Comments on: Z for Zachariah Explained and Reviewed

By: Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 14:06:14 +0000

In reply to ECL. Yeah great thoughts, This is definitely a movie that is a product of its own time. A pre-Covid time! Hahah. But it beautifully summarizes and encapsulates societal issues and chaos! Racism, class structures, gender politics etc. such a great film.

By: ECL

ECL — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 05:12:33 +0000

Late to the party, I have only just seen this movie for the first time, never having read the book. I was skeptical about it as I have enduring umemories of “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil,” (1959, ‘60? Cold War time), which I saw when I was ten, with the same premise: three people survive nuclear war, a white woman (Lee Remick), white man (Mel Ferrer), and black man (Harry Belafonte). Much triangular tension until they realize they’ve csurvived only to create their own war, and for humanity to survive they Must get along. Both movies are products of their time. “Z for Zachariah” delves further into dark themes – all well discussed here – as befits our very perilous and convoluted world. And both are provocative; what would come next is open to question.

By: Stella

Stella — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 22:32:53 +0000

It is so sad when the storyline in a movie is so different from the book, that it has lost all its purpose and meaning. I totally blame the Americans, as you guys over there seem unable to digest movies that doesn’t have a Disney princess and a happy ending. You will slaughter any movie that has an open ending, and by that you have become emotionally and intellectually poor. I would have loved to see this played out like in the movie.

I would never characterize the two men as Jekyll and Hyde, as both of them had this creepy character. Both were dishonest and manipulative, taking advantage of this rather young and innocent girl. I would rather characterize this as the survival of the fittest. Not that any of them deserved to survive, but Z was intellectually superior when it came to having practical skills and knowledge, he had more experience over all, and would probably survive a lot longer, as survival depends on being cold blooded and being able to kill weaker species.

However, both men was exposed to a lot of radiation. Radiation kills your sperm so they would probably never be able to father anything. If they by a miracle could, how could they populate the world again as they all would have been related? The only way to do it with a slight hope of not only getting idiot children, was to have at least two men there. So by killing off the white dude, he also kills off the entire human rase. Maybe that’s a good thing. If we can’t do better than to bomb the living daylight out of one another, we do not deserve this planet.

I was certain there was a different ending to this story, so there’s probably another movie out there that is very similar to this, as in my memory she gets pregnant with the dead white guy, during her pregnancy Z gets sick when he gets exposed to the water in the mill again after trying to save it during a terrible storm. He ultimately dies, confessing that he killed the white dude. She gives birth alone but she is getting more and more symptoms of radiation poisoning, and realizes she is about to die. She sets off to search for someone that can take care of the baby, after digging up the corps and taking the radiation suit off the white dude. She ultimately finds a tiny community of people and they can tell that her brother had been through there but walked on. She leaves the baby with these people and sets off to search for her brother. End.

I have no idea why I thought this movie ended this way. But nothing surprises me anymore. Not after I wrote the entire storyline to Lost after seeing the first episode. Even the makers of Lost didn’t know the story or ending at that point, because they wrote it as they went along. So how did I know it before it was written? That is spooky. I am a psychic, and I am used to knowing things that have happened or are happening, and I get a lot of premonitions of things that will happen, (an accident ahead, an upcoming death etc) but not this. Nothing so “advanced” have ever happened to me.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 04:53:03 +0000

I just keep thinking about when Caleb and Loomis were turkey hunting and when Loomis asked what the reward would be for the man who shot the turkey Caleb said “Ann”. Caleb was purposeful in every action and word meant to destroy the relationship between Ann and Loomis, I don’t believe that he would have a sudden change of heart and just walk away. I believe Loomis used Caleb to help get the “project” built, even going so far as to encourage Ann to give her attentions to Caleb to keep him around until it was built. To me Loomis came across as a very self-serving man. A man so centered on himself that he failed to see what a special person Ann was until someone else had to show him. Yes, he did the right thing when not taking advantage of her when she was drinking and giving up on the church thing for her initially, but was any of that really because he was a Good Man? I think it was because he was a smart man who was manipulating the situation. Maybe he didn’t know all along what he would do about Caleb after manipulating Ann to keep Caleb there until the electricity was up and going but a solution prevented itself when Caleb slipped again and he took it.

By: Jill B

Jill B — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 06:34:54 +0000

I agree and am pasting JoshR’s comment with a few edits… I read a comment on another site that I thought was an interesting explanation for the movie’s ending. The movie and the book are not the same. The movie makes its own story inspired by the book. Loomis did not kill Caleb. The smirk on Caleb’s face is that he knows that after saving his life twice, Loomis is the better man. Loomis never hesitated to save his Caleb’s life, and has a look of confusion at Caleb’s reaction to the second (probably intentional slip). Caleb helps move the organ and leaves. Loomis could not have done this on his own. When Ann runs to find Caleb, it breaks Loomis’s heart, and he goes to the cliff and kills himself. Ann find his body, and is heart broken by what she has found as demonstrated in the scene when she pushes the glass off the table. At the end we see Loomis’s soul step in to hear Ann playing on the organ. I do think Loomis should have gotten over his petty jealousy and insecurities and been her bf after Caleb arrived. She was not going to dump him for the white man if he had committed to her.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 21:04:05 +0000

I do not normally comment.
But one thing proves John did not kill Caleb. John told Ann he killed her brother. That must have been the most difficult thing to reveal about himself. He knew that could have ended their relationship forever. However, it’s clear Ann accepted his apology and forgave John. He didn’t have to tell her. John wanted a clear conscience with Ann and maybe for the first time with God. Why? because he truly loved Ann. If John could tell Ann he killed her brother, he easily could have told Ann he killed Caleb.

Caleb did not love Ann but was just using her and taking advantage of her innocence.

I think no one talked about the prayer Ann made to God when John was on his sickbed.
She prayed that she’ll serve God however he sees fit if you make this good man healthy again. She wanted a future with John. These types of prayers are oaths made to God that you promise to keep. It’s very similar to marriage oaths made to your mate. When Caleb enters the scene she started having mixed feelings.

Ann has a dark side too. Ann knew John loved her and really cared for her. She knew something was not quite right with Caleb, she knew Caleb didn’t value her as much as John. However, she chose to have sex with Caleb. She succumb to fleshly desires. The movie doesn’t express what her faith was, but some faith believe sex out of marriage is a sin. John knew this. John made it clear that once they have sex, their relationship will change. We don’t know what he was implying. However, he could have meant that their commitment to each other would change from friend to husband and wife. John definitely respected Ann.

John has been truthful with Ann, so we should take his word Caleb left the valley. Remember Ann carries some guilt here too. She knows she betrayed John. If we were able to look into the future, we will see that they forgave each other.

Also, Caleb would have dropped Ann if another Eve entered the scene that was more attractive or appealing to him, for his own selfish desires.

Thanks for reading my comment

By: Ahsen Nassir

Ahsen Nassir — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:44:17 +0000

For me
I think caleb is a bad person, but zachariah is a good one..
Caleb stole eggs and spy on them (Ann and loomis ) to prepare a plan..he didn’t respect whom they host him.. and he made love with Ann once he could whith no respect for what might be going on between ann and loomis or asking ann if she is sure about it and not just being drunk .. loomis was gentle with ann in this point.. yes loomis isn’t an angel but who is!
I also think that loomis killed caleb in self defense,, when caleb was about to fall at first it was true, but the second fall was fake i guess,, he wanted to pull down loomis out of the cliff and then i think loomis knew that at the right moment…

I have a question,,
When loomis met Ann and Ann said sorry and looks like she regret what happened between her and caleb .. as if she still love loomis .. but she ran after caleb when Loomis told her that caleb is gone..
Did Ann love caleb or what?!

I saw the movie years ago and tody i saw it again and went to Google to ask about what happened at the end..

Forgive my English it’s not my moth language.. I’m from Yemen (an arabian country)…
The movie is very very good in all ways.. acting, directing and everything.
Thank you and
Best regards
Ahsen Nassir

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 07:18:42 +0000

Well I thought it was fantastic ‍♂️

By: Jules

Jules — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 18:37:43 +0000

Before the waterfall scene the organ is in the ruins of the chapel. After it turns up in the barn. It depends on who moved it on wether or not Loomis killed Caleb. I think Caleb moved the organ and then moved on.
Wether this is the solution or bad continuity I really don’t know.