Zero Day

(oh the doomed yaoi…) intro: i really liked this film WAY more than I thought I would. I liked how the whole film was basically foreshadowing events that were going to happen at the end of the film which was definitely the most anticipated part of the film. (1st, i just want to talk about how much i liked how the film was basically just Andre and Cal filming and documenting everything their doing that leads up to the climax of the film, even including the little fun moments they spent with their friends and family. part of me feels like that they would’ve wanted us or should i say the people in general in the film what they were like and the fun moments they had together.) (2nd, i want to talk about the queer coding throughout this film.) I really think that Andre and Cal definitely had feelings for each other throughout the whole film that the both of them weren’t planning on exploring or expressing with each other until their last moments. when Andre said “Dude, I want you to know, like I couldn’t have done this with anyone else. Like, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if we hadn’t been friends.” made me really think Andre had feelings for Cal. just something about what he said makes me feel like that him and cal knew it would all end like this and that was their little confession that they that both decided to save  for the end. they knew it was all going to end in death. in the final scene on May 1st we see that the cops are right outside of the building waiting for them. Andre wanted to take them down too but Cal refused thinking that it was better to die by their own hand than by someone else’s. both of them counted to 3 with guns to their throats knowing what was coming next. Knowing that that they would rather die by each other’s side than die separately from each other. (3rd, i want to add another part to this just about how homophobia could tie into this as well.) Andre said in one part of the film that when he was in 8th grade he got called the f slur just for wearing a short shirt. that alone could be a reason for what he did on zero day. Andre felt like he always had to hide who he really was in fear of being bullied or criticized by the general public. As for Cal, we can see that he’s more closed off and reserved than Andre. Mostly because he’s gay too and he felt like he has to hide it from everyone else too fearing that exact fear that Andre felt. Cal went to the dance with Rachel to prove something. To prove that he could actually be “normal” for once and not be what he regrets the most. In the prom scene we can see how uncomfortable and shy Cal gets with the constant “you’re gay” jokes the boys make in the limo. To free himself from it he asks the driver to drop him off at Andre’s house so he could be with the only person he feels comfortable with. I believe that all of this could tie in why Cal and Andre wanted to do zero day in the first place. They wanted to take something away from other people that they could never have. Something that they have been denied for the longest time. The comfort of being yourself and not having to hide your feelings and sexuality. (4th I would like to talk about the columbine shooting and the foreshadowing of it in zero day.) as we know the columbine shootings was a high school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States, on April 20, 1999. murdering 13 students and one teacher. With the perpetrators, being twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Which the both of them died from suicide by gunshots while inside columbine high school. in the film we have Cal and Andre we are planning a school shooting at their high school. on may 1st 2001, their fantasy turns into reality and they do exactly that, injuring classmates, teachers, and even killing them. then after they are their done, the they decide to commit suicide by dying from a gunshot wound. Also, the columbine shootings were caught on camera inside of columbine high school in Colorado. in zero day we also see that too throughout the climax of the film. final thoughts: I really enjoyed this film more than I thought I’d ever would and I definitely thought this film would be more messed up that it already was. I like to think that this film was trying to recreate the events of the columbine shootings before it happened and give us more depth and insight about how Eric Harris’s and Dylan Klebold’s lives were like before the shooting and by even including every step of Cal and Andre’s plan which I think is supposed to represent how Eric  and Dylan planned the columbine shootings. As of now I do want to say that this might be one of my favorite films and hyper fixations at the moment, and that I mostly likely might consider rewatching this film. Funny enough, one of the only reasons why i watched this film was because I was interested by it from seeing it on TikTok and by Ethel Cain face claiming Cal as Willoughby Tucker. (I would also just like to say that this Is one of my first reviews like this, so please forgive me if it’s a bit all over the place. Also I would like to say thank you to anyone who has even read my review this far.)