Plot
Zed, Addison, Eliza, and Willa have finished their freshman year at Mountain College. Zed and Addison have spent most of the year dedicated to their respective sports, football and cheerleading. Both have been so focused on succeeding that they have spent almost no time with each other or with their other friends. Zed plans on going to a summer football camp to prove he is worthy of “first string” status, while Addison plans on going to a summer cheer camp to make herself competitive for cheer captain.
Zed, Addison, Eliza, and Willa take a road trip to their respective summer destinations when a mysterious energy surge causes Zed’s Z-band to malfunction, running their car off the road. The crash leaves the group lost in an unknown area, and they split up to find help.
Zed encounters a new group of monsters, the Daywalkers, led by Commander Bright. Addison encounters the Vampires, led by the Vampire Eldress. The two groups have a longstanding rivalry from competing over a shared and dwindling food/energy source: Blood Fruit. Nova and Victor, young leaders in training, each face pressure from their elders to do whatever it takes to secure Blood Fruit for their clan, despite experiencing mysterious visions of each other.
The Daywalkers and Vampires arrive to the Blood Fruit orchard at the same time, alongside Eliza and Willa, but the gate to the orchard is locked. While searching for clues on how to unlock the gate, the young groups of Daywalkers, led by Nova, and Vampires, led by Victor, settle into the abandoned Camp Rayburn, a camp where the ancestors of Daywalkers and Vampires used to co-exist. At the camp, Nova and Victor meet and start remembering their visions.
Zed, Addison, Eliza, and Willa find themselves acting as camp counselors between the two opposing groups, hoping to convince them to work together. Nova and Victor bond over their shared visions of each other, believing something supernatural is drawing them together. Meanwhile, the mysterious energy surges continue, threatening harm to zombies and werewolves far beyond the camp.
The Daywalkers and the Vampires slowly begin to work together and are ultimately able to overcome their differences and open the gate to the Blood Fruit orchard. However, when the elders arrive, they are shocked to see the two groups working together and begin to fight, inadvertently burning half the orchard down. The elders declare war on each other, and the two groups separate.
Zed, Eliza, and Willa discover that the dying Blood Fruit roots are what is causing the dangerous energy surges. Nova and Victor believe that uniting their peoples’ moonstones will help heal the roots and stop the energy surges, but they fear doing so would be an impossible task. Addison and a weakened Zed “pass the torch” and encourage them to make the impossible possible.
The Daywalkers and the Vampires work together to rebel against the elders and are able to unite their moonstones, which heals the roots, stopping the energy surges, ending the feud between the two groups, and causing miraculous Blood Fruit growth. The united monsters celebrate the accomplishment.
Zed and Addison reflect on their experience and decide to spend the rest of the summer with loved ones, choosing to value relationships over personal achievement. Nova and Victor promise to remain in touch, but before they go their separate ways, Nova approaches Victor to give him a hug. As they embrace, they witness a supernatural water spout form over the ocean.
Production
On November 22, 2023, Production Weekly revealed that a fourth Zombies film was in-development, with Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly reprising their roles as Zed and Addison respectively. Paul Hoen would also return to direct the new entry, alongside co-production with Bloor Street Productions following their prior involvement with the previous two installments. Unlike the other films however, Zombies 4 was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand, instead of Toronto, Canada. [8]
The film was officially greenlit on February 10, 2024, with Chandler Kinney and Kylee Russell returning as Willa and Eliza, respectively. Freya Skye joined the cast as Nova and Malachi Barton was cast as Victor. [6] Principal photography began on March 26, 2024 in New Zealand, with Swayam Bhatia, Julian Lerner, Mekonnen Knife, Lisa Chappell, and Jonno Roberts rounding out as Vera, Ray, Vargas, Eldress, and Commander Bright, respectively. [7]
