‘This Is Not a Test’ Trailer: High Schoolers Take on the Undead in Adam MacDonald’s Gutsy Apocalypse

From Independent Film Company and Shudder, the next zombie apocalypse hits theaters February 20.

It’s back to school and open season in the first trailer for “This Is Not a Test” — a sardonic, promising new zombie apocalypse thriller from writer/director Adam MacDonald for Shudder and Independent Film Company. The film had its world premiere at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival last October, where it received positive reviews. It will open exclusively in theaters on Friday, February 20. 

2026 is shaping up to be another busy year for the horror genre, and with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” kicking off the calendar, another promising period for the undead. Adapting the best-selling YA novel by Courtney Summers, “This Is Not a Test” begins with a standard “Breakfast Club” drama, before pitching into a “Shaun of the Dead”-style escape thriller sharper and scarier than its setup suggests.

The trailer wastes little time establishing its pressure-cooker premise, quickly barricading five teenagers inside their high school as their hometown collapses into chaos. “We have to do things we don’t want to do if we’re going to make it,” one student says in a scene that places the survival film’s spunky but still bleak, decision-driven tone somewhere between “The Faculty” and “The Mist.”

At the center is Olivia Holt, who doesn’t particularly stick out in the promo but nevertheless feels like an inspired choice for the lead after her impressive turn in last year’s Valentine’s Day-themed slasher “Heart Eyes.” The ensemble around Holt includes Froy Gutierrez, Luke MacFarlane, Corteon Moore, Chloe Avakian, and Carson MacCormac — filling out a cast that feels authentically adolescent but capable and glossy enough to carry some big action-horror beats if need be.

MacDonald made his directorial debut at TIFF 2014 with the Canadian wilderness thriller “Backcountry,” which was loosely inspired by the true story of two campers attacked by a dangerous black bear. The filmmaker previously meditated on the occult for the horror streaming service with Shudder’s “Hell Motel” TV series in 2015. Now, Macdonald is leaning deeper into his knack for creature frights and disturbing human psychology with a premise that asks what you’re willing to become when the doors won’t hold.

Watch the trailer for “This Is Not a Test,” in theaters from the Independent Film Company and Shudder on Friday, February 20.