Ten of Swords Review: When Zombies Need a Union
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Zombies don’t always have to be the monsters in horror stories, like in the short horror film “Ten of Swords,” where zombies are victims and humans are the villains who use the undead as unpaid labor!
Written and directed by Faye Jackson, the 2023 short film “Ten of Swords” follows Jay (Theo Soloman), a young man who wakes up after being stabbed to death as a zombie, only to realize that zombie life isn’t what it was advertised to be. It’s a very fresh take on the zombie genre, so just for the twisted plot—brownie points.
Sixteen minutes long, “Ten of Swords” unfolds like a dystopian, dark horror comedy, which takes the ‘working like a zombie’ metaphor to a literal level. The popular Japanese horror-comedy “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” is about an office worker rejoicing when he realizes he might be killed by flesh-eating zombies soon, but at least he can spend the last few days of his life like a lively human, without worrying about office work! But imagine not getting any respite from monotonous, soul-killing labor even after dying. That’s what “Ten of Swords” is all about.
Zombies are put to work and exploited by their human bosses, who often use a piece of dangling meat as motivation, much like the proverbial ‘carrot on a stick’ used to make mules toil harder. They aren’t the same as the ‘smart zombies’ from ‘The Walking Dead’ universe or the fast, scheming ones from Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead.’ Theo Soloman as Jay is an empathetic undead worker who schemes with his fellow workers to lead a mutiny against their overlords and possibly even get revenge on the person who got him murdered in the first place. You never know what the characters are going to do next in “Ten of Swords,” so there’s a consistent amount of dread and tension throughout the runtime.
The cinematography is vivid, with all the worker zombies dressed in yellow overalls, which serves as a fantastic contrast to all the blood splatters that take place in the more violent scenes. While the second half wasn’t as gritty and low-key funny as the first few minutes, “Ten of Swords” is a unique horror film that will keep most fans of the genre engaged until the very end. I did think the climax felt abrupt, especially because I was hoping for Jay to carry out an elaborate revenge mission, which doesn’t happen. However, maybe there will be a part 2? I would watch it for sure.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Watch ‘Ten of Swords’ on Alter’s YouTube channel.
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