The Walking Dead

 

Directed By: Frank Darabont

Written By: Frank Darabont

Produced By:  Frank Darabont, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Robert Kirkham, Charles H. Eglee

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Berthnal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs

Plot: A group of survivors travel across the desolate land of the United States, searching for a new home in the aftermath of a Zombie Apocalypse. They face horrors at every turn, both human and Zombie.

Zombies were starting to go stale. They had been done to death, (Literally) Zombies had been invented, re-invented and even spoofed. But The Walking Dead is something different. Although it has the same concept as many other post apocalyptic films/tv shows, it is alot more grittier and doesn't try to pretend that it's something it isn't. It's overlapping plotlines kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat. At every scene I didn't know whether to expect a zombie attack or just a heartfelt conversation.

The show is shot like a full length film, but with more depth, and more time to go through with the characters. But don't let this put you off if blood and guts is what you are after, the show is very grisly. With the Zombies in all different states of decay,and people being eaten quite alot of the time. However, the show doesn't reach a disappointing blood filled climax as most Zombie films do, it's great that they're doing something different.
If the writers concentrate on the characters, and the plotlines in the next series, then the show could become classic American television.The writers haven't relied upon mountains of swearing in the dialogue to show the characters emotions. I was quite impressed with this, because in alot of horror films, the characters are effing and blinding every five minutes.

The show has been compared to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, which is fairly similar (Abandoned hospital, walking round a deserted city, finding other survivors etc) But they are also very different. In 28 Days Later, we discover why the Infected are as they are (The Rage Virus from a monkey) in The Walking Dead, we don't know if it is for supernatural reasons, if it's a virus, if it's cause by something from outer-space, we just don't know and I like that because it's putting a little bit of a turn on the Zombie cliche.

Written By Eammon Jacobs