The Walking Dead Season 2 (so far)

The second season of AMC’s adaptation of The Walking Dead is taking a break until February 2011 (most likely coinciding with the return of Mad Men) and for the first time since the very first two episodes I’m excited. It only took seven or more episodes for The Walking Dead to actually get decent again, especially after the horribly embarrassing season one finale. I’m willing to suspend my belief and go along for a fantastic ride on most occasions (after all, we’re dealing with corpses rising and eating the living here) but believing the CDC is a time sensitive, thermonuclear device is ludicrous. Please, prove me wrong.

Remember That Big Underground Complex From Day of the Dead?

Arriving home from a pretty terrible evening I watched George A. Romero’s 1985 Day of the Dead. I picked it up on Blu-Ray a while back for $5 and hadn’t watched it yet and last night seemed like an ample opportunity. It’s not my favorite of Romero’s zombie films (although it’s better than Survival of the Dead) but Day has a special quality I can’t quite put my finger on. After watching the documentaries on the Day disc I found out why the film isn’t as spectacular as the first two: they didn’t have the money and Romero’s aspirations exceeded his budget.

One of the bonus features which grabbing my attention is a short promotional film for Gateway Commerce Center. Located outside Pittsburgh, Gateway is an old mine turned into an underground storage facility where Romero shot the film. It’s a very sterile, creepy looking kind of place. Below is the video from the disc, which is both interesting and kitschy.

Also, I feel it’s important to comment on my lack of posts lately: I’m moving to New Jersey and have been busy getting that together while also working to save up extra funds.

Shark versus Zombie

It’s Shark Week again and idiots thinking a whole week of shark shows on the Discovery Channel is intelligent are enjoying lazy times in front of the boob tube. I am one of those idiots – I always end up watching at least one or two shark shows during Shark Week. While watching a show called Sharkman, where some moron tries to hypnotize a Great White I couldn’t help thinking about the infamous Shark versus Zombie scene from Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2.

Stick Figure Theater: Night of the Living Dead

I was a youth when Liquid Television appeared on MTV but I did catch it a few times. Aside from the Aeon Flux bits I was always a fan of Stick Figure Theater. Here is a great Stick Figure Theater representation of George A. Romero’s 1968 classic: Night of the Living Dead.

Dawn of the Dead: A Second, Useless Post

Yesterday I picked up Dawn of the Dead on DVD for $3 – funny how it took me this long. I saw it in theaters in 2004 and have rented it at least three times since. Why it took me so long to purchase it is beyond me (I probably didn’t want to pay $15-$20). Although I hate Zach Snyder I really feel this film is excellent. Below are my thoughts on the film seven years after its theatrical run. I am typing this while watching the movie so it’s possible this post will be quite scatterbrained but at least it’s chronological.

28 Days Later

Warning: There are a few spoilers below (again thanks to MacTingz)

I just finished watching 28 Days Later for the first time since its theatrical run. I remember disliking it initially but really enjoyed it this time. It’s possible the reasons it left such a negative impression has less to do with the film and more with me: at the time I was a zombie purist, believing anything mimicking George A. Romero films or maneuvering into the surreal in this genre was banal. I think I’ve outgrown this sentiment, explaining my enjoyment this time around. Danny Boyle’s zombie film does sometimes retreat into the absurd with the visuals – fields of pastel looking flowers, animated windmills, etc. – but where this bothered me before it’s now just part of the film’s aesthetic and doesn’t really bother me. The film itself is more interesting than these few moments I disliked before; the way it presents sadism and humanity’s primal instincts, whether the characters are humans or zombies, is aptly accomplished.

Authenticity in Post-Apocalyptic Visions: The Road and The Walking Dead

Man: “How would you know you’re the last man alive?”

Eli: “I guess you wouldn’t know it, you’d just be it.”

I’m watching The Road again. I saw it in the theater and was devastated; it’s a very grim movie, bleak in every way. In contrast to last night’s Walking Dead finale, The Road is great. Where Frank Darabont’s post-apocalyptic zombie series falls short, The Road is truly terrifying. Every moment is horrendous, imparting a gamut of emotions instantaneously. After last night’s disappointing Walking Dead episode, watching this film again reminds me of how powerful the post-apocalyptic genre can be.

The Walking Dead episode 6

Episode 6: “TS-19”

The CDC isn’t a fire burning time bomb. Also, just ducking when a building blows up doesn’t really do anything, especially when the bomb is a pseudo-nuclear weapon. Am I willing to suspend my disbelief and go for an entertaining ride? Yes. However, I don’t enjoy visual media blurring the line while demanding empathy, riding melodrama into cheap sentimentality. The season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead did just that. That doesn’t mean there weren’t great moments or that I didn’t enjoy the episode, but I understand why writers were fired.

The Beyond

“This hotel is one of the seven gateways to hell.”

I was surprised when I saw that Turner Classic Movies was showing Italian director Lucio Fulci’s 1981 (released in America in 1983) cult classic The Beyond on basic cable. The film’s grotesquely violent, containing some of the most intense violence I’ve seen in many films; they’re definitely some of Fulci’s most violent moments. TCM didn’t really censor anything either; the picture and sound is extraordinary and it contains all the violence that appears on the Anchor Bay DVD version. Naturally I recorded it.

The film begins in the early 20^th century when a group of enraged townspeople torture and crucify a warlock. The scene is rather violent, with the mob lashing him and finally hanging him to die. Fast forward 60 years and a young woman named Liza (Katherine MacColl) just inherits the hotel the warlock died in. The hotel is Liza’s “last chance,” to make something good for herself. After the mysterious Emily (Sarah Keller), a blind woman with extremely pale eyes, an uncanny knowledge of Liza and the hotel, and a seeing eye dog named Dicky, arrives and warns Liza to leave, bad things start to happen. The hotel is one of the seven gates of hell, nestled over this quaint, rundown hotel. Along the way Liza meets Dr. John McCabe (David Warbeck), who’s skeptical of Liza’s supernatural stories and the two loosely bond throughout the film. The film is a mixture of Italian zombie fare and supernatural thriller, containing all the traits common to Fulci’s films – extreme gore, decent cinematography and lighting, and horrible, yet sometimes comedic dubbing. Zombi II contains a metaphysical explanation for the zombie outbreak and The Beyond also follows a similar thread; relying on unexplained phenomenon instead of concrete, corporeal explanations.

The Walking Dead episode 5

Episode 5: Wildfire

So I’m going to start my essay about episode 5 with a minor rant. I hope this doesn’t detract my piece, but, as a reader of the Walking Dead comics, I feel it necessary. The show is riffing along a different tangent at this point, taking elements from the comics, shaping them into a different beast altogether. This isn’t a bad thing. For a devoted reader it gives suspense. Nothing is predestined at this point and anything’s possible. Am I one of those people who dislike when liberties are taken with a quality text? Yes. Do I condone and even enjoy when liberties are taken? Yes. It’s not how unfaithful an adaptation is, it’s when the integrity of feeling of the original source disappears, like Robocop 2 or 3 being devoid of Paul Verhoeven’s dark brand of social comedy. A faithful representation isn’t important; it’s capturing what the original manuscript imparts. Any adaptation demonstrating this sentiment seems valid.

The Walking Dead episode 4

Episode 4: “Vatos.”

At least I can say The Walking Dead series celebrates cultural diversity, even if a diverse racial medley embraces American stereotypes. This episode, called Vatos, features a Latino group holing up in a warehouse. When Rick, Glen, T-Dog, and Darryl trek back into Atlanta looking for Merle and a bag of guns, a run-in with the “vatos,” leads to a hostage situation and a stand-off. Instead of the situation culminating in bloodshed, Robert Kirkman’s teleplay reveals another humane survivor group – the “vatos” are maintaining an abandoned nursing home, looking after the elderly and indigent. Their tough exterior gives way, Rick donates some weapons, and a kidnapped Glen is released.  Here Kirkman’s episode demonstrates a positive outlook towards humanity; unfortunately it’s the last moment of stability the episode delivers.

Further ruminations on The Walking Dead episode three

I really like Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. I wasn’t sure if I would at first, but three episodes in I’m quite satisfied. It has a cinematic feel, the acting is pretty good, and the casting isn’t all that bad (except Andrea, who looks about 35 instead of around 25 like in the comics). Last night’s episode, “Tell it to the Frogs,” was by far the least action packed episode yet, but it was still good. As I sat at my laptop with the replay running in the background I had a few complaints that I brought up in my first post, primarily involving Rick’s reunion with his family. I felt the scene was over the top, melodramatic, and the score was cheap and contrived – bringing to mind the sounds of a Hallmark commercial. The only thing missing was a singing card congratulating Rick and company on surviving the zombie apocalypse. This overtly saccharine moment, albeit necessary, is clichéd – lowering the standards set in the first two episodes and appealing to the lowest common denominator. Rick’s emotional outburst and Morgan’s tearful reluctance in the pilot episode were about as sappy, yet the score (reminding me of Apollo era Brian Eno) bridged together Morgan and Rick’s scene; it was the glue holding together a histrionic moment and plucking it out of the mundane. The reunion from last night’s episode missed the mark due to inept scoring, which can sometimes make or break a scene. In this instance it didn’t work.

The Walking Dead episode 3

Episode three: “Tell it to the Frogs.”

“You take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond.”

The episode begins on the department store roof from the second episode. From above the camera focuses in on Merle (Michael Rooker), handcuffed to a pipe. Merle has a problem: the keys fell down a drainpipe on the previous episode and the only thing separating him from a horde of zombies is a door barricaded with a lock and chain. Merle relates a story to himself, about punching somebody’s teeth out, the time he served for it; a look of genuine satisfaction on his face. This quickly turns sour, as Merle pleads to Jesus; acknowledging his past behavior but still begging for forgiveness. Merle’s going through the Kubler-Ross stages of grief originally discussed in the book On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). Following Merle’s bargaining, depression sets in and finally leads to acceptance. This is where Merle’s survival instinct kicks in and he uses his belt, attempting to reach a saw left behind by T-Dog (IronE Singleton).

Unlike the prelude from the first two episodes, this episode doesn’t feature gratuitous sex or violence. That doesn’t negate how frightening the scene is, since Merle’s actions (wonderfully executed by Rooker) are quite honest; I’m sure the best of us would react similarly in the same spot. Seeing another person at their most vulnerable is awful, displaying how Frank Darabont’s rendition of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead is a multi-faceted television series. It’s cinematic, explores many features of fear and terror, and investigates social issues. Instead of relying on non-stop action The Walking Dead is primarily a character piece, exploring character traits, morality, and the human experience. Of course an army of the living dead is an excellent catalyst for watching the show in the first place, but I’ve always found the people in zombie stories more fascinating than the gore itself. This week’s episode gives you just that. It’s a character piece, furthering the protagonist and surrounding players. The episode still features a good deal of violence, but it takes a back seat.

Night of the Living Dead 1990 remake

Penned by George A. Romero and directed by Tom Savini, the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead is actually a great rendition of the 1968 classic. It incorporates many tropes from the ’68 original, but makes them relevant to an audience on the cusp of the 21^st century. In addition, the film actually has a budget ($4.2 million according to Wikipedia), implementing a variety of clever make-up effects that contemporize the zombies. Instead of a blue tint like Dawn of the Dead, the zombies resemble Savini’s work from 1985’s Day of the Dead – a movie lacking in plot (in comparison to Romero’s original Night or Dawn of the Dead) but rich in quality special effects. For Savini’s directorial debut, he does a good job; Savini understands moving making and doesn’t rely on a barrage of quick cuts and cheap gags to convey terror.

The Walking Dead episode 2

Episode Two: “Guts”

“We need more guts.”

Although AMC’s The Walking Dead is thus far deviating from comics’ storyline, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The second episode starts out with a gratuitous sex scene between Lori, Rick’s wife, and Shane, Rick’s law enforcement partner and close friend. After Mad Men’s licentious oral sex scene from this past season, the graphic sexuality starting out this episode isn’t surprising; AMC is really pushing the envelope in regards to sex and violence, trying to imitate HBO. Amazingly, it’s working since most of AMC’s original shows are captivating and clever.

The Walking Dead episode 1

I just finished watching the pilot episode of AMC’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series The Walking Dead and I’m impressed. The previews, played ad nauseam, looked good and even though the series is in color (where the book is black and white) and I had reservations regarding the show being on a basic cable network (due to the graphic violence in the comics), I was not disappointed. Directed by series producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), the pilot episode generally follows the first few issues of Kirkman’s seminal comic book series. Creative liberties were taken with the episode, but the general plotline was kept.

King of the Zombies / Night of the Living Dead double feature

Although I’m sure this will be published on Sunday, I just got back from a double feature of the 1941 film King of the Zombies and the classic George A. Romero zombie movie Night of the Living Dead. Orlando, Florida is really a one horse town: we only have one independent movie theater (The Enzian) and every October they play classic horror films at midnight each Saturday night. Last year they featured The Exorcist, From Dusk Till Dawn, Night of the Living Dead (which I went to last year also), and Cannibal Holocaust. This year they’re playing Re-Animator, City of the Living Dead, Child’s Play, and tonight’s double feature. There’s something special about midnight movies, especially if they’re cult flicks like tonight’s selections. Both films were screened on original 16mm prints, which is fantastic since the King of the Zombies print is almost 70 years old.