So, Ziam’s ending gives you this “mind-blowing” revelation that suggests this Netflix horror film has the makings of a larger franchise. After the zombie outbreak in Prachamit Hospital, the Royal Thai Army, or RTA, had planted explosives in the underground parking lot to demolish the building and prevent the chances of mass contamination. But shortly after placing the charges, the army chief received an order to evacuate Mr. Vasu and his wife, Ann, from the building. Actually, Mr. Vasu was a real big shot. He owned a multi-billion dollar food company called VS Corporation that helped the people of Thailand to survive a major food shortage during the ongoing environmental crisis. Well, long story short, Mr. Vasu and his wife got infected, turned into zombies, and probably died in the explosion. Meanwhile, our hero, Singh, decided to face the horde of zombies with his punches and kicks so his girlfriend, Rin, and their young companion, Buddy, could reach the terrace and escape the building. An army helicopter was waiting there for Mr. Vasu and the team that had gone to extract him, but because they were long dead, the armed personnel decided to take off with Rin and Buddy. However, Rin didn’t want to leave without Singh and begged the army men to wait for him, but as usual, they didn’t listen, as they knew that the bombs could go off any moment, killing everyone in the vicinity. Hence, the helicopter flew away as Rin and Buddy saw Singh fighting the zombies on the terrace during the sunset. Suddenly the bombs exploded, taking down the entire building. And even though it looked like Singh wouldn’t survive the blast, surprisingly he did, but how? Well, allow me to break down the cliffhangerish ending of Ziam and speculate on what we can expect in the sequel.
Singh Hides in the Water Tank
Seriously, I had to rewatch Ziam’s mid-credits scene at least twice or thrice to understand how exactly Singh survived the explosion. So, during his clash with the zombies in the parking lot, Singh noticed that someone had planted bombs in the building, which were about to explode in 3 minutes, and because there was no other way to leave the building in such a short time, Singh ran towards the terrace. This is important information, because it will make you understand what Singh was thinking all this while. He was looking for a means to survive the blast, and it’s likely that during his last fight with the zombies, Singh jumped into one of the water tanks on the terrace. You see, the water and the tank not only protected Singh from the flames but also minimized the damage as the building collapsed to the ground. Later, in Ziam’s ending, a zombie, probably hunting for human flesh, opened the tank lid, and bang! Singh jumped out of the tank and kicked the zombie and crushed its head on the ground, giving an adrenaline-filled ending to the film.
Rin Is Still Waiting For Singh’s Return
Throughout the film, Rin was quite worried about her boyfriend, Singh, as she believed that he had gotten mixed up with some really shady people, and someday he might just not return home. Back in the day, when things were normal, Singh used to be a famous Muay Thai fighter, but as the environmental crisis and food shortage hit the country, the citizens totally abandoned these recreational activities in order to focus on their survival. Those without a job had turned to scavenging or become petty thieves who started looting food transports to survive. Due to the rising civil unrest, Bangkok was in total chaos, and martial law was imposed in the city. This was why Rin and Singh had decided to leave the city and return to their village in Chiang Dao. Singh also wanted to propose to Rin, but before that could happen, a zombie outbreak hit the hospital where Rin worked as a doctor, putting everyone’s lives at risk.
In Ziam’s ending, before leaving the hospital, Singh proposed to Rin and gave her the ring, as he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her in their hometown. But unfortunately, they couldn’t escape the horde of zombies, and Singh had to stay back so the love of his life could survive. Now in the concluding moments of the film, you could spot the ring on Rin’s finger, which is a testament to the fact that she was still waiting for Singh to return. And to be honest, that’s what I think the sequel film will be about. Singh’s dangerous journey to his hometown, navigating a city overrun by bloodthirsty zombies. Will he be able to reunite with his lover? We will find out.
The Zombie Outbreak
Finally, addressing the elephant in the room, where did the zombie virus originate? Ziam’s opening voiceover informed us that due to a continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions, the global temperatures had once again reached a peak, because of which millions of fish had died due to a bacteria released from melting polar ice. Well, that’s your clue. If you have noticed, Singh, who worked as a driver, was transporting crates filled with fish for the VS Corporation. Some workers carried these boxes out of a shipwrecked vessel. Either this ship was carrying fish caught from the poisoned water, or Mr. Vasu had created a secret lab inside this vessel where his scientist bred these fish in an artificial environment. It’s likely the second possibility because, as the opening of the film pointed out, the fish out of ocean water was no longer safe for consumption, so I don’t think any person would be insane enough to serve poisoned fish to his fellow countrymen. Or maybe Mr. Vasu’s greed for money and obsession with being a savior took away his ability to think rationally.
As Singh and his boss drove towards the city, one could spot a billboard that said “Insect Farming Project For Food Security,” which could suggest that VS Corporation had been running a number of similar experiments to increase food production, and they might have ended up mixing up the wrong DNA, therefore giving birth to a contagious virus. He had also arranged a “fish liver” for his wife’s liver transplant. In short, the guy has been acting really shady, and we still don’t know a lot about him, so it’s likely the sequel will shed more light on the questionable projects or experiments that his corporation had been conducting. It’s possible that Mr. Vasu might have accidentally created a hazardous virus in order to curb food shortage. And ironically, in the end, he ended up becoming prey to his own Frankenstein’s monster. Also, one really cool detail that I noticed: in the third act of the film, Singh had burned down a zombified army officer, which activated the fire sprinklers in the hospital, and the moment all these bloodthirsty zombies came in contact with water, they suddenly transformed into beastly creatures with teeth as sharp as piranhas and their bodies covered in scales. I mean, they turned into zombie fish.
There’s one more thing I want to discuss. If you remember, Purich, Mr. Vasu’s right-hand, had invited a certain VIP to be treated to some fresh and safe fish. Now the thing is, in this dining table scene, only Purich got infected, and not the other VIPs seated there. Logically, if the whole meal was contaminated, then everyone on the table should have been infected, right? But it was only Purich who started spewing blood. So this was one of the inconsistencies that I found in the film, because Ziam didn’t reveal what actually happened to the other guests. Did they turn into zombies too after eating the infected fish? And if yes, then that means the zombie outbreak is far worse than the chief of the RTA had anticipated, and is probably going to contaminate the whole country sooner or later.
The Cockroaches and the Evil Corp
One of my favorite scenes from the film was when Purich was praising his boss’ contributions in helping the residents of the country, while the scene cut to show us how the people on the street were killing each other over a bag of cockroaches. This scene highlights that ground reality is quite different from what some evil corporation or even the government boasts about. People were literally feeding on cockroaches, so VS Corporation hadn’t actually curbed the food shortage. No one had access to safe drinking water or food. Mr. Vasu just exploited the environmental crisis and created a new revenue stream for himself. He sold sustenance to people who could afford it, which, in my view, isn’t how you solve the crisis.
Speaking of the government and the military, the film constantly focused on this huge poster rolling down from a building, which read “true sovereignty arises from the breath of the people.” Well, it was obviously some crap military propaganda, because the men in charge of the armed forces were no less evil than Mr. Vasu or his corporation. The military didn’t care about the “will of the people.” The military chief didn’t consider the lives of the 500 people inside the hospital before giving the order to blow up the building. And seriously, this was the person who sent a strike team to extract Mr. Vasu and his wife. I am really out of words here, because I cannot express how vicious this man was. He had the resources and willingness to help Mr. Vasu and his half-dead wife, but couldn’t send a team to extract the other survivors? This was the man who gave an order to shoot anyone who came out of the hospital, not even sparing a very young girl who ran out of the building to look for her mother. She wasn’t even infected, but the army or the people in power weren’t bothered. They just wanted to “help out” a greedy capitalist who put the life of the whole of humanity at stake just to save his wife. And if the military were to decide to blow up the whole city in the sequel, I wouldn’t be much surprised. But yes, that means Singh will be in a race against time to escape Bangkok.
In the beginning, the film raises a question: “Could this be the end of humanity?” As I was watching the film, I really wanted people to survive the zombie outbreak, but the moment the military shot the young girl, I lost my faith in the human race. In their greed, mankind has turned into far worse abominations than zombies. They exploited the planet for its resources and destroyed everything in the process, and now they are leeching on what’s left, so this is how the world will end…not with a bang but a whimper.
