The Walking Dead

A review by Shoeless Chuck

Zombie movies are the ultimate lessons in survival. In every zombie invasion scenario, there are a few things you can count on. One, civilization either collapses or is threatened with total collapse. Unless the government is actively handing out Zombrex or constructing cities on giant boats, don’t expect them to save your ass. Two, cities are death traps; the less populated an area was before, the safer it will be…at least until food runs out. Three, guns become more valuable than gold. You can keep dollar bills for campfire fuel, but it’s better to stock up on weapons. Four, headshots are key. Aiming for anything else is a waste of time and ammo. Five, humans NEVER win. It’s a constant game of hide and seek with something that you can’t hide from and never gets tired of seeking. Eventually you’re luck will run out.

We all know these things by now. Zombie movies have been around for a long time, mainstreamed into popular culture by the 1968 release of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Since then, there have been so many films featuring zombies that they have become their own horror subgenre. The world of gaming has also been invaded, with the Resident Evil and Dead Rising games being most notable. Novels and comics have become excellent sources for tales of the undead. My personal favorite is the book World War Z, written by Max Brooks.

It is a fictional collection of first-person accounts from survivors of the zombie apocalypse that broke out and was successfully ended after a decade-long struggle. The audio book actually offers a much more haunting and memorable experience than reading the book, and I suggest you check that out too.

Now, it seems the zombie virus has spread to network television, and swarming mobs of the undead have invaded living rooms across the country. The Walking Dead premiered on Halloween night of 2010 on AMC. The show is based on a comic series of the same title, and was so well received that a second season was green lit after only two of the first seasons six episodes had aired.

The Walking Dead follows Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer from Kentucky who was shot in the line of duty and spent the worst days of the zombie invasion lying on a hospital bed in a coma. He wakes up to find the world turned upside down; a deserted town with bodies lying everywhere, blood on walls and in the roads, and the undead roaming aimlessly looking for a bite to eat. After running into a man and his son who give him protection and learning what has happened, he sets out to find his family whom he believes is still alive. He’s rescued from the infested city of Atlanta by a kid named Glenn, introduced to a small band of survivors, and taken to their campsite in the wilderness where he is reunited with his wife Lori and son Carl. The struggle doesn’t end there, as Rick and his small group must search for a safe haven from the unstoppable nightmare that hunts them.

Everything comes together to make this show powerful in its believability. The settings are desolate and gray, all color and brightness rotting away like the undead themselves. Even though whole city streets are full of shambling zombies, the world feels desolate and disturbingly underpopulated.  It’s a land built for humans, but hauntingly empty of life.

The creators also nailed the appearance of the zombies themselves. Makeup affects are incredibly convincing. The actors play their parts well, shambling and moaning with half-understanding looks on their faces.

There must be a school to teach actors how to act like zombies, because this is some of the best performances I’ve seen since Bub the Zombie in Day of the Dead.

All of this combines to make a post-virus ravaged world that feels real, but at the same time has an engrossing cinematic quality. Everything fits together. It’s a world that definitely looks like it belongs to the undead.

I’ve always believed that it’s not the fascination with zombies that makes stories like this so engaging, but the people we follow through them. It’s interesting to see what people do to survive in the face of complete hopelessness. In the midst of a zombie apocalypse that destroys society, uninfected humans find themselves living with a frightening combination of circumstances; overwhelming odds against their lives and complete freedom. Say what you want about the end of civilization as we know it and an impending doom hanging over our heads.

You gotta admit, it’s probably liberating.

This is where the strength of The Walking Dead lies; the human story. The show brings together people of different personalities or points of view and forces them to work together. This inevitably leads to conflict, providing a wealth of opportunities for great storytelling. Because of society’s end, all of the characters have become incredibly visceral, with clear, simple, and understandable motives, love and hatred being the most prevalent. Love is shown through Rick and his family, Andrea and her younger sister Amy, and the groups growing friendship.

Rick Grimes himself is the typical lead character; exhibiting bravery and altruism. He’s willing to place himself in danger to save others, and throughout the series he does this several times. It will be interesting to see how he changes in the future, because he’s beset on all sides by people and circumstances that challenge these qualities. He has to deal with his best friend Shane’s jealousy, the selfish motives of others, a group pulling in all directions, and his own inherent need to do what is right.

Merle Dixon is probably one of my favorite characters in The Walking Dead.He’s a racist, violent, fearless man, whose first appearance makes it obvious that he’s going to cause problems for everyone. He’s not in the show for very long, and by the end of the season it seems the others have given him up for lost. I won’t give up too much, but the way he leaves us proves how awesomely badass he is. When he makes his inevitable return to the story in future seasons, he’s doubtfully going to kick some serious ass and provide some of the shows best action, drama, and turning points.

If you haven’t seen AMC’s The Walking Dead yet, you absolutely need to. As much as some people stay away from zombie movies, the shows presentation can appeal to almost anyone. I personally can’t wait to see more episodes, and I’ll definitely stick with it to the end.

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