Population Zero

{{Short description|2016 Canadian found footage thriller film by Adam Levins}}

{{about|the 2016 crime thriller film|the National Geographic Channel documentary film|Aftermath: Population Zero}}

{{Infobox film|name=Population Zero

|image=Population Zero poster.jpg

|alt=

|caption=

|native_name=

|director=Adam Levins

|producer=

|writer=Jeff Staranchuk

|screenplay=

|story=

|based_on=

|starring=Julian T. Pinder

|narrator=

|music=

|cinematography=

|editing=

|studio=

|distributor=A71 Entertainment

|released={{film date|2016|4|26|Newport Beach|2017|5|5|Canada}}

|runtime=84 minutes

|country=Canada
United States

|language=English

|budget=

|gross=}}

Population Zero is a 2016 found footage crime thriller film directed by Adam Levins that premiered at the Newport Beach International Film Festival on April 26, 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/indie/3388160/population-zero/|title='Population Zero' Premiere Set For the Newport Beach Film Festival|date=2016-04-20|website=Bloody Disgusting!|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-date=2016-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508121558/http://bloody-disgusting.com/indie/3388160/population-zero/|url-status=live}}

The filmmakers were inspired to make the film after learning of the existence of a small portion of Yellowstone National Park{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/tn-dpt-me-0423-population-zero-20160422-story.html|title='Population Zero,' debuting at film festival, explores the Zone of Death|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2016-05-02|date=2016-04-22|archive-date=2019-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401153011/https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/tn-dpt-me-0423-population-zero-20160422-story.html|url-status=live}} that, under the Sixth Amendment's Vicinage Clause, could enable one to commit a crime without having a jury be able to try them, thus creating "the perfect crime". This idea was first written about in a Georgetown Law Journal article, "The Perfect Crime," by Michigan State University law professor Brian C. Kalt,{{Cite journal|ssrn=691642|last=Kalt|first=Brian|date=March 25, 2005|title=The Perfect Crime|website=Social Science Research Network}} and first dramatized in the 2007 novel "Free Fire" by C. J. Box, from which Population Zero borrows heavily.

Synopsis

The film is a "mockumentary" examining the history of Dwayne Nelson, a suspected murderer. In 2009, Nelson confessed to shooting three men to death in Yellowstone National Park and despite his confession being accurately detailed, he was not convicted of the crimes because the crime occurred in an uninhabited area and as such, there is no chance of finding a jury to hear the trial. Years later Julian T. Pinder examines the crimes and the legal loophole that allowed Nelson to walk free. As the film progresses Pinder begins to receive strange and frightening items, evidence of Nelson's crime.

Reception

In its opening week in Canada, the film grossed Can$3,841 from 15 theatres.{{cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2017/05/16/hot-sheet-top-5-canadian-films-may-5-to-11-2017/|title=Hot Sheet: Top 5 Canadian films May 5 to 11, 2017|date=May 16, 2017|accessdate=August 26, 2017|work=Playback|publisher=Brunico Communications|archive-date=August 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825205750/http://playbackonline.ca/2017/05/16/hot-sheet-top-5-canadian-films-may-5-to-11-2017/|url-status=live}}

The Hollywood Reporter said that although the film was uneven in places it was also "creatively eerie".{{Cite web|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/review/population-zero-newport-beach-review-885160|title='Population Zero': Newport Beach Review|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 April 2016|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-date=2016-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429181824/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/population-zero-newport-beach-review-885160|url-status=live}} Shock Till You Drop praised the movie, commenting that "Knowing that POPULATION ZERO is a hypothetical scenario played out is immaterial. The question of whether the film is real or not is not the point. The point is that the federal government recognizes that there is a “Zone of Death” in one of its National Parks, making this film far more unsettling and disturbing than anything to spring from one’s imagination."{{Cite web|url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/402917-review-chilling-mock-doc-population-zero/#/slide/1|title=Review: Chilling Mock-Doc POPULATION ZERO|last=Jackson|first=Camilla|date=2016-05-01|website=Shock Till You Drop|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-date=2016-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503060228/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/402917-review-chilling-mock-doc-population-zero/#/slide/1|url-status=live}}

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10.{{Cite web |title=Population Zero |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/population_zero |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213230804/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/population_zero |url-status=live }}