JustWatchWhat is the Storyline of Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires?
Zed, Addison, Eliza, and Willa embark on a road trip after finishing their first year at college, but as they travel through the countryside, they’re hit by a mysterious energy surge. Their car breaks down and they’re stranded in an unknown area, where they encounter two rival factions: the Vampires and the Daywalkers, who are competing for a food source known as Blood Fruit.
Caught in the middle of yet another monster feud, Zed and the others must convince the Daywalkers and Vampires to end their feud and work together. But will the differences between the two clans be too strong for them to ever overcome?
Our Honest Review of A Complete Unknown
Disney’s Zombies franchise has become one of the company’s quieter success stories. Every film in this franchise has bypassed the cinema and debuted on the Disney Channel, but they’ve all been reasonably popular with young viewers. And despite revolving around horror movie monsters, there’s nothing remotely threatening about them.
This is the kind of movie that’s designed to entertain children, and it’s all perfectly harmless.
The characters sing, dance, and experience life lessons about working together rather than rampaging or killing, and it’s incredibly cheesy and safe.
Any parents who sit down to watch these will no doubt roll their eyes, but to be fair, Zombies 4 is fun if you accept it as a bit of harmless nonsense. Lead actors Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim are charming and likeable, while the songs are entertaining and the choreography is always good. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s a fairly innocuous, teen musical fantasy.
What Do the Critics Think of Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires?
The originality and scares make the film 28 Weeks Later a must-see horror. This is what the critics say:
- “The Zombies 4 soundtrack definitely delivers, mixing nostalgic throwbacks with new high-energy favorites.” – Kristen Maldonado, Pop Culture Planet
- “Zombies 4 leans on being generically competent rather than exuberantly campy, but the music, Milo Manheim, and Meg Donnelly have never been better.” – Brennan Klein, Screen Rant
- “Featuring some of the best songs in the franchise, there is a lot to love about the latest ZOMBIES installment. However, it cannot help but feel like a passing of the torch from Zed and Addison to the newcomers, which makes it quite bittersweet.” – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geekly
- “Disney Channel’s latest sequel has all the bells and whistles, but not much in the way of substance.” – Luna Guthrie, Collider
- “Redundant, redundant, redundant.” – Lauren Goodman, Decider
What Awards and Nominations did Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires?
Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires has not been nominated for any awards at the time of writing.
However, previous entries in the series have been nominated for several awards, including:
- Best Costume Design in Film Sci-Fi/Fantasy award, by the Canadian Alliance for Film and Television Costume Arts and Design Awards – Zombies 2 (won)
- Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Action Program, by the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards – Zombies 3
- Outstanding Kids and Family Programming: Live Action award, by GLAAD Media Awards – Zombies 3
Director & Cast of Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires
Paul Hoen is an industry veteran with over 40 directorial credits to his name. He has worked extensively for Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel, and has won two DGA Awards. His previous movies include Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), Let It Shine (2012), Zombies 2 (2020), and Zombies 3 (2022).
Meg Donnelly returns as lead character Addison Wells, and this is her fourth appearance in the Zombies franchise. She is also known for her roles in The Winchesters TV series, and for American Housewife.
Milo Manheim is an actor from Venice, California, best known for his starring role in the Zombies franchise. He is a talented musician and multi-instrumentalist, and can play guitar, drums, piano, the ukulele, and various wind instruments. He also appeared in season 27 of Dancing With The Stars.
Freya Skye Jones is an actress from Southampton, England, who has been acting and singing since she was five years old. She represented the UK in the 2022 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, where she won the public vote and finished fifth overall. Zombies 4 is her live action debut, although she has several voice acting credits to her name already.
Malachi Barton grew up in a creative household and has been part of the entertainment world since a young age. As a child, he appeared in commercials for McDonalds and Kmart, then had a number of minor roles before his breakthrough as Beast Diaz in The Disney Channel sitcom Stuck In The Middle.
Kylee Russell is an actress and has appeared in all four films in the Zombies 4 franchise. She is also an experienced voice actress, having reprised her role as Eliza in the Zombies animated series, and voiced Scorn in Marvel’s Spiderman. She is the younger sister of actress Chelsea Tavares.
Chandler Kinney started acting at the age of 9 and has appeared in multiple Disney Channel productions. She had guest roles on Boy Meets World and K.C. Undercover, and appeared in three films from the Zombies franchise. Outside of her work for Disney, she has acted in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and Fox’s Lethal Weapon TV series. She is also a keen martial artist.
Fun Facts About A Complete Unknown
- This is the first film in the Zombies franchise that doesn’t feature a scene where Addison punches Zed in the face. He does however, get kicked in the stomach by Nova.
- While this is the first appearance of the vampires in a live action film, they were previously referenced in Zombies: Addison’s Monster Mystery, an animated short from 2021.
- The colour palettes of the new monsters signifies their shared origins. They both use red, but the Vampires use silver and grey, whereas the Daywalkers have white and gold.
- This is the first Zombies movie to have a subtitle, as all the previous entries were just numbered.
Themes of Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires
The main theme of Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires is the conflict between the rival Vampire and Daywalker clans. This covers topics like generational feuds, as the story concentrates on the young members of each group, who have inherited the prejudices of their elders. The arrival of the Seabrook outsiders gives the younger generation a path to ending the rivalry and working together.
Additionally, the film functions as an exploration of the difficulties of young adult life. The characters of Zed, Addison, Eliza, and Willa have graduated from high school and find themselves drifting apart as they attend college. The road trip they embark on sees them attempting to rekindle the old bonds and keep their friendship alive as they grow older.
How Does Zombies 4 Compare to Paul Hoen’s Other Work?
Stylistically, Zombies 4 is very similar to the director’s previous work. Fans who enjoyed the humour, songs, and adventure of Zombies 2 and Zombies 3 will recognise similar tropes in Zombies 4. He sticks to the lighthearted genre conventions of Disney Channel original movies, and while it is a bit formulaic, Hoen is a capable director who delivers a consistent level of professionalism and quality.
Iconic Scenes from 28 Weeks Later
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- This is the first Zombies film not to be filmed in Toronto, Canada. It was instead filmed in New Zealand, which is appropriate as it placed the cast and crew in unfamiliar territory, similar to how this is the first film in the franchise that takes place outside of Seabrook.
- Addison’s colour palette is blue, silver, and pink, which represent her mixed identity that was established in the previous films. The blue and silver represent her alien side, while the pink signifies her human, cheerleading side.
- Freya Skye was only 14 years old at the time of filming. The film hints at a romance between her and Malachi Barton’s character, but sensibly doesn’t commit and leaves them as friends.
- Like the previous film, Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly have executive producer credits.
What’s the Soundtrack Like for Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires?
The Zombies 4 soundtrack is best described as a collection of upbeat pop songs. It includes all eleven tracks from the film itself, along with new versions of Someday and Ain’t No Doubt About It, which appeared in earlier movies.
It’s just over half an hour long, every song runs to less than four minutes, and it’s almost perfectly designed to irritate parents on lengthy car journeys. The usual themes of identity, inclusion, and acceptance are all present, and while it’s not particularly memorable, it’s not offensive or stupid either.
Best Quotes from Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires
- “I’m not a Daywalker, I’m a cheerleader!” – Addison Wells, when she first meets the Vampires.
- “Vampires are evil and ruthless, he’s just green and clueless.” – Nova, describing Zed when they first meet.
- “If you two show that you can work together, it shows them that they can work together too.” – Addison, giving Nova a pep talk about collaborating with Victor.
- “Fight for what you believe in, because what’s on the line is your future!” – Addison, giving a pre-fight pep talk.
What People Are Asking About Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires
No, it’s not. Like the rest of the Zombies franchise, Zombies 4 is a light-hearted musical-comedy intended for a young audience. It is rated PG in Australia due to light romantic themes and one or two scenes might scare very young children, but it is primarily a family film.
No, the only returning characters are Zed (Milo Manheim), Addison (Meg Donnelly), Eliza (Kylee Russell), and Willa (Chandler Kinney). The story focuses on a new set of characters and takes place outside of Seabrook, so the majority of the old cast are absent.
No, it would be more accurate to describe them as ‘misled.’ The Vampires have a rivalry with the Daywalkers and the two groups do come into conflict, but neither side is necessarily evil, they’ve just inherited the suspicions and mistrust of their elders.
Aussies can catch the gorefest that is 28 Weeks Later on a few streaming platforms. Not only is it available on Disney Plus, but viewers can stream it on Netflix with a subscription. If you don’t want to commit to a subscription on these platforms, it’s possible to rent or buy this movie through Apple TV.
The Zombies 4: Dawn Of The Vampires initial release date was 25th July 2025. It was released simultaneously worldwide.
Cast & Crew
Director(s)
Paul Hoen
Top Cast
Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Chandler Kinney, Kylee Russell, Freya Skye
