A Clever Twist on Zombie Survival

MOVIE REVIEWS
Turning Point
 -     

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Year Released: 2023, 2026
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director: Joshua Wagner
Writer: Joshua Wagner; story by Thomas Zambeck
Cast: Jillian Lee Garner, Mike Apple, Shane Brady, Lydia Hearst, Sanchita Malik, DJ Qualls
Where to Watch: available on demand and digital August 25, 2026

RAVING REVIEW: TURNING POINT gets some mileage out of putting the wrong people in the wrong house at an especially bad time. Margot and her partner are burglars rather than just victims, so there’s already an edge to the situation before the film introduces zombies as a threat. Writer/director Joshua Wagner doesn’t overcomplicate the idea, using the reversal to give a familiar low-budget horror setup a little more personality while quickly forcing its characters to worry about something worse than being caught breaking in.

Keeping most of the danger inside the house is a brilliant production decision, but also its most obvious limitation. There’s nowhere for the story to hide once the situation is established and chaos starts running at full speed. A sprawling outbreak could generate endless new obstacles, characters, and locations. TURNING POINT has walls, locked exits, and a small group of people trying to figure out what they’re dealing with before the situation becomes impossible.

The characters don’t immediately understand the rules because the person threatening them hasn’t become what we expect of a familiar zombie. The transformation here ends up being a vitally important part of the film, more than dropping an undead creature into the room. There’s enough humanity left to create hesitation, which makes the threat more complicated; it’s not just a monster needing to be killed.

Wagner is interested in that transitional state, and it gives the movie a unique idea that it takes and tries to play out all the way. Zombie stories usually present infection as a countdown. Someone’s been bitten, everyone knows where this is headed, and suspense comes from waiting for the inevitable. TURNING POINT spends more time in the uncomfortable middle gray area, when physical deterioration becomes unmistakable but traces of the person remain in there behind those dead eyes. The movie never dives as deeply into this as it could, though it provides more personality than a story about barricading doors against a crowd of corpses.

Jillian Lee Garner has to carry much of the film as Margot. The character begins in a role that doesn’t naturally invite sympathy, which is more interesting than giving the audience a generic heroine/victim. Margot is committing a crime when everything goes wrong. Surviving the night doesn’t take that back, and Garner plays her with enough determination to keep the character engaging without trying to turn her into someone who is ultimately innocent.

Mike Apple’s Eli becomes part of the same balancing act. Their situation required this type of urgency, but the movie also has to give these characters enough personality that escaping matters for reasons beyond the obvious desire not to be bitten. That side of the writing is less developed. The story establishes relationships and bits of history without giving every connection enough, leaving some emotion to compete with the mechanics of simply getting out of the house.

DJ Qualls, as per usual, brings an entirely different level of energy as Casper, the strange neighbor who possesses exactly the sort of undead knowledge that suddenly becomes extremely useful. It’s casting that makes sense as soon as he appears. Qualls can make a character seem strange without really even trying, and Casper gives TURNING POINT a little breathing room from the increasingly grim situation inside the house. Horror and humor can strengthen one another, particularly in a zombie movie where decades of genre history make complete seriousness difficult to sustain. Here, some of the lighter parts seem to arrive just as the trapped-in-a-house premise seems ready to tighten. Casper is entertaining enough that the trade is usually worthwhile, but the film never completely reconciles its horror with the more eccentric personality.

TURNING POINT doesn’t have the resources to create an enormous outbreak, which makes its decision to avoid one sensible. Wagner directs attention toward the body, the house, and survival rather than trying to manufacture a scale the budget couldn’t support. The gore and physical transformation carry more weight because they’re happening within a confined space, often close enough that the characters can’t simply run in another direction and disappear. The movie understands that watching someone become a creature like this can be more uncomfortable than meeting the finished version, especially when recognition hasn’t vanished. Makeup and physical effects are much better suited to this type of story than digital effects ever would have been. Imperfection even works in the film’s favor at times, giving the horror a tactile quality that matches the cramped surroundings.

The house itself could have become a stronger part of the experience. The best contained thrillers gradually teach the audience the world they’re encapsulated in until every hallway, doorway, and possible exit matters. TURNING POINT gets some mileage from confinement without reaching that level of precision. There are stretches where the location feels less like a trap being explored and more like just the place where the movie is being shot.

Wagner moves efficiently once the pieces are in place, and the story doesn’t need an elaborate mythology explaining every detail of what caused the infection. That, in my opinion, is appreciated; it’s kind of similar to not needing to see Uncle Ben pass away in every version of Spider-Man. Zombie movies have spent decades explaining themselves; another laboratory, corporation, or lengthy scientific backstory wouldn’t necessarily make this one better.

The brevity also limits some of the ideas floating underneath the survival story. Margot’s past, the relationships around her and the lingering humanity within the infected person suggest a movie that could have pushed harder into guilt, empathy and the uncomfortable question of when someone stops being a person. TURNING POINT touches on those possibilities without committing to them. The horror remains more psychological.

Lydia Hearst, Shane Brady and Sanchita Malik help fill out the rest of the cast beyond the main confrontation. The movie still belongs mainly to Garner, Apple, Qualls, and the increasingly dangerous situation inside that house. The supporting cast gives the story enough texture to avoid feeling like a short stretched to feature length.

There’s a genuinely good concept here, surrounded by pieces that are sometimes more functional than memorable. Wagner doesn’t reimagine what zombies are. Taking the victim-and-intruder formula of a home invasion and introducing an infection creates enough of a wrinkle to justify another trip into that all-too-familiar territory.

What keeps the movie from moving beyond that middle ground is how rarely its best ideas are pushed to their breaking point. The transformation could be more tragic. The confinement could become more suffocating. Margot’s morally compromised starting point could further complicate audience sympathy. Each possibility is present, but TURNING POINT remains content to be an efficient genre movie rather than digging all the way into any one of them.

There’s value in that modest ambition. It delivers a contained outbreak, a few true moments of horror, an amusingly specific use for DJ Qualls, and a premise that’s just different enough to get your attention. Some zombie films attempt to resurrect the entire genre. TURNING POINT needs only one house, a handful of questionable people, and one person rapidly becoming something else. That’s enough to make it work. It just isn’t quite enough to make it linger.

Please visit https://linktr.ee/overlyhonestr for more reviews.

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. My social media accounts can also be found on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.

[photo courtesy of LIONSGATE]

DISCLAIMER:
At Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you that these arrangements do not influence our reviews, as we are committed to providing unbiased and sincere evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.

Amazon Affiliate Links:
Additionally, this site contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as you navigate these links.