of power dynamics in the aftermath of a global pandemic was actually in the works for the better part of a decade before Covid-19 struck.
Written and directed by Oliver Milburn, and based on Scott K. Andrews’ “School’s Out” (one of a series of books making up Rebellion’s “The Afterblight Chronicles” saga), the film explores the repercussions of a pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population. A number of survivors hole themselves up at St. Mark’s School for Boys where they used to work or study, but safety and security is in short supply. Its high walls can’t stop the local parish council from forming a militia and imposing martial law, and inside the dorms primal instincts are soon triggered, resulting in murderous anarchy and chaos.
With the film releasing in the UK & Ireland on Digital this Friday, February 15th and on DVD & Blu-ray from April 12th, SCREAM sat down with Milburn who discussed the purely coincidental parallels the film shares with the current crisis and how the Afterblight Chronicles book series holds a wealth of opportunities to continue exploring this universe should this first film prove successful…
Words: Howard Gorman
