If you’ve any doubt we live in an age where viral marketing is much like the art form that motion pictures are, we’ve got the proof you seek. Fox has released three short films that chronicle the ten-year-period between 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and this year’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Known collectively as Before the Dawn of the Apes, they’re the perfect appetizers to enjoy before the much talked about, Matt Reeves’ directed main course that opens everywhere this Friday — and they’re free to view online. We break ’em down for you below.
In the first Before the Dawn of the Apes short, Spread of the Simian Flu (a.k.a. Quarantine, which takes place in year 1), director Isaiah Seret plunges us inside the horror of the global viral outbreak that occurred at the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Here, a young mother is placed into quarantine after she contracts the Simian Flu virus, and her husband and daughter must scavenge for food and supplies.
The saga continues in the second short, Struggling to Survive (a.k.a. All Fall Down, occurring in year 5), in which director Daniel Thron depicts a world where the Simian Flu has already wiped out most of humanity, and where an orphaned teenager struggles to survive by trading the belongings of the deceased.
Finally, fans of post-apocalyptic fiction like The Walking Dead will be most appreciative of directors Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace’s Story of the Gun (a.k.a. The Gun, which takes place in year 10) — in which a shotgun is passed among several individuals doomed by the Simian Flu virus.
Do you think these shorts add to the overall movie experience? Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
HT:Â Entertainment Weekly
They are great, definitely add to the mythos of the new series. I like that they are much more artistic/thought provoking than most viral shorts for film franchises. I’ve also been reading Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm, which is a “prequel” novel that explores the events directly following the end of Rise. Writing is about as mediocre as one might expect from such a book (very rushed) but still an interesting read. Get to learn more about Koba’s backstory, which is quite depressing, considering the abuse he went through happens in real life.
They all suck
That first one really got me, right in the feels.
the first one made me cry.
i love cross platform media. watch the shorts, read the novels, play the game, watch the movies.. it’s a great time to be a human!!
loved em. i would love a whole movie of these. Or a short tv series. great stuff. cant wait to see the movie.