This is not a drill. This is Not a Test has more on its mind that zombie brains.
Directed by Adam MacDonald, This is Not a Test tells the story of Sloane (Olivia Holt), a teen struggling to deal with life at home. Faced with an abusive dad and a sister who’s gone missing, things don’t seem to be able to get any worse for her… that is, until their hometown suddenly implodes into anarchy. With the apocalypse staring her down, she and a group of classmates take cover in their high school in the hopes of keeping safe. But danger can’t be held back. As the zombie hoard pounds relentlessly on the doors, the group begins to wrestle with the ramifications of their situation and wonder what it’s going to take to survive.
Interestingly, much of the film feels like a home invasion story. With most of the action taking place within the walls of their high school, the team fights to keep doors and windows shut out of fear that the violence will find its way within. As such, while it almost seems incidental, the placement of the film during the era of Y2K adds a fun subtext to the chaos. For those of us who are old enough to remember, the belief that the world could end at any moment was the perfect time to incite a zombie apocalypse. After all, it was a time when we didn’t know whether the world would be functional based on the stroke of the clock. That sort of intensive fear permeates Not a Test, infecting its characters who remain terrified at the chaos that surrounds them.
And MacDonald definitely unleashes chaos upon this world.
With bloody bodies and infected hunters, those outside are hungry and looking for their next morsel of human flesh. These aren’t the slow, sluggish beasties of zombie movies past. Instead, they’re fast-moving and vicious, making even the most open streets feel claustrophobic.
But, at the same time, within the school walls, the teens bring their own manner of madness. With the walls feeling like their closing in, this group highlights the darkness that can take over the human heart when thrust into survival mode. As they fight to hold their group together, each teen has their moment where they battle their own inner demons and impulses. In some moments, the film feels like a social experiment as the group weighs every human life against one another. (And credit must be given to a positively malicious Luke MacFarlane who walks the line between humble and horrifying.)
As such, MacDonald ensures that this is a space where hope seems futile. Faced with the collapse of society, every one of these characters recognizes that they’re up against insurmountable odds. (“We must be the stupidest people ever… having any kind of hope,” we’re told.) And buried by her own emotionally charged past, Sloane is no exception.
Even so, despite the apocalypse that has engulfed the world, Sloane’s struggle to stay alive has little to do with the undead. Instead, the disappearance of her sister eats away at her soul with increasing ferocity. As Sloane, Holt does a good job breathing a broken spirit into her character. Even at times when she’s facing massive ethical decisions, there’s a growing hole within her soul that feels unfillable. And you can see it in her eyes.
But MacDonald’s film uses this as an opportunity that other zombie tales often miss. In the midst of his intense zombie mayhem, he tries to have a conversation about suicide prevention and healing. In doing so, rather than abandon all hope within this world, Test calls Sloane out with the choice to live.
But, to make this choice is no small task. And This is Not a Test does not take it for granted.
It’s this subtext that elevates This is Not a Test in surprising ways. Yes, it has all the obligatory murderous mayhem but, ultimately, it’s a conversation about grappling with trauma. And that’s the sort of brains that are always worth looking for in a zombie film.
This is Not a Test is available in theatres on Friday, February 27th, 2026.
