402 #14 - Less Than Human (2017)

Less Than Human was a 3D animated short film created by a small team through the Animation Workshop. The short is shot as a news report on cured zombies that still physically resemble their undead state but are now mentally competent and sentient again, the main plot focusing on an interview with two cured zombies.

I really liked the character models, as they have a slightly blockier appearance than accurate human features, which makes them distinct from reality, but all the textures in the short have a dirty, grunge aspect to them, allowing the character models to work with the backgrounds better and to make them feel more actual.

The character design is also quite interesting. The thin zombie gives off quite quickly is more of a hippy with his friendly nature, green Earth shirt and the shots of plants used while he's talking, while the larger zombie gives off a tougher nature with a large stature, deeper voice, and bent over posture.

I also very much liked the ending shot of the wall around the camp, which is rather reminiscent of the border wall between the US and Mexico that was being campaigned for around the time, which was steeped in much racism. The shot also has quite a lot of dirt and grunge, as well as a lot of graffiti using phrases like 'go back to your graves' which is also quite reminiscent of modern western racism.