Cold Storage begins with a prologue introducing us to Skylab, a space station which fell out of orbit in 1979. “Pay attention,” a title card reads. “This shit is real.” And it is. Host to countless scientific experiments, it was important to recover all the pieces that weren’t destroyed during atmospheric reentry—but an oxygen tank harbouring an organism survived and landed in Western Australia. A quarter of a century later, following a call from a distressed rural farmer, microbiologist Dr. Hero Martins (Sosie Bacon) arrives to a small town with bioterror operatives Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville), to discover that a highly infectious, parasitic fungus has infected and killed all the townspeople. The military nuke everything and seal a small sample of the fungus in a cold storage facility. Crisis averted. Unless…
In the present, Travis “Teacake” Meacham (Joe Keery) begins his nightshift at Atchison Storage Facility, when his plans to read “The Body Snatcher” are interrupted by an intermittent beeping sound. Joined by new coworker Naomi Williams (Georgina Campbell), the pair track the noise to an abandoned government facility beneath their workplace, where the green fungus has breached containment and is spreading fast. The sound is really an alarm warning that security measures are failing due to rising temperatures. When news reaches Robert, he quickly learns that the government don’t give a shit and sets out to save the world with Trini, Travis, and Naomi.
Following the success of Stranger Things, Keery brings his adorable and affable traits to Travis, a foolish but big-hearted ex-con who has trouble saying no to others. Naomi, on the other hand, is a single mother who is more sure of herself but has a curious and playful nature. There’s no better bonding activity for the pair than exploring a secret underground abandoned facility harbouring a deadly, highly mutable fungus. Keery and Campbell have excellent chemistry, though their characters feel somewhat underdeveloped, even despite the fact we do learn the story behind Travis’s nickname Teacake. Still, it’s fun to watch them deal with the chaos unfolding on screen. Neeson is fantastic, playing his age with back problems and unwavering determination, though still hitting amusing one-liners. Bacon and Manville also deliver great performances in their small roles, as does Vanessa Redgrave in an intriguing cameo.
Directed by Jonny Campbell and written by David Koepp (based on his 2019 book), Cold Storage is a surprising visual delight to say it’s mostly set in a white-grey storage unit facility. There’s a lot of colour and texture from the characters’ bright orange uniforms, the buckets of red blood and guts, and the “green shit” known as the fungus. With a mix of practical effects and CGI, the film is filled with gross, gruesome, and gory surprises, which includes animals—from insects to deer. Some parts can feel a bit janky, but it adds to the overall tone in a positive way that calls back to previous genre classics. The lighting is also creative as it keeps things varied, even using red light to effectively light various scenes. Overall, the cinematography is vibrant and gives the film its own visual flair. The soundtrack is also very stylised, with needle drops offering fun commentary to what’s on screen, such as “I Get Around” playing while the fungus is being transported.
With the government not listening to Robert’s security concerns about the fungus for the past 20 years, Koepp’s script highlights the ways the US government has failed to protect its citizens, which unfortunately feels like a bleak yet realistic concern. The concept of a fungus like cordyceps spreading is terrifying, as evidenced in The Last of Us, so it’s great that Cold Storage lightens the mood with its many comedic beats, most of which feel integrated and natural. There’s even an effective and well-timed COVID joke in here. Tightly paced, the film builds suspense really well, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you wait for what’s next to hit you in the face. Cold Storage has a serious premise, but it’s a load of gory, messy fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
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