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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Dead Set in TV
Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
Dead Set in short - a six part British drama series, set around a zombie apocalypse, where most of the story takes place in the Big Brother house.
It's also from the mind of Charlie Brooker - the creator of Black Mirror, and the results are pretty good.
The opening episode deals with an eviction night of the British Big Brother series, where everyone involved both on camera and behind the scenes go about their usual business.
As a virus takes hold and chaos quickly ensues, the Big Brother housemates are trapped inside the house - which happens to be pretty secure.
The way that Dead Set is shot is frantic when the action starts. It's nasty and gritty whilst keeping a British dark humour sort of charm without ever going full comedy. In fact, the series is really quite bleak throughout.
The episodes run at 20 minutes each with an extended pilot, clocking in at just over 2 hours and it managed to hold my attention throughout.
Of course, being a Charlie Brooker project, there's an underlying message - as the zombie horde surrounding the house grows and grows, even in death, the public are drawn towards trashy reality shows.
Considering Dead Set is a TV show aired on Channel 4, it's pretty impressive. Well worth checking out for anyone who enjoys horror.
It's also from the mind of Charlie Brooker - the creator of Black Mirror, and the results are pretty good.
The opening episode deals with an eviction night of the British Big Brother series, where everyone involved both on camera and behind the scenes go about their usual business.
As a virus takes hold and chaos quickly ensues, the Big Brother housemates are trapped inside the house - which happens to be pretty secure.
The way that Dead Set is shot is frantic when the action starts. It's nasty and gritty whilst keeping a British dark humour sort of charm without ever going full comedy. In fact, the series is really quite bleak throughout.
The episodes run at 20 minutes each with an extended pilot, clocking in at just over 2 hours and it managed to hold my attention throughout.
Of course, being a Charlie Brooker project, there's an underlying message - as the zombie horde surrounding the house grows and grows, even in death, the public are drawn towards trashy reality shows.
Considering Dead Set is a TV show aired on Channel 4, it's pretty impressive. Well worth checking out for anyone who enjoys horror.
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated Knight of The Dead II: Cavalry in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Knight of the Dead 2: Cavalry is author Ron Smorynski’s second book in this action-packed, zombie apocalypse book with a medieval twist. In the second book, Ronan and his family have found themselves a place to build up as their fortress and are ready to start bringing others into their midst. But as their little community grows, they find themselves faced with inner conflict as much as dealing with the danger the world has become. This conflict mainly arises from the fact that when it was just his family, Ronan shared the same beliefs as everyone else, they understood each other’s skills, and trusted each other completely, which is not the case with traumatized strangers. The book is a quick and easy read that is full of action-packed zombie fights and chases, interesting ways of surviving in an apocalyptic world, and sweet family moments. I would say that this book is best suited for those that love zombie, apocalypse, and Christian literature.
I really appreciated the small moments throughout the book that hold sweet moments of family. In a dark world, it is nice to see those moments of trying to keep a little innocence alive for young children, sharing love, the comradery of close friends, and the earnest desire to protect one another. What this book, and the series as a whole, are very strong in is the action. This does not just mean the actual fights but the interesting chases, the intense moments of sneaking through the city, searching for materials needed to survive, and trying to save others. I thought that the addition of new characters was great and through their eyes allowed us to learn even more about the central family. Especially when it came to dealing with conflict and trusting those around them. In this book, the family’s connection to God is strengthened and becomes a key aspect of their mental journeys and how they deal with the horror that surrounds them.
Smorynski has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere in the series that feels possible. For both the physical shape of the world and the mental space of the characters, you can see this being a future for humanity despite the sci-fi premise. I found the book to be a fun read and look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
I really appreciated the small moments throughout the book that hold sweet moments of family. In a dark world, it is nice to see those moments of trying to keep a little innocence alive for young children, sharing love, the comradery of close friends, and the earnest desire to protect one another. What this book, and the series as a whole, are very strong in is the action. This does not just mean the actual fights but the interesting chases, the intense moments of sneaking through the city, searching for materials needed to survive, and trying to save others. I thought that the addition of new characters was great and through their eyes allowed us to learn even more about the central family. Especially when it came to dealing with conflict and trusting those around them. In this book, the family’s connection to God is strengthened and becomes a key aspect of their mental journeys and how they deal with the horror that surrounds them.
Smorynski has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere in the series that feels possible. For both the physical shape of the world and the mental space of the characters, you can see this being a future for humanity despite the sci-fi premise. I found the book to be a fun read and look forward to reading the next installment in the series.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Train to Busan (2016) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Oct 22, 2020)
Thrillingly Unique and Entertaining Addition to the Zombie Film
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie was great and the unique concept of having the survivors on a train was different from any zombie I've ever seen. Seok-woo is a divorced business man who never has time for his daughter, whose only wish for her birthday is to see her mother. After reluctantly agreeing to take her by train a zombie apocalypse occurs and they have to survive on the train. The scenes on the train were pretty amazing and really intense. Having to fight zombies in close quarters at times with no weapons made them incredibly tense, especially the ones where they had to sneak past them in the dark. As I said before a big thing that bothered me was that in certain scenes it appeared as if the zombies didn't actually attack the people to eat them but just bite them spreading the virus like World War Z. This was a serious let down for me in World War Z and the only reason I didn't make a bigger deal about it in this one is because there were scenes where a zombie was scene eating someone one that's already on the ground and also where they swarm someone who was already bitten, more than likely eating them. See to me the two greatest reasons why zombie are scary and so popular is because they combine two big fears that people have on a primal way. 1 is the fear of death and the dead, people don't want to die of course, but people are also afraid of dead things, dead people, animals etc.. And then 2 being eaten alive. That I think is something nobody would even wish on their worst enemy, so that's why zombies are such a scary movie monster. But when you change them to being infected instead of reanimated corpses and instead of eating the living they are trying to spread a disease by biting people and not eating them, it takes away from the horror part of it. I really liked the scene where the man with the pregnant wife, Seok-woo and the young baseball player gear up to make their way to the back cars to save their family members. I also liked the special effects used, everything except that deer in the beginning of the movie, which wasn't that terrible in the big scope of things but it reminded me of that prairie dog in the beginning of Crystal Skull (which was big red flag for that film). I have to say that this was really one of the better zombie films out there and I hear there is an animated prequel that was realized a month later and now talks about a sequel. I give this movie a 7/10.
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated Knight of The Dead III: Fortress in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Knight of the Dead III: Fortress continues the adventures of Ronan and his family as they struggle to survive in the Zombie Apocalypse. The third book is a non-stop action-packed adventure as Ronan really starts to build up his fortress in a school building, slowly growing his kingdom. He has finally saved enough people that there really starts to be some interesting dynamics between the survivors and a look to the future can begin to happen. In this book, the stakes are raised as the zombies continue to change and seemingly become smarter and more dangerous. With the stakes raised, his family finally in a stable situation, Ronan sets out full force to save as many others as he can.
Without a doubt, my favorite part if this series is the unique take at apocalypse fiction by throwing in medieval fighting. This book does not disappoint as there are thrilling action scenes, plenty of training sequences, and the knight continuing to become a legend in the modern world. This unique touch simultaneously gives the story a fun and engaging layer while also somehow adding to the believability of the world that author Ron Smorynski has created. With the detailed fighting knowledge, and the time spent on gathering food, training, getting water, and fortifying the school, as a reader you can believe that they would have survived this long.518hheXuwoL._SY346_
This book focuses more on rescue then the previous books and as the cast of characters continues to grow there is less time spent one on one with people. This decreases the amount of individual tension between characters, but there is still tension as Ronan is the dictator and continues to push his Christian values on everyone within his fortress. This dynamic makes sense in the situation, but I like the moments when Ronan gets to be humanized more in small moments. A hug with his wife or children, a cute moment with him and the children, his appreciated a moment of laughter. These moments are very sweet in the otherwise horror-filled world they live in, and Ronan gets to relax the least as a leader.
Pet peeve of mine in apocalypse fiction is the idea that you are completely alone in the world. That although you survived no one else on the planet could have. Smorynski does not fall into this trap. He acknowledges the bigger world, although his characters have very little contact with it. And there is a good balance between the characters feeling alone and being alone. Many people have died in the month of the apocalypse, but they are still finding survivors. There are other people who are holding on. This makes the series more exciting for me and also keeps me excited for the books to come as I enjoy watching the growing community of survivors.
This series is exciting and gripping from beginning to end. Smorynski does a good job of justifying the risks that his characters take and ups the stakes and consequences as the book progresses, making the danger feel read from beginning to end. If you like zombie stories or apocalypse fiction, then I would highly recommend checking this series out. I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here!
Without a doubt, my favorite part if this series is the unique take at apocalypse fiction by throwing in medieval fighting. This book does not disappoint as there are thrilling action scenes, plenty of training sequences, and the knight continuing to become a legend in the modern world. This unique touch simultaneously gives the story a fun and engaging layer while also somehow adding to the believability of the world that author Ron Smorynski has created. With the detailed fighting knowledge, and the time spent on gathering food, training, getting water, and fortifying the school, as a reader you can believe that they would have survived this long.518hheXuwoL._SY346_
This book focuses more on rescue then the previous books and as the cast of characters continues to grow there is less time spent one on one with people. This decreases the amount of individual tension between characters, but there is still tension as Ronan is the dictator and continues to push his Christian values on everyone within his fortress. This dynamic makes sense in the situation, but I like the moments when Ronan gets to be humanized more in small moments. A hug with his wife or children, a cute moment with him and the children, his appreciated a moment of laughter. These moments are very sweet in the otherwise horror-filled world they live in, and Ronan gets to relax the least as a leader.
Pet peeve of mine in apocalypse fiction is the idea that you are completely alone in the world. That although you survived no one else on the planet could have. Smorynski does not fall into this trap. He acknowledges the bigger world, although his characters have very little contact with it. And there is a good balance between the characters feeling alone and being alone. Many people have died in the month of the apocalypse, but they are still finding survivors. There are other people who are holding on. This makes the series more exciting for me and also keeps me excited for the books to come as I enjoy watching the growing community of survivors.
This series is exciting and gripping from beginning to end. Smorynski does a good job of justifying the risks that his characters take and ups the stakes and consequences as the book progresses, making the danger feel read from beginning to end. If you like zombie stories or apocalypse fiction, then I would highly recommend checking this series out. I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here!
Infestation: Volume 2
David Messina, Casey Maloney, Kyle Hotz and Scott Tipton
Book
* The first-ever event in IDW Publishing's history crosses over into the Star Trek universe! A...
The Walking Dead: Our World
Games
8.3
Rate It
App
The Walking Dead: Our World is a first-of-a-kind location based augmented reality mobile game that...
The Walking Dead Live!: Essays on the Television Show
Philip L. Simpson and Marcus Mallard
Book
In 2010, The Walking Dead premiered on AMC and has since become the most watched scripted program in...
TacoDave (3640 KP) rated Anna and the Apocalypse (2018) in Movies
Dec 10, 2018 (Updated Dec 10, 2018)
Acting (3 more)
Music
Pacing
Humor
"Anna and the Apocalypse" is Fantasticly Strange
I didn't expect a lot when I saw "Anna and the Apocalypse" yesterday. I knew a little about it. I knew it was a Zombie/Christmas musical that was supposed to be "Shaun of the Dead Meets La La Land," and I knew it was popular at film festivals last year, but I didn't have any other real feel for what I was in for.
Luckily, I *loved* this movie. The first 30 minutes or so just follow several high schoolers as their school prepares for a Christmas performance. The way they randomly break into song, then look at each other weirdly when the song ends and continue with their day was amusing. The songwriting was great - the singing too! - and, except for one song, I wanted to own the soundtrack.
The rest of the movie follows a group of parents and students trapped in a school with zombies outside and, concurrently, a small group of high schoolers who are trying to make their way to the school to see if their loved ones are still alive. Heads explode. Bodies are mangled. People get bitten. And there is quite a bit of gore.
Yet, at the same time, the movie is light and hilarious. It walks a fine balance between horror/comedy/Christmas/musical, and succeeds almost completely.
If you like horror movies mixed with comedy and you are a fan of musicals, this one is a no-brainer. Pun intended.
Luckily, I *loved* this movie. The first 30 minutes or so just follow several high schoolers as their school prepares for a Christmas performance. The way they randomly break into song, then look at each other weirdly when the song ends and continue with their day was amusing. The songwriting was great - the singing too! - and, except for one song, I wanted to own the soundtrack.
The rest of the movie follows a group of parents and students trapped in a school with zombies outside and, concurrently, a small group of high schoolers who are trying to make their way to the school to see if their loved ones are still alive. Heads explode. Bodies are mangled. People get bitten. And there is quite a bit of gore.
Yet, at the same time, the movie is light and hilarious. It walks a fine balance between horror/comedy/Christmas/musical, and succeeds almost completely.
If you like horror movies mixed with comedy and you are a fan of musicals, this one is a no-brainer. Pun intended.
Twisted Mind
8.5
Rate It
Book
Born at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse to the head of the CDC and the leader of the new...
Post Apocalyptic Apocalypse Dystopia Dystopian Zombies
Lee (2222 KP) rated Black Summer - Season 1 in TV
May 1, 2019
A refreshing new take on the familiar zombie format
I gave up on The Walking Dead a few seasons ago. Continually disappointing story-lines and characters, along with frustrating pacing issues had made this show hard work to watch, and a far cry from it's early days of action packed originality. Black Summer recently arrived on Netflix, described as a companion piece to the show Z Nation, and consisting of just 8 episodes ranging in length from 20 to 40 minutes. After seeing some online recommendations, I gave it a shot, and it's safe to say that it has reignited my passion for zombie shows.
We're in the fairly early stages of a full on zombie apocalypse. The military are evacuating a small town, taking survivors to a nearby stadium for safety and eventual extraction. There's a lot of panic and confusion, and not a great deal of undead around at first in the mostly deserted town. The first episode is broken into smaller, titled scenes, introducing us to single characters or groups who are located about the town, and it's a style of story telling that continues throughout the season. Some episodes focus on a single character while some focus on a particular mission, with different scenes shot from the perspective of different characters, highlighting how their actions affect others. There's not a single character who is more important than the others in the show, and characters can be lost to the undead in the blink of an eye, with new ones immediately taking their place to become core characters.
Black Summer shares some of its ideas with The Walking Dead, not to mention many other zombie movies and shows. The virus which turns you into a zombie appears to be there within all of us, lying dormant, so you don't necessarily need to die from a zombie bite in order to become one. Turning is pretty much instantaneous too, and the resulting zombies are of the more vicious, faster and cleverer kind. Running, climbing, very determined and able to learn in order to catch you whatever it takes. Luckily then, it's not very often that our characters are having to deal with more than just a few of these things at any one time, which helps to keep things more focused and terrifying.
Black Summer is very dialogue light - something which definitely works in its favour, and is a refreshing change to the long conversations and monologuing of TWD. Many of the scenes are single camera shots, following our characters around and really immersing you in the action. It's taking a simple idea and giving it a fresh spin, providing the viewer with a harrowing and intensely enjoyable thrill ride. For me, the perfect example of this is the episode titled 'Alone', where an unlucky coward called Lance finds himself all alone after escaping a school. He meanders around town before picking up the pace when a zombie decides that it wants to feed on him. I spent a pretty intense 30 minutes just wishing this poor guy would find himself a weapon and catch a break. But even when he does, he manages to blow his chance and lose it again! It's a standout episode, and a perfect example of what I love about this show.
I couldn't really fault a single episode of Black Summer, as it builds towards it's intense but relatively short finale where a number of survivors converge on the stadium, while zombies come at them from all directions. I really hope it gets renewed, and I really hope it continues to find ways to remain original and enjoyable too.
We're in the fairly early stages of a full on zombie apocalypse. The military are evacuating a small town, taking survivors to a nearby stadium for safety and eventual extraction. There's a lot of panic and confusion, and not a great deal of undead around at first in the mostly deserted town. The first episode is broken into smaller, titled scenes, introducing us to single characters or groups who are located about the town, and it's a style of story telling that continues throughout the season. Some episodes focus on a single character while some focus on a particular mission, with different scenes shot from the perspective of different characters, highlighting how their actions affect others. There's not a single character who is more important than the others in the show, and characters can be lost to the undead in the blink of an eye, with new ones immediately taking their place to become core characters.
Black Summer shares some of its ideas with The Walking Dead, not to mention many other zombie movies and shows. The virus which turns you into a zombie appears to be there within all of us, lying dormant, so you don't necessarily need to die from a zombie bite in order to become one. Turning is pretty much instantaneous too, and the resulting zombies are of the more vicious, faster and cleverer kind. Running, climbing, very determined and able to learn in order to catch you whatever it takes. Luckily then, it's not very often that our characters are having to deal with more than just a few of these things at any one time, which helps to keep things more focused and terrifying.
Black Summer is very dialogue light - something which definitely works in its favour, and is a refreshing change to the long conversations and monologuing of TWD. Many of the scenes are single camera shots, following our characters around and really immersing you in the action. It's taking a simple idea and giving it a fresh spin, providing the viewer with a harrowing and intensely enjoyable thrill ride. For me, the perfect example of this is the episode titled 'Alone', where an unlucky coward called Lance finds himself all alone after escaping a school. He meanders around town before picking up the pace when a zombie decides that it wants to feed on him. I spent a pretty intense 30 minutes just wishing this poor guy would find himself a weapon and catch a break. But even when he does, he manages to blow his chance and lose it again! It's a standout episode, and a perfect example of what I love about this show.
I couldn't really fault a single episode of Black Summer, as it builds towards it's intense but relatively short finale where a number of survivors converge on the stadium, while zombies come at them from all directions. I really hope it gets renewed, and I really hope it continues to find ways to remain original and enjoyable too.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) Aug 19, 2019
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) Aug 19, 2019