Fear The Walking Dead Season 2 - review

2016 (USA)

2016 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Blu-ray R(2/B)

With Season 2 and the group forced to flee a ruined Los Angeles up in flames, it's back to more familiar The Walking Dead ground. I say ground; as led now in part by Victor Strand (Colman Domingo), a single minded entrepreneur for want of a better word, the group are actually out seeking misadventure and intrigue on the high seas.

Setting the heroes on a boat and not on land was an inspired writing choice differentiating the series at the earliest opportunity from the mid-country claustrophobia of The Walking Dead. That being said the narrative is the same; with the companions dealing with increasingly maladjusted and dangerous situations, all the while picking up the skills they'll (some of them) no doubt need to survive into seasons 3 and 4. I say some; not everyone is made for the end of the world, but it's not as obvious as before, with all characters more closely vying for ineptitude and naivety.

The first eight episodes very much take over from the first series. Theirs is a discrete road (ok boat) journey of discovery; both literally to Mexico, and metaphorically, as they're actually forced to come to the conclusion that the shit-show is real, and there's not likely to be some magic paradise at the end of it. It's good post-apocalyptic drama, well presented and written, though now, out of the apocalypse into the post-apocalypse the characters aren't quite enough to keep things feeling as original or fresh. The journey being a tad too linear and the trials and douchebags on the way a tad too familiar. Then just as I was starting to worry, bang!

Whatever the reasons for what appears to be the huge injection of confidence and cash, the second half of Season 2 literally explodes in scope and ambition. Scattering the characters and their aspirations across a suddenly complete and city full of communities, power-play and danger, Fear The Walking Dead turns the dial up a notch and the results are stunning. The Mexican city of Rosarito and its surrounding area makes a great playground for the characters and also differentiates itself from The Walking Dead, with what appears to be lower population density; and hence fewer zombies, and an entirely different culture and landscape. The Americans too are the outsiders, itself creating a new dynamic in the story.

I've always been surprised how quickly and efficiently zombie survivors adjust to bashing in skulls and sticking sharp things into eyes and ears. One minute it's doing chores or revising for a mock history exam, and the next it's slicing and dicing like a seasoned killer; and to say the group's young'uns Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Christoper Manawa (Lorenzo James Henrie) and aforementioned Nick haven't adjusted to the bloodshed would be an understatement. Then again, stories are told by the victors; those that did survive for them to be told. Just mulling over my own existence and all the coincidences and wins that would have to have occurred to each and every ancestor, however big or seemingly insignificant, is it not plausible that the survivors of zombie dramas such as this, could be as capable, or fortuitous as they are? Take Nick; the guy who stuck poison in his veins in Season 1, and the guy who thought he could walk with the zombies. The odds of him not only surviving all the things thrown his way in both Seasons, let alone come out of it all with a girl on his arm, is astronomical and it could almost be too glaring; too incredible; yet Fear the Walking has the feel of a great epic and it doesn't seem too much at all.

Finishing Season 2, I feel here is a show that's finally found its confidence. With a more expansive playground and seemingly larger budget the already well developed characters have found their post-apocalyptic strength, and yet still haven't succumbed to the despair and resignation that seems to be main ongoing trait for Rick and his gang. Also, yes, other humans did once again rise to take centre stage, and that's a small pity in my mind, but it's still top tier zombie story telling with huge promise and mammoth potential - 8/10.

Steven@WTD.

Fear The Walking Dead Season 1 - review

2015 (USA)

2015 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Blu-ray R(Free)

Contains mild spoilers.

Say what you will, as to whether AMC and Robert Kirkman should have ever gone ahead with yet another unapologetic heavy post-apocalyptic zombie drama at a time the phenomenon was beginning to show signs of consumer fatigue. Then also perhaps overlook the rather trite moniker. The fact that we have got yet another big budget and meticulous zombie spectacular, no less, right back to the beginning, with all the confusion, discovery and false hope this brings, is a joy to behold. Where-as it's big brother is now nearly a constant slog of dark and bleak, but no less agreeable, with other humans the increasing major threat, it's refreshing to have the zombies once again front and centre. Also whereas Rick and the gang are now, with their years of weary survival drudgery, most definitely the definition of the walking dead, here it's still early days and, though yes it's not exactly all the fun of the fair, optimism is still tangible and ok, and the walking dead are still the ones with the gnashing chops and lumbering shuffle.

This again is not to argue that it's some watered down teen sideshow; a Return of the Living Dead Part II. It's just that this is still a world where it's ok to have inner moral conflict; where maybe people can be given the benefit of the doubt and perhaps strangers should be welcome with open arms rather than be suspected of owning an automated cannibal murder factory. Ok, for Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis) and his extended family, innocence won't last forever and by midpoint second season the same cynicism and, some might say, realistic sobriety has finally made its point and been taken on board. But I get ahead.

The Walking Dead didn't go right back to the beginning. It started with the apocalypse in full swing, and the dead out numbering the living a fuck-tonne to one. Fear doesn't just fill in the missing weeks, but goes one further, back to the minutes and hours most people thought things might still actually turn out ok (cue the laughter).

First time it was to see whether the cable audience would take to prime time zombie horror, and with its record cable audiences and Golden Globes, we know how they did. This time, I'd argue the six part teaser / trial was to see, first off, if people were ok with more of the same, and second if people would take to more disjointed and delicate, but more realistic and normative characters, and with a tighter, more insular family driven story.

Rick Grimes was, from the start, the gun toting, self-reliant larger than life comic book character and his companions and nemesis on the journey complemented the excessive story telling that became such a phenomenon. Without the comics central to the narrative, writers Kirkman and Dave Erickson present, with Fear, quite the different, more subtle, to start with anyway, world. If we're honest, from Rick to Shane to Daryl to Michonne or even The Governor, characters had identity tied to role and purpose. Yes there's character development, but true to its roots it's more caricatures with either something to offer or some deep flaw.

The Manawa / Clark family immediately offers something different. There's quirky dynamics, unspoken tension, complicated logistics and everything you'd expect in a modern mid-American family set-up. Ok, it helps to secure the characters before everything's extreme and everyone's under pressure, but even looking to The Walking Dead's flash backs, it's not hard to argue there's far more depth and ambiguity to the relationships even in these earliest moments. I don't think I was alone in taking some time to warm to them all; Travis was a bit stiff, Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) too sullen a matriarch and as for the rest I struggled to remember names or what they were really for; and it was precisely because they weren't as discretely defined.

It was Nick, (Frank Dillane), the brilliantly cast son of Madison who broke me though. The difficult junkie drop-out, and first to witness the return of living dead, is perhaps the gateway drug, easily type-cast, his demonstrable nuance as he deals what he's seen, and struggles with what he should do, amid his heroin come down craziness, and the way this permeates through the family brought everything together. I stopped seeing the characters as isolated identities but as social and broken beings and it all came to life.

Fear also packs the zombie punch, delivering all the highly polished horror goodness we'd expect from the now seasoned production team. The end of the world is brilliantly crafted and by the end of the series perhaps I grasped the Fear bit of the name I initially frowned upon. The undead are scary again, even on their own. They're not yet, anyway, just the obstacle, the problem to solve, but the unknown and incongruous other. They're also in this first series a temporary devastation; because of course things will get better and return to order. The world has yet to fully fall and the full consequences are yet to be grasped by minds that are clearly not ready to process such information. And it's engaging, surprising, both heart-warming and despairing, and utterly enjoyable as one would expect - 8/10.

Steven@WTD.

Legends of Tomorrow S2 Ep4 'Abominations' - review

2016 (USA)

Watched on Cable TV.

Contains spoilers. 

I'll start by focusing on the whole show Legends of Tomorrow; the bastard stepson of the DC's two successful TV series  Arrow and The Flash, and why I'm continually concerned and confused as to why I watch it. Ok, it's not all bad but Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer's time travelling, fantastical and increasingly preposterous action / adventure / buddy / romance spectacular misses the mark way too many times to really ever provide a satisfactory scratch to the in vogue super-hero itch. In many ways doomed to failure, as laden with all the characters deemed superfluous from the above mentioned series, and having a core narrative that is laughably incoherent, the series requires of the viewer a near infinite reserve of perseverance and tolerance for what is in reality scant reward. The writers have also managed, against all the odds, to cobble together a narrative that makes both a man hit by speed-force lighting, and the playboy turned invincible archery bad-ass of Starling City look reasonable and believable concepts with the viewer expected to suspend disbelief to the point of insanity to get anything from it at all. As said, if it wasn't that I feel somewhat invested in the universe I really wouldn't be able to handle the levels of schlock at all.

'Abominations' itself plays out like an average Syfy channel / The Asylum tongue in cheek zombie direct to tv spectacular. Effects are good, the zombies are coherent to the established walking dead trope, and the time travelling troupe's meddling in the civil war undead apocalypse is every bit as self-referential and both deferential and at times glib as you'd want. The team pick up a time aberration, head back to save General Ulysses S. Grant, and as usual somehow fudge their way through to a half-arsed conclusion that saves the day but leaves the larger war; a struggle with the tired and second-hand Flash and Arrow's Eobard Thawne and Damien Darhk across time to find the spear of destiny (the one that stabbed Jesus on the cross); more than hanging. As a discrete episode while it's probably above par it's still really just more Legends of Tomorrow filler, all rather formulaic and strained. As a cheap zombie hour it's not all bad as the undead are presented confidently and the acting is more than up to the job. I guess it all depends how much you liked Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies - 4/10.

Steven@WTD.

Z Nation - review

2014 (USA)

2015 Spirit Entertainment Limited Blu-Ray R(B/2)

Contains mild spoilers.

  

Season 1 Season 2

It was a comment on reddit I think, that had me return to a Syfy original zombie series I'd already written off as tedious, derivative and totally unnecessary. 'The best series you're not watching' it read and then went into detail why. A cursory glance at social media and reviews seemed to back this up so maybe I had been all too quick to pass judgement? Well, I will maintain it really does struggle to get going; episode one especially has more to criticise than to praise, but as episode six came to its dramatic conclusion I realised not only was I seriously emotionally affected with what I'd watched, but I was genuinely invested in the characters, world and the story Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler had fashioned.

If you'd dismissed Z Nation as a poor man's The Walking Dead, as I had, then you couldn't be more wrong. Z Nation is very much its own thing; more self-aware, more frivolous and hyper-realised, and if we're honest all the more imaginative for it, invited to play with larger than life ideas and have more fun with the post-apocalyptic premise. Zombie Tornado? Why not. Zunami (Zombie Tsunami aka large TWD super-herd)? Let's not only dedicate a whole episode but have the idea an intrinsic and coherent part of the world. By not taking itself quite so seriously ideas that would not have made the more sombre and serious zombie cut are not only allowed to be played with but are allowed to integrate without ever feeling forced. It's the z-nation apocalypse and absurdity is very much a part.

Don't mistake this for a light flippant comedy though. Z Nation can still be dark and the post-apocalyptic world presented, is real and well-formed, and really not a nice place to be. Cannibals, mutated and nuclear zombie hybrids, zombie-bears, crazed resurrection cults and the aforementioned Zom-nado. Death is still the only true and singular fate all the survivors can expect and Schaefer and Engler aren't afraid to both wield the axe but to have the characters emotionally resonate to the carnage and misery. They're also happy to throw good bit of blood and gore into the mix, with some truly top-tier cringe inducing moments of excess. The zombies themselves are also excellently presented, as they probably should be by now, I mean it's an industry in itself, and it's refreshing, when compared to TWD as it heads into Season 7, to have the main guys and gals back as the primary post-apocalyptic danger.

As with the story The Asylum haven't been afraid to have some fun with our undead chums. Note, we're not talking full scale zom-com farce but increased license to bend the pre-existing post-Romero / TWD template. They're slow, dead and rotten gut-munchers, yet they're also fast when young and fresh, and there's even some behavioural play with narcotics. Then there's Murphy. Murphy is the corner-stone that keeps Z Nation moving and ensures it doesn't become the usual The Asylum derivative, confused and meandering zombie mess. Episode one sees this complicated anti-hero injected, against his will it should be added, with a highly experimental zombie vaccine moments before he's attacked and bitten. He survives, though in some zombie human hybrid condition that's not been kind to his looks, but has granted him immunity from attack and as the series progresses some kind of power to influence those who he himself infects either via blood or saliva.

In the final episode we learn the rather convoluted origin story with nefarious scientists and a viral cocktail including the flesh eating narcotic Krokodil, a pinch of Ebola, some bio-weapon tech from Kazakstan, and even a sample from some poor Haitian voodoo sufferer; and while the tick-list of all things particularly nasty makes little sense, it made for great television. It was also refreshing to hear the actual term 'zombie' in what I refer to as post-zombie storytelling; rather than presenting a world where the term and concept had never been conceived. 

As episode thirteen concluded and the season wrapped I realised not only was I extremely excited to get to see Season 2 and the outcome of the rather large and painful cliff-hanger, but I wanted to continue my journey with this odd rag-tag motley crew. You'd have been hard pressed, an episode or two in, to make the case that any of Murphy (Keith Allan), Roberta Warren (Kellita Smith), 10K (Nat Zang), Doc (Russell Hodgkinson), Citizen Z (DJ Qualls), Addy (Anastasia Baranova) or Mack (Michael Welch) particularly stood out as anything other than second tier actors struggling with a second tier-script. Yet by the end, each and every one stood tall, emboldened and clearly at ease with their roles; the actors clearly growing alongside their characters. Z Nation surpassed my expectations and I truly feel I need to apologise not just for passing judgement so quickly, biased by past The Asylum / Syfy, zombie, if we're honest, dross, but by my less than favourable throwaway remarks ever since. Z Nation isn't dross; isn't second rate or unnecessary. It's fun, engaging, lively and brilliantly written and constructed post-apocalyptic storytelling, and I'll honestly reiterate, it could well be the best horror TV you're not watching - 7/10.

Steven@WTD.

2015 (USA)

2016 Spirit Entertainment Limited Blu-Ray R(B/2)

Season 2

The first thing that strikes an episode or two into season 2 is that here is a team who truly know they're on to a winning thing. Gone are any doubts or hesitation; in is unbridled passion and enough reckless abandon to really push their zombie comedy / horror / action formula to an all-time high. At a time the genre, and especially The Walking Dead, could perhaps be accused of becoming a tad stale, it's refreshing that there's a zombie program that has but one goal, to entertain, and is happy to throw out all the stops to make this a reality. Perhaps Z Nation works precisely because it timed it's two finger salute to all that was dark, serious and emotionally draining at the right time, but whatever the reason, it feeds the frivolous and openly silly approach to the apocalypse hunger perfectly, and with season 2 happily turning the dial up to 11 I couldn't be more happy.

Zombie aliens, a hilarious nativity spoof, zombie-plant hybrids, radioactive zombies, anthrax-zombies and even an undead cameo from George R. R. Martin; Z Nation has never been scared to play with the let's say more out-there and generally goofy ideas other zombie shows wouldn't dare touch. With Season 1 setting its foundation, Season 2 is off the hook to genuinely do what-ever-the-hell it likes and totally get away with it too. With the again, now secure cast, totally in control of their now seasoned and serious apocalyptic bad-ass characters unfazed by anything new thrown at them, the juxtaposition of their prosaic, stoical reaction to the off the scale stupidity introduced by the writers is perfectly framed. Even when pushed to the absolute limits, as UFOs melt cows, aliens attack, wise zombie men appear complete with zombie camels, and astral bodies float around the room, it's hard not to side with the characters, sigh of course, and just go along with it; though with a huge grin.

It's not without its moments of sadness and poignancy however scattered; it is the apocalyptic wasteland after all. And though characters leave us; Cassandra (Pisay Pao), which I personally felt became an inevitability with what happened at the end of Season 1, and Mack Thompson (Michael Welch), which though sad opens Addy up for better development; new and recurring characters more than make up the slack. With the group and their dynamic established it's good to see there's no let up to their character development, with even the confidence to add some backstory though satisfying flash-backs. A series like this lives and dies with the detailing of its characters and their relationships and Z nation series 2 carries no dead weight. It also lives and dies with its action, gore and witty stories, and here again it never disappoints.

Bigger, louder, brasher, Z Nation Season 2 is triumphant beer induced slap in the face fun and a much needed post-apocalyptic no holds party. Zombie gun-toting silliness with a swagger it's easily worth - 8/10.

Steven@WTD.

The Walking Dead Season 5 - review

2014 (USA)

2015 Entertainment One Blu-ray R(B/2)

Contains mild spoilers.

  

On reflection perhaps I was a little lenient with Season 4. Sure it was every bit the high-jinx and nigh on pitch perfect post-apocalyptic zombie soap opera we're now completely besotted by. It's just that maybe, it could be accused of being a little light; on occasion a tad drifting and superfluous in its narrative and pacing. The heavily orchestrated design, to maximise each half-season's grand pay-off, also maybe relied a tad too much on non-substantive filler to both contrast and build up the stakes. I'm not saying it was bad; not by any stretch; it was what it was, and the second half series of single episode self contained stories genuinely offered something new, fascinating and authentically indulgent, but put up against Season 5, I can readily agree in terms of moment to moment substantive content, it perhaps struggles to keep pace.

Season 5 starts with a wake-up explosion of gratuitous and excessive violence. Whether intentioned as a rebuke to any accusation the franchise was in danger of pandering to an ever increasing and more mainstream audience, or not, it certainly acts as a reminder that little Billy shouldn't really be up watching it; which after any cursory glance over social media, we know he is. Scott M. Gimple, now firmly entrenched as the show's main-man presents Rick and the gang's escape from Terminus, the cannibal slaughterhouse, in every bit as sickening, challenging and gruesome a way as he possibly could, with scenes that could slide easily into any Saw or Hostel chapter. It's breathtakingly refreshing and both a reminder, should we need it, that The Walking Dead is horror, with deep zombie roots, and the post-apocalyptic undead world Kirkman painted was really quite depressing, depraved and dangerous, and certainly never held it's punches. It's also an episode that begins the Season's meta-narrative of cascading moral degeneracy as a necessity to survive; of not just losing humanity but finding ways to justify increasingly deplorable acts.

As regards content and pacing, Season 5 is full-on and unremitting. There may be an overarching moral narrative, but Rick and the group's physical day to day journey from cannibal central to eventual restitution and respite in Alexandria, is a full on and desperate battle for survival with new foes, new challenges and death around every corner. The shift in pacing is palpable with some powerful sub-stories that previously may have filled whole half series themselves. Along the way there, new deep, flawed and interesting characters join the fray namely Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) and Noah (Tyler James Williams) and as is the way, others part company, some painfully under-utilised and before their time, but all sadistically and brutally. Once reached, the sanctuary of Alexandria drastically changes the dynamic and offers, as we will see with Season 6, a huge shift in narrative structure and scope. It arrives at the right time for the franchise and injects much needed freshness and not just a whole set of new problems but a fine array of new personalities and dynamics, all sumptuously delivered by a top class array of acting talent.

With Season 5, the ongoing moral conflict that's been at the heart of the walking dead, that of extreme pragmatism and the will to do what must be done in order to survive, versus being good despite everything, and without condition is truly put to the test. But it's never straightforward. The cannibals may symbolically represent the worst of people; a truly detached and perverted inhumanity; but as with all the moral conflict this season, alongside the very real depravity there's always some dark but deeply sad backstory and perhaps some ambiguity with even some sympathy and understanding. The walking dead world has always mandated grey morality and some license to move outside the traditional framework; but here even some of Rick's and the groups most basic and fundamental beliefs are not only challenged but forced into redefinition. A new world order needs a new moral framework; one where murder may even be the 'better' choice, and the very definition of what it even means to be good is fluid. The introduction of a Episcopalian priest and later the rather protected and naive citizens of Alexandria further adds to the incongruence, allowing for some wonderful interplay, as beliefs are challenged, people fall apart and illusions shattered. 

Season 5 is a non-stop barrage of violence, action and blood and has certainly raised the ante when it comes to guts, gore and zombies with moments that Romero, and even Fulci would have been proud. Episode 1 aside, it was two scenes in episode 14, 'Spend' and a nasty full on, Day of the Dead, open gut munch, and a particularly gruesome close quarters face ripping that took the proverbial eye. If you'd have asked me, I'd have said Seasons 1-4 were just as visceral and gory, yet Season 5 just feels more old-school gratuitous, and traditional zombie, where the style and staging of a zombie kill is as important as the narrative impact. It's also like zombies are somehow important again. Seasons 3-4 saw a transition to people providing the main cause for concern, and rightfully so some 600+ days into the new post-apocalyptic calendar, but perhaps the swing was too great with zombies taking too much of a back seat so as to lose some of their menace and threat. With these emphatic and cinematically brutal zombie killings, perhaps Season 5 serves to remind us who the real monster is.

A return to a form I wasn't sure we'd really lost. Perhaps I'm being a tad disingenuous with Season 4; but such is the greatness of 5; such is the pacing, the tight intelligent narrative, the sophistication and nuance of the characters and their development, and such is the audacious, brave and visceral depiction of the post-apocalyptic landscape and its inhabitants, that it really stands out as the pinnacle of what not just The Walking Dead, but the genre, promises - 10/10.

Steven@WTD.

The Walking Dead Season 4 - review

2013 (USA)

2014 Entertainment One Blu-ray R(B/2)

Contains mild spoilers.

By now we know what we're getting. It's The Walking Dead; it's the triumphant pinnacle of post-apocalyptic survival story telling. With brilliant emotional, nuanced and brave writing, confident acting and sumptuous triple A production and presentation it's everything the ardent zombie fan, like myself could hope for. It's also becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate each season from a review position, and perhaps this is why on the cusp of season 7's highly anticipated return I've only just got round to looking at season 4 again. While it may have taken season one and two to establish its identity, now some 51 episodes in, its increasingly difficult to discern or separate episode from episode, never-mind season from season. The Walking Dead is what it is; season 3 was nigh on perfect zombie fun, as is 4, as is, and this is jumping ahead of myself 5 and 6, and no doubt 7 ad infititum if they get their way, will be. Each season is now an iteration of what we all know just works; and as long as the formula is stuck to then what could go wrong?

Maybe with season 4, the Walking Dead formula has never been quite so obviously adhered to. There's the quiet period; the day to day survival and down-time; if dealing with deadly plagues or work-place accidents like having a helicopter crash through the ceiling or having your leg ripped off by a ravenous flesh-eater, can be considered down-time. It's a character driven survival narrative that's thoroughly engaging and beautifully polished, if maybe at times a little meandering and by now a tad rehashed. But it's all really about creating a foundation upon which the various writers, directors and producers can build up tension to a big climatic explosive, and inevitable pay-off. It's brilliant, it works and once invested you can't not see it through. The thing with Season 4 though is it does it twice to meet the demands of a now established mid-season TV break, and for the first time I felt the very deliberate design was, well for want of a better word deliberate, and all a little fabricated. I'm not sure it really detracted from the show and the pay-off in both episodes 8 and 16 was perfectly executed, and some of the best television I've ever watched. It's just I'm just not sure how strict adherence to a formula like this can benefit artistic licence and aesthetics long term, and there's always, as with any long running show the problem where over-adherence to safety, stability and repetition ultimately leads to monotony, predictability, dullness and an audience turning off.

While the focus of the character development and narrative again focuses on the established key personalities of Rick, Carl, Carol, Dwayne, Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) and Glen and Maggie, Season 4 introduces some much needed fresh faces in the feisty but vulnerable Tara (Alanna Masterson), the subdued Rosita (Christian Serratos) and the instantly appealing double act of Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz). As is the way, The Walking Dead isn't afraid to reduce the cast too; though one gets the increasing feeling that the main gang of seven, as mentioned above, are treated with a certain invulnerability able to constantly scrape by, while all those around drop like flies. There seems an ever increasing reliance on new characters, or throwaway one episode wonders, to provide that feeling of hopeless futility, and carry the weight that is the inevitably of death the original cast were entrusted to before. This all being said, the writers aren't scared to do some pretty horrible things with and to, all those involved with some quite harrowing, brave and thought provoking episodes. Moral ambiguity and dissonance has always been a staple of the Walking Dead experience and the theme of at least trying to be good in a world that no longer adheres to any kind of moral rules is still central to the narrative. While Rick's internal journey hasn't quite fully resolved, its Carol this time that's central to the groups moral struggle, adopting Shane's pragmatic position, albeit almost to the point of pathological, to challenge Rick's reaffirmed (though Hershel) belief in a categorical imperative. All this leads to some and highly charged emotional confrontations, intelligent characters development and great drama.

 Despite possibly being easily accused of having an overarching, rather formulaic design; the writers and production team with season 4, demonstrate a greater confidence not being afraid to deviate from the normative linear narrative structure. Both the episodes focused solely on the Governor (David Morrissey), and the sequence of six tight little self-contained moral tales after the mid-season climax while mostly successful, allowed the writers the freedom to play with dynamics that would not have evolved naturally and opened up the characters in ways that were both fascinating and emotional. The Walking Dead season 4 is every bit the same breath-taking, engaging, high-octane modern survival zombie brilliance we've come to both expect and with such a fervent weight of expectation, probably demand. With Robert Kirkman now firmly established as one of the executive producers, even writing two of the episodes, the franchise's future is almost firmly assured, guaranteeing the same uncompromising grit and gore as its comic book inspiration. The benchmark - 9/10.

Steven@WTD.

Goosebumps: Welcome to Dead House - review

1997 (Canada)

2004 20th Century Fox DVD R(1) Watched on Netflix

Contains spoilers.

Well this is a bit of departure, but I did say I was going to review it all. My daughter's a big fan of the PG rated late nineties adaptation of American author R. L. Stine's horror shorts. They're fun and exciting little self contained stories with Stine getting the fine balance of scary and family friendly right every time and the US/Canadian television interpretations are well made and true to the source with Stine even beginning each with a small narration. Each episode usually drops one or more children, quite often siblings into evil and frightening situations where they, without adult help, have to use their own abilities and imagination to win the day. It's child friendly, so there's never any deaths, the children are never on the receiving end of direct violence and there's always a happy ending, yet Stine, as my daughter will attest, certainly knows how fashion a stressful situations a child can get into.

Egyptian mummies, Monsters, Werewolves and possessed magic items all story themes played with but it's the two part adaptation of his first book published in 1992, and my daughter telling me all about it after watching it on Netflix that's the focus of this review.

Brother and sister Amanda (Amy Stewart) and Josh Benson (Ben Cook) have been forced to relocate some five hundred miles to the town of Dark Falls for their fathers work. It's your typical children's haunted house of horror, the building itself is dilapidated and in desperate need of modernisation and a lick of paint, the neighbour hood is overgrown and run down, and the neighbours act suspiciously and keep to the shadows. No sooner than they arrive Amanda begins to feel something isn't right briefly glancing a face at the bedroom window that of course her parents disregard as a gust of wind or a trick of the light. Things go from bad to worse and in full scooby-doo / gothic-panto glory lightning, thunder, sinister piano music, mystery voices and barking dogs are all used to tell us the Bensons are in for a rough couple of days.

Part 1 ambled along pretty safely; overly friendly neighbours introduced themselves yet shied away from an old family wreath reputed to bring good luck that had been hung, weird pale skinned neighbourhood kids acted strangely and even a few good scary moments, all directed at Amanda with strange sightings, something breaking at the wall in her wardrobe and even a ghostly visitation and dire warning. It was fun, reasonably coherent and well acted family friendly entertainment; not especially my cup of tea but I could go with it. I came into this understanding it was, as my daughter put it, all about the living dead and if these walking talking neighbours were the zombies then that was fine.

I was wrong though and nothing quite prepared for me for where it was all going in part 2. Eventually with the children searching the woods for Petey their dog who'd escaped, they stumbled upon a graveyard, and the entirety of the neighbourhood who had seemingly convened for a town council style meeting. The realtor (estate agent) was here, as was the neighbours daughter, the town fireman, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker (probably); however gone was the slightly off tone skin tone, and friendly rational demeanour. Here were zombies, grey and blemished rotting undead parasites discussing how they needed to siege the house for the Bensons blood. There was no sugar coating it; they were dead and they wanted Amanda and Josh to join them.

Giving the zombies the two states is quite a fun little idea and not a million miles away from Dead & Buried. On the one hand they're living out some strange fantasy existence pretending to be who they once were to gain the new families trust, however underneath they're vampiric brainless corpses with a singular uncontrollable appetite for blood. They're not who they used to be; they're an echo of their old self, a charade able to remember but only in the pragmatic sense that this might help them to satiate their hunger. For a simple children's story Stine shows a surprising amount of sophistication and the story is refreshingly complete and compelling. The make up is edgy with more than passing resemblance to Romero's offspring, albeit with blood itself off the table, their movements are purposeful and menacing and the final siege of house is scary and suitably relentless with undead bursting through walls and gnashing their teeth, and for a moment I could almost have mistaken it all for something far more grown up.

Welcome to Dead House is fine example of how to make children's horror fun and light yet also not insulting or overly dumb. A great little self contained story; narrative isn't as rigid as it perhaps would be in an adult tale, with several scenes of misdirection never really fleshed out but it all works for a target audience that doesn't really need it to. The central story feels strong and satisfying, production values, music and acting are all as competent as you'd want and the zombies are well made up and genuinely intimidating. Undeniably one for kids (probably not small ones though) there might just about be enough here for big old hairy kids like me too, 6/10.

Steven@WTD.

The Walking Dead Season 3 - review

2012 (USA)

2013 Entertainment One Blu-ray R(B/2)

Contains mild spoilers.

I've never hidden the fact that AMC's The Walking Dead adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic was pivotal in rekindling my forgotten love of all things Z. The first season was raw, post apocalyptic survival story telling finally out of the closet. With an all star cast and triple A production budget it was everything I could have wished for and really struck a chord with not only myself but a population that was ready to lap up the next big subversive thing. Not resting on their laurels the second season was greatly expanded with sub narratives, more expansive sets and side characters that were given more room to develop. Many criticised it for having too much of a shift from horror to character drama but to me the expanded narrative moving away from a tight corridor of consecutive dangerous zombie fights, to potentially having a refuge, and hope, was inevitable and necessary. The sanctity of Hershel's farm allowed for better dynamics between the real walking dead of the show and allowed the central conflict of being ideologically good at all costs (Rick - Andrew Lincoln) vs. the utilitarianism of Shane (Jon Bernthal) to play out to a satisfying and explosive climax.

Season 3 begins with the group once again on the road, scavenging for supplies and surviving on the edge. In many respects their situation is a return to season one though this time the group are far more war weary and the atmosphere is darker and less optimistic. The various writers and directors don't allow this to last long though, as the focus for the season is their discovery of a new, potentially game changing sanctuary, an unclaimed prison, albeit with it teeming with its previous inhabitants, and its close proximity to Woodbury; a high walled and heavily guarded community of 73 survivors under the leadership of the self styled autocrat Governor (David Morrissey).

When I first watched season 3 last year, weekly, on television I actually came away slightly disappointed. I felt it could again be charged with feeling a bit like a series of two distinct parts, I felt the Governor came across a bit disingenuous and his behaviour a too conveniently excessive, and I wasn't sure how I felt watching Rick fall apart and make a series of quite out of character decisions. I don't know whether the last year of watching nigh on a hundred zombie films has changed me, or whether it was from being able to watch all sixteen episodes again, back to back without all the season stops and breaks, but this time it all made far more sense; it felt more cohesive and I could see how the very things I challenged were actually vital to drive the key narratives of the series.

Having gone through the all the trouble of settling the internal conflicts and whittling down the group to a core few its audience is now quite heavily invested in it was time to look outside for conflict, challenge and something to push the narrative and characters. Season 3 has the prison, and the job of clearing it out provide the first thing for them all to do then moves to the threat of The Governor to provide the rest. This time the conflict isn't within the group, there's no in fighting or vying for power and it wouldn't make sense for it to be so.

Season 3 deals with some quite complicated issues; protectionism, moral ambiguity, dealing with profound loss and guilt and questioning the lengths people would go to, to secure what little safety they perceive they have. In many ways Rick and The Governor are very alike. Both make morally dubious decisions to look after what they have, both are responsible for the deaths of any perceived threat, and both display on more than one occurrence total moral ambivalence. At the end of Season 2 Rick takes total control blaming his stubborn desire to listen to all angles and make decisions that satisfied the majority, while still abiding by his unambiguous moral beliefs and codes, as the reason for the groups ultimate disintegration and the many deaths that resulted. Season 3 is Ricks journey to rediscover that person the group chose to follow rather than be swallowed by hate and vengeance which is the direction the Governor takes.

It's deep, it's complicated and there's enough nuance and ambiguity that trying to explain it in simple terms is impossible but it's a fine portrayal of a person under the most extreme circumstances finding balance and inner calm. As with the previous seasons, some of the additional characters aren't allowed to flourish as much as they should, especially 'T-Dog' (IronE Singleton) who three seasons in was woefully under-utilised, yet others including several new, or reintroduced characters including Michonne (Danai Gurira) are delightfully well-fleshed out and given plenty of room to develop. Acting is, as per the previous seasons first class and it's the perfect marriage of sharp intelligent dialogue and seasoned professionalism. The pacing is perfect, in relentlessly driving the action when it needs then having the confidence to allow it all to slightly deviate, the highlight of which is episode 12, 'Clear' where Rick, Michonne and Carl (Chandler Riggs) stumble into Morgan (Lennie James) the man who originally saved Rick, which is both poignant and incredibly rewarding television. All in all it's put together with such consummate ease watching hour after hour is a joyful experience and never hard to do.

One thing that can't be levied against The Walking Dead is pulling its punches when it comes to gratuitous blood and gore. The many, many zombie killings are excessive, visceral and lovingly crafted. Heads are stomped on, chopped off and sliced in half; and as for survivors, the zombies may be treated in general as a little more of a nuisance or hindrance than the out right single main threat they were in the previous seasons, but up close and personal they're still as gnarly, vicious and dangerous as ever. Season 3 also doesn't shy away from some quite dark and uncomfortable film making especially regarding Lori's (Sarah Wayne Callies) pregnancy which makes for powerful and highly emotional viewing.

The Walking Dead is still the benchmark for post-apocalyptic story telling. Yes, it might be accused of being derivative and for a show about extreme survival with flesh eating zombies regularly allowed to rip into the main cast, it could even be argued it's all a bit safe. But honestly, for the particular niche of modern Romero zombie cinema it's decided to make its own, it's nigh on as good as we're likely to ever get. The action is relentless, the characters deep, complex and constantly evolving, and the production and acting qualities are like that of a Hollywood blockbuster. The Walking Dead may be a main stream popular phenomena adored by a crowd that had never before taken the genre seriously but that doesn't mean it can't still be adored by those who also enjoy the more obscure and unsavoury morsels that are on offer. Staggeringly good zombie fun, 10/10.

Steven@WTD.

Dead Set - review

2008 (UK)

Broadcast 2008 on E4, a 5 part mini series. Also available on DVD and 4OD.

Contains mild spoilers.

This had been on my radar since discovering it existed about a year ago. A Channel E4, 5 part mini-series written by the dry wit English comedian/social commentator Charlie Brooker, it took the setting of the Big Brother house and production studio and dropped it kicking and screaming into a full-on global zombie apocalypse. It sounded fun and quirky but if I'm honest it wasn't top of my list of things to watch; I mean Big Brother, mini-series, Davina McCall, come on. How wrong could I have been. Putting on the first episode thinking I'd watch a bit before going to bed and suddenly it's early morning, I've watched all two and half hours, I'm exhausted but I've had my zombie itch well and truly scratched.

It's Friday night, eviction, night at the Big Brother UK house. The seven remaining contestants are going through their usual pre-show tantrums and self-idolising, locked up away from the world wrapped up in their own little bubble. Outside the production team lead by the pompous-arse Patrick Goad (Andy Nyman) are getting ready for their big night, worried the weekly show-piece might get taken off air as the news media are focusing on an ever increasing number of cases of civil unrest and rioting.

The house is filled with the sort of self-aggrandising utterly vacuous contestants you'd expect; from the barbie doll page 3 wannabe air head to the self-opinionated pompous  vegan who's not on the show for fame. They're all irritating but brilliantly fleshed out and acted, and it doesn't take long till you find yourself actively looking forward to them being ripped apart.

Here Brooker and co. show real focus and confidence in what they're doing. Just when you think you're in for a long overdone, as tense zombie films all too often do, calm  slow build up to the storm they bring the horror and frenzy of the horde smack bang centre stage at the first opportunity with brutal and bloody ferocity. One minute they're bemoaning being taken off air, the next they're running and screaming for their lives. And let's get one thing straight here, the zombies of Dead Set are not the slow shambling Romero, nor comical Brains groaning parodies, they are rabid, nimble, visceral brutal killing machines. Definitely moulded after Boyles 28 Days Later infected, they are single minded mobile slaughter-houses interested in one thing and one thing only; flesh. Oh, but unlike Boyles monsters, there's no zombie ambiguity here, these guys are definitely dead.

Early on Patrick Goad comments that someone has 'a face like a Manchester Morgue' and it was here I clearly realised Brooker probably possessed more than a passing interest in zombies and we were in safe hands. The undead denizens of Dead Set are the most feral, frenzied and down right nasty I've seen; they are brilliantly realised and complete, and perhaps, just perhaps, my favourite to date. Seconds after passing away, gone is the human that once owned the body and immediately as if stabbed by adrenaline the monster is up and active, violent and strong. The reaction to these guys is real and appropriate too; there isn't any careful manoeuvring around them or pushing them away, the only thing to do is run, and run very, very quickly. The make-up and effects are as good as you're going to get and groans and sound effects are genuinely uncomfortable and frightening. Special mention must also go to zombie Davina McCall (the UK presenter of Big Brother and household name) who makes one darn scary critter.

Everything about Dead Set works. The story other than one small side track is tight, claustrophobic and personal. The pace is relentless with no filler and the ending satisfying. I do love the apocalyptic survival zombie story and this ticked all the boxes. Brooker and the team have perfectly captured what you feel is a small story in a bigger world. I was expecting more to be made of the Big Brother setting; more play with the house-mates ignorant in their own microcosm but on reflection they got it spot on and never overstretched something that could have turned into a one trick pony.

I really don't want to spoil this story so I'll leave it here with a massive thumbs up, 9/10.

Steven@WTD.

In The Flesh - review

2013 (UK)

Broadcast 2013 on BBC 3, a 3 part mini-series

Contains mild spoilers.

Now I watched this while on hiatus almost only because I thought I ought to but I came away with the feeling I'd watched a genuinely original and brave zombie tale that was not only dark, but thoughtful and relevant in this time of recession.

It's about prejudice and difference. A metaphor of our time; of forgiveness and charity or the lack of and the ability of family and community to repair itself, reintegrate and look forward. All with zombies; fantastic.

It's about the outsider, being different and that Writer Dominic Mitchell and Director Jonny Campbell chose zombies, or more accurately recovering zombies, as this outsider is brave, and perhaps an indictment of their current popularity, as they could have chosen another ostracised subject group. Who ever at the BBC green lit this deserves a commendation. Using zombies makes the drama fresh, original and stand-out, and what's even better, is by acknowledging the heritage of the genre and respecting, not poking fun at the tradition they crafted a sophisticated gritty work that avoids ever being turned into a farce.

Kieren 'Ren' Walker (Luke Newberry) has returned to his family home in the small town of Roarton in Lancashire, England; for my foreign readers think 'grim up north'. Both a victim of the rising and survivor, in still being attached to his head when the cure was discovered. He is has spent his time in the rehabilitation centre and now as an official sufferer of 'partially deceased syndrome' (PDS) he has to reintegrate with a family that are broken and confused, a community in recovery and actively prejudiced against him, and his conscience as he struggles to deal with fragmented memories of his time spent killing.

His town has recovered, or more accurately, adapted and just got on with it, and while there is less support for the HVF (Human Volunteer Force), the local militia who looked after the town when the threat was at large but now find themselves increasingly redundant and people just want to get back to normal there is also a heavy reluctance to accept those friends and family who were lost and dead back into the fold. It's a complex, delicate and uncompromising set up with characters and secrets that all interweave, where inertia and ignorance has let the voices of a vocal few spread fear and prejudice.

Smuggled into his family home in secret, his mother and father while overjoyed to have their son back are in denial as to his new state and go about as if nothing has changed. His feisty angst ridden teenage sister, Jem (Harriet Cains) an active member of the HVF is torn between what the HDF leader Bill Macey (Steve Evets) keeps telling her, that they could turn back at any moment and they're not really cured, and what she can see with own eyes in her own family home. The characters all have depth and you really feel for all of them. 

Not content with just this conflict we discover that Kieren actually shot himself after a lovers quarrel with the son of the town agitator Bill, who returns from Afghanistan in episode 2. Also that Amy Dyer (Emily Bevan) another PDS sufferer and hunting partner of Kieren while zombies is in town and far more at ease with her condition sharing tales of an underground movement under the banner of the 'undead prophet' who believes they should reject the cure. The tapestry being weaved is rich and ambitious, maybe a little too much, as the many contradicting and complimenting relationships clash. Yet it just manages to hold it all together and builds up nicely over the three parts to an explosive finale that always felt inevitable.

The rotters as they are called are well fleshed out, taking the Romero blueprint and freshening it up little for 2013. They're dead, reanimated and feral roaming the countryside looking for human flesh; it's your usual stuff. And cured? They're still same; they're still very much dead, they can't eat, can't drink, don't age, but they have their control, conscience and minds back. The government provides make-up and contact lenses to help the communities adjust to their return and the cure which requires constant regular mandatory administering else they return to their former state. It's a fascinating idea and raises a lot of moral, religious and ethical questions. A six part second series has been commissioned for 2014 and I'd imagine many of these are to be addressed with the 'undead prophet' playing a larger role.

In The Flesh is a fantastic intelligent well-rounded personal drama. Unabashed in its subject matter and thematically rich it's not scared to get its hands dirty and tackle very contentious issues straight on. It's as gritty, real and unpretentious as it gets with top performances and complex characters that do the subject matter proud. Add it all together and you get a zombie drama you can't afford to miss, 9/10.

Steven@WTD.