This Is Not a Test (2025 film)

This Is Not a Test
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdam MacDonald
Screenplay byAdam MacDonald
Based on
This Is Not a Test
by Courtney Summers
Produced by
  • Cybill Lui
  • Adam MacDonald
Starring
CinematographyChristian Bielz
Edited byPamela Bayne
Music byLee Malia
Production
companies
  • Anova Pictures
  • North Avenue Pictures
  • WorldOne Entertainment
Distributed by
Release dates
  • October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) (Brooklyn Horror Film Festival)[1]
  • February 20, 2026 (2026-02-20) (United States)
  • February 27, 2026 (2026-02-27) (Canada)
Running time
103 minutes[2]
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$213,951[3][4]

This Is Not a Test is a 2025 apocalyptic horror-thriller film directed, written and produced by Adam MacDonald, starring Olivia Holt and Froy Gutierrez. It is an adaptation of the 2012 novel by Courtney Summers. The film was released in the United States on February 20, 2026, by Independent Film Company and Shudder.[5]

Plot

In December 1998, Sloane Price reads her suicide note in her bathtub when her abusive father calls her for breakfast. A frantic woman screams for help at the door as zombies overrun the neighborhood. One of them breaks through the living room window and bites Sloane's father before he kills it with a shard of glass. Shocked, Sloane flees the house, abandoning her infected father. On the streets, Sloane escapes a zombie by climbing into a neighbor's backyard, where she joins two high school classmates, Rhys Moreno and Cary Chen, in their search for sanctuary. They soon encounter classmates Grace and Trace Casper and their protective mother, who argues with Chen over safety measures. That night, the group sleeps together in an upstairs room of a house. Sloane remembers her older sister Lily, who once gifted her with a birthday letter in a yellow envelope, which Sloane tucked into the glove compartment of the family car to read later. Their father's abuse eventually drove Lily away.

The group escapes from the house after a zombie breaks in and attracts more. They flee to the local high school, where Mrs. Casper sacrifices herself to save the teens. Inside the building, Cary kills a zombified Principal Lively, and the group barricades themselves inside. In the gym, Trace angrily confronts Cary, blaming him for his mother's death, and they briefly fight. While waiting for rescue, the teens discover their English teacher, Mr. Baxter, sleeping in a closet with a gun, which the boys take for themselves. When Baxter awakes and is given food by the teens, they notice his unusual behavior and discover a bite wound on his arm. Despite his denial, they force him outside, but Baxter bites Cary before being ejected. As a precaution, Cary is isolated in the nurse's office.

Patrolling the school, Sloane finds a severely injured Baxter in a hallway. As Grace approaches, the now-zombified Baxter attacks. Trace fires Baxter's gun to stop him, but accidentally shoots Grace, who dies in Trace's arms. Trace blames Sloane and attacks her before Cary and Rhys restrain him. Later, Sloane visits Trace as he stays by Grace's body. Sloane apologizes and says she would have done the same for Lily. Trace gains Sloane's forgiveness before shooting himself in the head. Deciding they cannot remain in the school, Sloane, Rhys, and Cary head out to get a car and drive to a safe location broadcast on the radio. In one of the town's homes, Cary volunteers to distract the zombies outside while the others escape. He runs into the street and disappears down the road as zombies pursue him.

Sloane and Rhys return to her home, where they find an infected Lily in the basement; Sloane kills her with a crowbar to the head. Her father's body lies nearby, implying he had attacked and infected Lily. The pair takes the family car and prepares to drive to the safe area. As Rhys finishes details with the car, Sloane takes the yellow envelope from the glove compartment and reads Lily's warm words for her. When Rhys starts the engine, Sloane discards her suicide note, and they depart together.

Cast

Production

The film is from Anova Pictures in association with North Avenue Pictures and WorldOne Entertainment. It is directed by Adam MacDonald who is also a producer alongside Cybill Lui. It is adapted from the 2012 young adult novel by Courtney Summers.[6]

The cast is led by Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, and Luke MacFarlane, as well as Corteon Moore, Chloe Avakian and Carson MacCormac.[7]

Principal photography took place in February 2025 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[8]

Release

The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto After Dark Film Festival.[9] The film was released in the United States on February 20, 2026, by Independent Film Company and Shudder, and was released in Canada a week later by Blue Fox Entertainment.[10]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 42% of 38 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Weighed down by weak characters and technical shortcomings, This Is Not a Test is a thin, frustrating zombie film with not much to say."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[12]

Ross McIndoe of Slant Magazine gave the film a score of 1/4, writing, "The film brings the undead to life, so to speak, with some solid make-up work, and the story is filled with imaginatively gory bits of action. Unfortunately, it has a much harder time trying to bring its non-zombie characters to life."[13] RogerEbert.com's Simon Abrams wrote, "What's mostly lacking is a matter of character-enhancing detail, the kind that would better integrate the movie's high-concept thrills with its heartstring-tugging melodrama. Soapy's not bad, but This is Not a Test lacks the sensationalism or sensitivity to make it more than a wan misfire", and gave it a score of 2/4.[14] Rue Morgue's Michael Gingold said, "What it needed, at this point in its particular genre, was either a more adventurous approach to the material or a deeper, fresher dig into the psyches of its young people forced to grow up fast."[15]

Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media gave the film a score of 3/5, writing, "It's only a so-so zombie flick, but this horror thriller is still a pretty good YA movie, character-focused and in tune with the teens' troubles, frustrations, cares, and concerns."[16] Andrew Parker of The GATE gave it 6/10, calling it "a meat and potatoes kind of horror movie with just enough of a powerful hook to keep things interesting."[17]

References

  1. ↑ https://brooklynhorror2025.eventive.org/films/68b9bd04931788ed9082f1b4
  2. ↑ "This Is Not a Test [14A]". British Columbia Film Classification Office (Consumer Protection BC). February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  3. ↑ "This Is Not a Test". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  4. ↑ "This Is Not a Test". The Numbers. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ London, Rob (December 22, 2025). "Thrilling New Zombie Horror Movie 'This Is Not a Test' Sets Release Date With First Poster [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  6. ↑ Ritman, Alex (February 4, 2025). "Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, Luke MacFarlane to Lead Anova Pictures' YA Horror Thriller 'This Is Not a Test,' Blue Fox Launching at EFM (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  7. ↑ Humphries, Bethany (February 26, 2025). "Olivia Holt Congratulates Newly Announced Additions to 'This Is Not A Test' Cast". Entertainment Now. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  8. ↑ Grobar, Matt (February 25, 2025). "Corteon Moore, Chloe Avakian & Carson MacCormac Join Horror-Thriller 'This Is Not A Test'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  9. ↑ "TORONTO AFTER DARK ANNOUNCES 2025 LINE-UP". Torontoafterdark.com. September 24, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  10. ↑ Mack, Andrew (February 2, 2026). "This Is Not a Test: Canadian Theatrical Date Announced For Canadian Zombie Thriller". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ "This Is Not a Test". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  12. ↑ "This Is Not a Test Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ McIndoe, Ross (February 18, 2026). "'This Is Not a Test' Review: Detention of the Dead". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  14. ↑ Abrams, Simon (February 20, 2026). "This Is Not a Test review: John Hughes meets George Romero in wan misfire". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  15. ↑ Gingold, Michael (February 21, 2026). "Movie Review: "THIS IS NOT A TEST" doesn't quite make the grade". Rue Morgue. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  16. ↑ "This Is Not a Test Movie Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  17. ↑ Parker, Andrew (February 27, 2026). "Out of Time Reviews Episode #4: The Bluff, The President's Cake, This is Not a Test, In Cold Light, Jimpa, Kokuho, Man on the Run, and Scream 7". The GATE. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
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