| zero Day | |
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 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Ben Coccio |
| Produced by | Ben Coccio |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Distributed by | Avatar Films |
| Release date(s) | September 3, 2003 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20,000 |
| Box office | $8,466[1] |
Zero Day is a 2003 American film directed by Ben Coccio about a school shooting much along the lines of the Columbine High School massacre.
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Contents
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Plot
The film, told almost exclusively through Andre's video camera, begins with the introduction of Andre Kriegman and Calvin Gabriel announcing their intention to assault their high school, calling their plan "Zero Day". They keep a video diary on the camera, carefully hiding this from their friends and families. The majority of the film depicts the boys planning, preparing, and explaining some of their motives. There are also unrelated scenes such as the boys at a party, egging the house of someone they dislike, and Cal going to the prom while Andre works at a pizza place.
The final scenes of the movie show the boys arriving at school on May 1 and preparing their weapons in the car. They then run into the school, armed with three pistols (a Ruger GP-100 .357, a Glock 17, a Revolver, and an M1911 .45), an M1 Carbine, a 12-gauge pump action shotgun, and at least twenty pipe bombs. The entire shooting is shown through the eyes of security cameras. Making their way through the school, Andre and Cal eventually watch law enforcement arriving in large numbers outside. After arguing over whether or not to shoot at the police, Andre and Cal decide to count to three, then shoot themselves.
The next scene is set on May 10, nine days after the shooting. A group of youths film themselves going to a park where memorial crosses have been set up. The youths reveal that Andre and Cal killed 12 students and themselves. They find Andre and Cal's crosses and set them on fire before running back to the car. The last scene shows the two crosses on fire before cutting to the credits.
Cast
In order of appearance:
- Andre Keuck as AndrE Kriegman
- Cal Robertson as Calvin Gabriel
- Christopher Coccio as Chris Kriegman
- Gerhard Keuck as Andre's Father
- Johanne Keuck as Andre's Mother
- Rachel Benichak as Rachel Lurie
- Pam Robertson as Cal's Mother
- Steve Robertson as Cal's Father
Origin and filming style
The film was made in response to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. According to Coccio, he began writing the film shortly afterwards, and completed the film in mid-2001, using no professional cameras. The film's initial release was cancelled after September 11, to avoid distress. The film was then edited over the next six months, and eventually released in 2003, nearly two full years after being completed.
The film's camcorder-style perspective was based on the basement tapes made by the perpetrators, in which they discussed their plan to assault Columbine High.[2] The penultimate scene uses security camera, and is based on the footage from the Columbine High School cafeteria during the shooting.
The scene where the shooting takes place has generated some misunderstanding on websites such as YouTube and discussion blogs. The shots are all filmed on security cameras, and uninformed viewers have mistakenly believed that the footage in the film is actually the surveillance footage from Columbine.[3][4][5] Andre and Cal's rampage lasts only sixteen minutes, which is one-third the duration of the real-life Columbine High shooting.
Reception
Zero Day initially sparked some controversy, but received mostly positive reviews. Zero Day also won several awards at film festivals throughout America. It has been cited by Columbine journalist, and author of a Columbine book from Dutton, Dave Cullen as "the one great Columbine film."
Awards
- Atlanta Film Festival – Grand Jury Award 2003
- Boston Underground Film Festival – Best of Festival 2003
- Film Fest New Haven – Audience Choice Award, Best Dramatic Feature 2003
- Florida Film Festival – Grand Jury Award 2003
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- Rhode Island Film Festival – Audience Award 2003
- Slamdunk Film Festival – Grand Jury Award 2003
See also
References
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=zeroday.htm
- ^ "The Columbine Basement Tapes." AColumbineSite.com. Accessed December 20, 2008.
- ^ "Footage From Columbine Movie - Zero Day." Yikers.com. Accessed December 20, 2008.
- ^ "Columbine High School shooting video (Graphic Content)!! movie-list.com. Accessed December 20, 2008.
- ^ "Columbine footage." Ebaumsworld.com. Accessed December 20, 2008.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Zero Day (film) |
- Zero Day at the Internet Movie Database
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Zero Day (film).
