bookends
Where movies begin. Behind the scenes.
Some liminal space connecting two stories.
“In a genre crowded with escalation and excess, THIS IS NOT A TEST chooses subtraction. It strips the apocalypse down to its quietest, most uncomfortable implications, and asks whether survival means anything without desire. It doesn’t pretend to have an answer, but it asks the question with honesty, and that’s enough to make it linger.” — Overly Honest Reviews
Three favorite lines from the movie, best experienced.
“The barricades are pretty incredible. A testament to teenage ingenuity.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“What do I do?”
“THIS IS NOT A TEST may sound familiar [but] Adam MacDonald leans away from the seemingly inevitable clichés of the premise [and] makes something stark, urgent, and personal.” — Macabre Daily
Why I think you should watch it. See a clip here.
“A rare case of a YA novel making it to the screen without being toned down in terms of violence, darkness, or emotionality . . . committed to doing something just different enough without sanitizing itself or the zombie genre.” — Flickering Myth
Releasing in select theaters in the US tomorrow. Get your tickets.
February 27th in Canada.
Read it before you see it. The ebook is currently $3.99 on Bookshop et al.
Discussing the adaptation on Literary Hype Podcast [YT]
Experience the premiere with the Inky Phoenix x Bindery Books team
Variety’s Best Horror of February 2026
USA Today’s 15 Horror Movies to Watch in 2026
Thinking person's zombies and zombie lovers unite! 🧟🧟♀️🧠🧠
literally so excited, zombie apocalypse films are some of my favorite. endless congratulations, courtney! you're a star x