“Cold Storage” (2026) adapts David Koepp’s 2019 novel that starts in 1979 with a lethal fungus that poses a threat to life on Earth. It breaks containment in a defunct Dependent of Defense facility turned storage unit in Atkinson, Kansas. Can two unassuming security guards, Teacake (Joe Keery), who is on parole from Ellsworth, and Naomi (Georgina Campbell), a single mom, pre-med student, rise to the occasion and save the world? Possibly with the help of Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville) from the fictional Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which appears to be an Army division. A great cast is not enough to elevate the material above the challenge of battling the fungus as it possesses living beings and poses different levels of threat.
“Cold Storage” operates with gonzo energy as it jumps arounds the timeline and shifts focus among its huge cast of characters. It is reminiscent of those Seventies disaster movies except it has the contemporary sensibility of bureaucratic inefficiencies and problem people standing in the way of the solution. While watching the film, it is unclear who is supposed to be the hero in the story. Quinn seems like the natural choice because Neeson plays him, but nope, it is Teacake, who is in a dead-end job with a horrible boss, Griffin (Gavin Spokes), an ornery customer who is tired of his yapping, Ma Rooney (Vanessa Redgrave), and a new, hot coworker, Naomi. Why are we supposed to root for him? Over the course of the movie, he leans towards heroic and takes things seriously, but he is otherwise underwritten and forgettable, which is not Keery’s fault. Keery is serviceable in the role. Naomi is far pluckier and more proactive. The effective, flawed hard workers are the underdogs. It is the movie’s formula, but it is easy to miss with all the jargon laden dialogue and switching of perspectives.
Other unsung heroes have flaws and are admired. Trini has a smoking habit. “Cold Storage” offers a little insight into her life as a mom and an enlisted person, which is one of the funnier bits as she retrieves something from the suburbs. Robert has a bad back, and Neeson is quite fun in it. If he was the main character, the story’s trajectory would feel less circuitous. Abigail (Ellora Torchia) works in the control room under the command of Wesley Jerabek (Richard Brake), who does not take the threat seriously. There is a nice underdog theme of the few who step up and make sure the world keeps spinning. Historicity of institutions was a strong theme that resonated but is not central to the plot except at the bookends.
If “Cold Storage” has a problem, it is its tendency to jump in the way of its momentum when it introduces a new character, decides to rewind or muddies the rules of infection. The jargon heavy dialogue does not make it easier to enjoy. Yes, you need more fodder so people can get infected and die, but part of the fun is to get invested and care about the heroes, but there is little time to do that. Koepp as a screenwriter cares more about raising the stakes and confuses things happening at an alarming rate with substance. Does Koepp have a quota of how many good movies he is allowed to write (“Jurassic Park,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds,” “Black Bag”) versus clever concepts that feel hurried and ultimately wind up feeling lackluster (“Mission: Impossible”—unpopular opinion, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “The Mummy,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Presence,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth”)? You can’t count him out, but you can’t rely on him either. Let’s applaud his productivity. You miss all the shots that you do not make.
The red shirt characters represent obstacles that the two security guards must overcome to reach their full potential, but as actual characters, they are barely archetypes. For instance, Naomi’s ex, Mike (Aaron Heffernan), seems like a standard stalker, but the other elements are so random that they are easy to get stuck on. Quirky for quirk’s sake can be too distracting: an homage to Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary,” a flashy car and revelations that feel more like crap thrown on a wall. Then Griffin and his gang of anticlimactic bikers make Teacake finally choose a side instead of fence sitting on integrity versus playing it safe in survival mode.
Is “Cold Storage” scary? No. It aims more for gross out territory and feels flatter even as the body count rises. It is closer to a solid sci-fi adventure. This fungus is highly invasive, contagious, and lethal. Its fearsomeness is effectively introduced during the scenes with NASA’s Dr. Hero Martins (Sosi Bacon, who is zero degrees away from Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick since she is their daughter). When she works with Robert and Trini, they seem like the slackers, and she seems like the striver. The movie becomes frustrating when our minimum wage heroes constantly defy infection despite their exposure and proximity. The fungus must be an enemy, a character, but the speed of how fast it works varies, which is crucial to the plot. It is suggested early that it mutates depending on what it is exposed to, but in the present day, when it busts out, the exposure does not change its modus operandi, which was disappointing.
Even though the word “zombie” is used, it is not a zombie movie though arguably one animal character is zombie like. The characters reference Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which is known as the zombie ant fungus that hijacks the infected’s brain so it can spread and infect more people. The gold standard movie example of this phenomenon is “Cell” (2016), a much-derided film that does not involve that fungus but does a great job of showing how infected human beings would behave if they were. In this story, it starts strong but soon gives way to standard scares.
Visually “Cold Storage” is functionally fine, but nothing to write home about. Initially it seems promising with the intertitles, time lapse sequences, found footage elements and microscopic perspective, but it gets into a rut once it hits Kansas. It loses steam. All that fancy footwork gets abandoned or revisited infrequently. It is better to end on a high note than be memorable, slow down then rev up with busyness that never quite touches the hem of the opening. It may have been better to show the opening in a flashback. It is director Jonny Campbell’s second feature film. He usually works on television series. The highest praise that I can award: the night scenes are crystal clear, which is better than “Game of Thrones” did.
“Cold Storage” is an energetic romp showing how quickly things can go wrong and how life goes on, good or bad. It has an unreasonably solid cast of actors, but the writing and rhythm needed a lot more work. The heart is there. It has an innate sense of mortality and an admiration for the ordinary, aging, flawed and injured people who keep us safe. The real horror is how safety measures erode overtime and the question of whether younger people will be able to take up the mantle with all the obstacles and people standing in their way. The execution is shaky at best. It is a movie that you should see during the matinee or when it comes to streaming.
