The Walking Dead
OMG, I can't wait for this freaking show. It's the adaptation of the popular comic book.
It premiers tonight on AMC. If you don't know about it, here's a quick synopsis, and review. It sounds like the best production quality ever by a horror show:
"These days it seems that all the best stories have moved to television. Shows like "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" have kicked the sh*t out of everything at the multiplexes for several reasons: As Hollywood grows more bland and commercial, all the great filmmakers have run to the small screen, where theyre given more time and creative freedom to tell stories. Hell, even Martin Scorsese has a show now!
When it was announced that Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd would tackle an adaptation of "The Walking Dead" for AMC, hopes couldnt get any higher. Robert Kirkmans graphic novels have joined the ranks of Romero and Max Brooks as the very best in zombie fiction, and a series on TVs best and ballsiest network seemed like the perfect home. It was almost too good to be true. So how does the final product measure up? If the first two episodes are any indication, this series is already a home run! "The Walking Dead" isnt just a killer show, its the best horror offering weve seen all year, period.
Both the graphic novels and the series belong to the George A. Romero school of thought and could easily take place in the same universe. It all starts in the middle of Georgia, where officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) takes a bullet during an intense police stand-off. But poor Rick faces something worse than death: He wakes up in the hospital after an unknown period to discover that the world around him has been destroyed by a zombie plague (and before another moron screams 28 Days Later, remember that Day of the Triffids did it first. Moving on...). The first act of this epic survival tale finds Rick on the road through the wastelands as he tries to find his family, while encountering fellow survivors and battling through the undead hordes that have claimed Atlanta.
As it stands, the extended first episode (written and directed by Darabont) is arguably the single greatest television pilot since "Twin Peaks", not to mention the best zombie "movie in almost a decade. With sweeping and stylish direction, Darabont captures the oppressive atmosphere of an honest-to-God apocalypse and, for the first time in a long time, makes zombies scary again. Kirkmans world explodes in breathtaking detail thanks to lavish cinematography, KNBs make-up effects and a beautifully understated score by Bear McCreary. The scope feels as large as a big-budget Hollywood film, and if any expense was spared, it certainly doesnt show it. And all you cynical horror fans who screamed about television censorship, fear not; this show has serious bite! In fact, the first two episodes alone are gorier than Romeros last three Dead films combined.
AMC's The Walking Dead (click for larger image)But the show has soul, too. Amid the splatter there lurks the real emotion and tough moral decisions that define the very best of horror. This is in no small part due to the rock solid cast led by Andrew Lincoln, who perfectly embodies Rick Grimes. Hes edgy and intense, and series readers will be thrilled knowing what dark paths this character will eventually take. Particularly good are Ricks early scenes with best friend and rival, Shane, played by the equally great Jon Bernthal, who fleshes out and elevates his character far beyond the comic pages. And while these first two episodes are very Rick-centric, first impressions of other series regulars (Lori, Dale, Carl, etc.) are generally strong.
The series takes several detours from the source material but stays true to the characters and overall arc of the book. Without diving into spoilers, Darabont throws in a lot of extra characters, plotlines and set pieces into the first two episodes, but nothing feels superfluous. These additions only serve to expand the universe and help pacing while giving die-hard fans something new to chew on. There are even several welcome moments of gruesome black humor, which is extremely welcome given the overall humorless nature of the books.
Hats off to Darabont, Hurd, Kirkman and AMC for creating another winner! "The Walking Dead" is a milestone in television and, in many ways, the first A-level horror series. Its classy, epic and old school in the best ways and makes you realize why you originally fell in love with this genre.
Score: 5 out of 5 "
http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/walking-dead-tv
And the Trailer:
[ame]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U[/ame]
It premiers tonight on AMC. If you don't know about it, here's a quick synopsis, and review. It sounds like the best production quality ever by a horror show:
"These days it seems that all the best stories have moved to television. Shows like "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" have kicked the sh*t out of everything at the multiplexes for several reasons: As Hollywood grows more bland and commercial, all the great filmmakers have run to the small screen, where theyre given more time and creative freedom to tell stories. Hell, even Martin Scorsese has a show now!
When it was announced that Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd would tackle an adaptation of "The Walking Dead" for AMC, hopes couldnt get any higher. Robert Kirkmans graphic novels have joined the ranks of Romero and Max Brooks as the very best in zombie fiction, and a series on TVs best and ballsiest network seemed like the perfect home. It was almost too good to be true. So how does the final product measure up? If the first two episodes are any indication, this series is already a home run! "The Walking Dead" isnt just a killer show, its the best horror offering weve seen all year, period.
Both the graphic novels and the series belong to the George A. Romero school of thought and could easily take place in the same universe. It all starts in the middle of Georgia, where officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) takes a bullet during an intense police stand-off. But poor Rick faces something worse than death: He wakes up in the hospital after an unknown period to discover that the world around him has been destroyed by a zombie plague (and before another moron screams 28 Days Later, remember that Day of the Triffids did it first. Moving on...). The first act of this epic survival tale finds Rick on the road through the wastelands as he tries to find his family, while encountering fellow survivors and battling through the undead hordes that have claimed Atlanta.
As it stands, the extended first episode (written and directed by Darabont) is arguably the single greatest television pilot since "Twin Peaks", not to mention the best zombie "movie in almost a decade. With sweeping and stylish direction, Darabont captures the oppressive atmosphere of an honest-to-God apocalypse and, for the first time in a long time, makes zombies scary again. Kirkmans world explodes in breathtaking detail thanks to lavish cinematography, KNBs make-up effects and a beautifully understated score by Bear McCreary. The scope feels as large as a big-budget Hollywood film, and if any expense was spared, it certainly doesnt show it. And all you cynical horror fans who screamed about television censorship, fear not; this show has serious bite! In fact, the first two episodes alone are gorier than Romeros last three Dead films combined.
AMC's The Walking Dead (click for larger image)But the show has soul, too. Amid the splatter there lurks the real emotion and tough moral decisions that define the very best of horror. This is in no small part due to the rock solid cast led by Andrew Lincoln, who perfectly embodies Rick Grimes. Hes edgy and intense, and series readers will be thrilled knowing what dark paths this character will eventually take. Particularly good are Ricks early scenes with best friend and rival, Shane, played by the equally great Jon Bernthal, who fleshes out and elevates his character far beyond the comic pages. And while these first two episodes are very Rick-centric, first impressions of other series regulars (Lori, Dale, Carl, etc.) are generally strong.
The series takes several detours from the source material but stays true to the characters and overall arc of the book. Without diving into spoilers, Darabont throws in a lot of extra characters, plotlines and set pieces into the first two episodes, but nothing feels superfluous. These additions only serve to expand the universe and help pacing while giving die-hard fans something new to chew on. There are even several welcome moments of gruesome black humor, which is extremely welcome given the overall humorless nature of the books.
Hats off to Darabont, Hurd, Kirkman and AMC for creating another winner! "The Walking Dead" is a milestone in television and, in many ways, the first A-level horror series. Its classy, epic and old school in the best ways and makes you realize why you originally fell in love with this genre.
Score: 5 out of 5 "
http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/walking-dead-tv
And the Trailer:
[ame]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U[/ame]
Replies
It will be interesting to see how they handle future incidents that were in the comic that was truly shocking. If you don't know what to expect. My god are you in for a ride! (and a little bit of you will die each time)
This is my Trueblood.
[ame]
I saw the pilot, but am planning on watching the first ep tonight! very excited. It's crazy what makes it to tv now..
Now THAT's a TV show!
That's horror done right! It had me squirming in my seat at times. I love how the characters are already being developer too. Looks like I'm going to have to read this series.
I really like how the zombies aren't just shambling, slow and stupid. They can try to open doors, crawl under things to get at you, run, seem to have vague memories compelling them to act (the little girl picking up the teddy, and the mother trying to get in the house), and even climb to an extent. Now that's terrifying.
This first season is only 6 episodes long, but they already confirmed that they green lit a second season before this first episode even aired. That's how good the reviews have been.
Zombie animals?
Don't know, but animal picknick, yes.
Never read the comics (but I'm going to), and thought it was superbly done and will definitely be following this.
By the end of the episode I was thinking "wait, that's it? There's no endi... Oh yeah, it's a series, not a movie."
[ame]
They did a great job at capturing those 3-4 panels of stillness then some subtle movement that is hard to do in comics. They did a great job of capturing the "they're not dangers a lone, but in packs, all riled up..." In the comics the pacing between "not so bad, they might make it" and "oh they're fucked" was amazing. That seems to be caring over to series pretty well too, but things are just getting started.
For those that haven't read the comics, you're in for a horrifically awesome ride. If you're looking for a campy little zombie fest where the only trouble the characters get in can be cleaned off with some tide, then you should get off now. The horse was a down payment on what is to come.
Let it be said Kirkman loves his characters but you'll probably love them more than he does. He knows it, and he plays off of that, like a sick mother fucker he plays off it... and the best part is, you'll love it.
If the pacing of the first episode is how they are planning to move through the series then I'm going to be in happy (zombie) land for a long time.
A guy that just got swarmed by an army of zombies and panics that's who.
Who even knows how the hell to do that?
That's just a bonus.
Its hard to see the hidden under tank hatch with a face full of zombies. It's also something a bumpkin sheriff probably wouldn't know about. When was the last time you where pulled over by a cop in a tank for speeding?
Firing up the 50 cal provided it was loaded and ready to fire, wouldn't solve the issue of picking the zombies off the tank. If the tank isn't running generating power, the motor that spins the turret won't work.
Getting knocked 6ft to the ground isn't a easy landing. Fall off a 6ft ladder and tell me how ready you are to pick yourself up. I've fallen off a horse, he's lucky it didn't fall on him, crush him, pin him or slow him down.
He also was in shock that everyone was a zombie. He was told the city was safe. He saw a helicopter fly over, there had to be actual people around right? Not everyone was a zombie? It's not an easy thing to pick out the living from the undead at first glance. It's not like hallmark makes a card that says
"I'm sorry I gunned down your loved one, he really should pick up his feet when he walks... Opps guess he doesn't need to worry about that! hahaha..."
He also later looks back on that encounter as an incredibly noob-ish thing to do. I think he even says something like "I should of known when the roads leading in where clear, but the roads going out where packed".
But I love to chat about things, so here are a couple thoughts.
Wtf was with that scene under the tank where he apologizes to his wife and son, puts the gun to his head for all of ZERO POINT ONE SECONDS, and then climbs up into the tank. Was he just scratching an itch on his head with his gun and apologizing for no reason? We got no scene where he notices the hatch... It was very confusing when I saw it.
Also, who else thought the black family was going to die after the sheriff left?
He thinks they're still alive (talk about photo albums in his house). He feels a need to find and protect them (a total boyscout cop). He's letting them down that he wasn't able to do anything other than get eaten. Then he looked up and saw the hatch.
That part could of been more clear I guess... Maybe they should of had him look up sees a "emergency hatch" label and then climbs up in. It wasn't really clear that he closed the hatch either, which was a pretty stupid thing not to do too.
But yea everyone makes mistakes their first day on the job...
I think that was a great decision they made, to emphasize how frantic the situation can be. He was going to off himself, then had a "Oh holy shit, nevermind" moment, so fast the camera couldn't even catch up. That was my favorite part of the episode.
I'm really excited to see where this goes, I've never read the books, and i dont want to have it spoiled for me
I wonder if that scene was an homage to the original Dawn of the Dead ending where Peter almost offs himself.
I guess I just feel without one extra camera shot of him actually noticing the hatch, that it didn't make sense to me. I mean, I got it, but there was a moment of confusion that threw me off.
I am
He see's the zombies coming at him.
Wants to shoot himself.
Rolls over before doing it and see's the hatch and thinks fuck that! and goes into it.
But hay, I dunno! ;O
That's how I saw it. He was focused on the zombies for the most part while under there and then when he was going to shoot himself he looked up because the zombies weren't that important anymore. It may be a bit of a stretch for him to not have noticed that while crawling forwards in there but I thought it worked fine.
I can totally imagine not noticing things when a hoard of zombies are like a few feet from you in both directions. That's panic time, and people aren't going to notice things.
And about starting the tank, and firing up the gun and such,... he barely had time to close the top hatch. No way could he fire up that gun, and figure out how to shoot all those zombies around the tank before they got to him. I like how they didn't have it be like a Die Hard movie or something where everything goes right to allow you to pull off some superhero move.
I haven't read the comics, but I doubt he's going to figure out how to start up that tank. I think it's more likely that whoever was talking on the radio makes a noise to draw the zombies allowing the main guy to get away.
One thing I just thought about. The zombies want warm flesh, so they eat you completely if you've just died. So that must have had a large number of all the people that died from the zombies eaten instead of turned into a zombie. After all, you don't see any bodies in the street, so everyone must have either turned, or been completely consumed. I was thinking there aren't enough body remnants all over, but that would account for it.
Do they eat all of the bones and teeth and such though? That would be silly.
http://www.foodwithlegs.com/?p=1084
That's just the tasty goop inside of the bones! There would still be the shells (I don't know the correct term for it) all over the place.