Phil Roberts 
Cold Storage is a fun, gory horror-comedy that lives up to the hype. With its nostalgic B-movie style, clever screenplay, and rich production values, the movie is the ultimate Friday night popcorn horror flick.
We all love a creature feature. Whether it’s a Ray Harryhausen classic, a MonsterVerse smackdown, or a zombie apocalypse horror, we all get a kick out of a monster-fest. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple successfully kicked off 2026 with a bang. But now, it’s time for director Jonny Campbell to throw his hat into the ring. Following his work on Alien Autopsy, the director returns to the big screen with Cold Storage, a zombie-themed fungus horror comedy. Boasting the talents of Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, the legendary Liam Neeson, and a screenplay from Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, the film has all the hallmarks of an instant classic. So, can Campbell do the unthinkable and deliver a classic Friday night popcorn horror worth watching? Or is Cold Storage another addition to the bargain bin?
REVIEW
Rejoice, horror fans, because Jonny Campbell’s Cold Storage is the ultimate 80s sci-fi creature feature revival. Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell shine in this gory, hilarious, and witty flesh-eating fungus caper with Lian Neeson adding his seasoned brilliance to proceedings. Despite some occasional retro CGI, it makes for the perfect Friday night horror movie—it’s an absolute blast!
Any movie fan fearing that Cold Storage will turn into another generic zombie horror flick can put those fears to rest. Campbell’s slick new horror comedy is anything but that. In fact, the opening moments set the stage for the hilarious tongue-in-cheek antics we are about to enjoy, and any comparisons to the zombie genre are allbut cast aside. The film begins in Australia, where a NASA research space capsule has landed. However, attached to its hull are some bizarre alien spores that begin to spread like wildfire. After some mystery deepening foreshadowing, a Government researcher, played by the always-welcome Sosie Bacon, heads to the area with a pair of military “problem solvers,” played by Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, to investigate.
CONTAINMENT
After some satisfyingly eerie exposure and gruesome antics, Neeson and Manville manage to contain the fungal spores and deliver them to a government cold storage facility, contained in the side of a mountain in the States. Fast forward a couple of decades, and the government facility has been buried and sealed inside the mountain, and the external area has been redeveloped into a public rental storage facility. Enter our heroes, the bored storage facility attendants, Teacake and Naomi, played by Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell. To pass the time during their monotonous night shift, the duo spends their time one-upping each other and egging each other on to break the rules whenever they feel the need.
The dynamic between Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell is instantly relatable, and their on-screen chemistry is cinema gold, resulting in genuinely funny moments. But when a beeping noise begins to echo around the facility, the duo decides to investigate, no matter how far into the mountains the adventure takes them, or how much property they have to destroy to get there.
ACTION HERO NEESON
Unbeknownst to them, the beeping sound in the facility is a warning system alerting them to a containment breach in the concealed, abandoned military facility, and the fungus is spreading. But as they delve deeper into the unknown, little do they know that the alarm has already activated a less-than-rapid-response team. Or an aging, bad back-suffering Liam Neeson in this case. Liam Neeson’s Robert Quinn is the kind of government fixer role we’re all used to in these movies. But luckily, David Koepp’s sharp screenplay gives the actor a fascinating character. Despite the severity of the growing crisis, Quinn continues to crack jokes and make light of it, all the while maintaining the intensity the plot demands.
It’s genuinely refreshing to see Neeson being rewarded with a character like Quinn. Instead of being typecast as the typical action hero, Quinn spends much of his time complaining about his back pain and being sidelined because of his limitations. He’s still the action hero we know and love, but he’s a hero with boundaries, and it’s terrific to see this character keep fighting to save the day despite his ailment. Rounding out his fun character is his enjoyable partnership with Lesley Manville’s Trini Romano. When the duo is on screen together, they light it up for all to see, and they make another great duo to match Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell.
CHARACTERS
It goes without saying that the film is built around these dynamic duos, and their chemistry makes every moment worth the investment. Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell are superb as Teacake and Naomi. Despite Teacake being portrayed as the slightly goofy dimwit, Keery’s magnetism dilutes the character’s flaws and makes him warm and relatable. Naomi, on the other hand, is a single mom looking to add some spice back into her life and gets more than she bargained for with Teacake and the Fungus. Campbell approached the role with infectious, mischievous energy, which makes for a fun and inviting character.
Aside from Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, who are gold in their roles, there are several other additions to the cast, but none get enough time to bed in and establish themselves. Inevitably, they all end up being cannon fodder for the fungus, with the exception of Ellora Torchia as Abigail, who adds some quality as her dutiful military liaison. But anyone else in the cast becomes fair game for the fungus to infect and unleash havoc on our would-be heroes.
THE FUNGUS
But, of course, our heroes need a suitable villain to fight against, and the fungus is more than up to the challenge. In Cold Storage, the fungus is more of a thinking alien invader, desperate to spread as far as possible. What’s more, once infected, any host becomes part of a hive mind and fights to propagate their species. The best way to do this is to climb to the highest elevation possible to spread its spores, and this plot point leads to some of the film’s most hilarious and uncomfortable moments. For the most part, the visual effects hold up well and maintain the film’s high quality, as do the practical effects, which add some brilliantly gory touches to the fungus’s spread.
Like most CGI-led films today, not all shots are as sharp as they could be. In fact, toward the end of the film, some questionable shots might have benefited from a bigger budget. However, they don’t really detract from what is otherwise an enjoyable rollercoaster ride at the movies. Think The Walking Dead meets The Last of Us meets Zombieland – combine the three, and that’s Cold Storage in a nutshell.
VERDICT
Overall, Cold Storage is a fun, gory horror-comedy that lives up to the hype. With standout performances from Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, Liam Neeson, and Lesley Manville, the film more than delivers enough quality to establish itself as a new horror classic. With its nostalgic B-movie style, clever screenplay, and rich production values, the movie is the ultimate Friday night popcorn horror experience. It’s a light, breezy comedy that will leave you smiling as you exit the theater. With its quick 99-minute runtime and great entertainment value, what more could you ask for?Â
Cold Storage is coming soon to cinemas across the UK and Ireland on February 20th, courtesy of StudioCanal.
Will you be heading to the movies for this barmy horror-comedy? Drop a comment in the chat below.
Meet Phil Roberts! He’s the dedicated owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. Phil is a budding novelist who turned his passion toward writing about the franchises he loves back in 2016. He’s a huge fan of all things Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phil is a BFI-accredited journalist and a distinguished member of the Film Critics Association UK.
If he’s not catching a movie at the cinema, you can bet he’s streaming something just as awesome!
