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LOS ANGELES — Zombies are back in a big way this Halloween, with “The Walking Dead” premiering on AMC and the British miniseries “Dead Set” on IFC. [1]
Zombies are back in a big way this Halloween, with “The Walking Dead” premiering on AMC and the British miniseries “Dead Set” on IFC. [2]
“The Walking Dead” and “Dead Set” share the standard zombie apocalypse plotline and a slavering, saturated, graphically detailed grisliness (fake blood and disembowelment technology have certainly improved since “Night of the Living Dead,” or even “Braveheart”) but are quite different in ambition, message and execution. [3]
Our hero is Southern sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) who, after a mood-setting opener, we meet as he is engaged in a manly discussion of relationships with his partner Shane (Jon Bernthal). [1]
As news reports of zombies fill the air, the crew of “Big Brother” remains oblivious and soon Charlie Brooker’s tale turns the reality show’s conceit inside out - the house is now one of the few safe places in the world and the ever-shrinking few must work together to survive. [4]
In “Night of the Living Dead” George Romero turned corpses into the ultimate power-consumers, and created the Rosetta stone of the genre. [5]
We’ve all but ruined all the other good monsters, turning perfectly decent vampires and werewolves into sad-eyed pin-up boys (and girls), reducing the dimensions of evil and corruption they once represented to eternal adolescent angst. [...] Father and son survivors take him in, explaining the nature of “the walkers” - hewing to good zombie tradition, they don’t move very fast but are dangerous in packs; they can be killed only by destroying their brains. [1]
Though not as broad a satire as the marvelous 2004 film “Shaun of the Dead,” “Dead Set” imagines how ordinary people might actually act in a zombie-intense situation while brilliantly sending up the mindless nature of “Big Brother.” [2]
They shook off their chains in the 1950s through “Tales From the Crypt” comic books and the novel “I Am Legend,” but it wasn’t until 1968 that they found their true leader. [4]
When the stricken go zombie, their eyes resemble the show’s logo and in one particularly harrowing scene, a literal evisceration is accompanied by a metaphorical one - Brooker is no fan of reality TV. [1]
You can’t help but feel that the image of the lawman on horseback clip-clopping along an empty freeway toward a city overrun by zombies jumpstarted this whole project - it is a terrific scene, the still silence much more terrifying than any entrail chewing could ever be. [6]
Darabont understands that in horror, pacing is everything, and in the first two episodes he uses nature wonderfully - green fields and sylvan parks belie the chaos that is currently humanity, while empty streets and images of debris remind us of the futility of possessions. [2]
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Sources:
[1] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - TV - Wire …
[2] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - Atomictown: TV …
[3] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - Entertainment …
[4] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - Television …
[5] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - Celebrities …
[6] LexGo.com | The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC
[7] The Walking Dead’ on AMC; Dead Set’ on IFC - Entertainment …