#28 weeks later was bad and annoyed me and shaun of the dead was. good but the CHARACTERS annoyed me

[hotchology]

another day another zombie movie god i love zombies

[inaneswine]

I decided to continue watching The Walking Dead (SPOILERS)

So it’s currently nine days away from the premiere of season 7B of The Walking Dead (not that I’m counting, at all), and I was sort of in two minds about whether to tune in at all. I’ve decided I will, but I haven’t been too thrilled with what the last couple of seasons have had to offer.

I have loved The Walking Dead since it first appeared. I have been a lover of all things zombie since I was a child – first getting into the Resident Evil video games and series of film adaptations that followed, Danny Boyle’s modern classic 28 Days Later, and then finally getting into the classic Romero Living Dead films. However, when The Walking Dead first aired in 2010, it was before Netflix, box sets and binge-watching were a big thing, and not too many people this side of the pond had heard of Breaking Bad, so television wasn’t quite in its golden age yet. The only zombie series worthy of note that had ever been broadcast either here or in the states was the Charlie Brooker penned miniseries Dead Set, a fantastically cynical satire which places a zombie apocalypse on the eviction night of reality television series Big Brother. While its premise may have been laughable, it was incredibly well-written and executed, and it was also intensely frightening. I like to view it myself as a pilot to Brooker’s Black Mirror anthology series, as its nihilistic tone and darkly comic style are very similar.

However, post-apocalyptic drama wasn’t especially new to television. In 2008, the same year as Dead Set aired, the BBC began airing a remake of 1970s drama Survivors. It starred Julie Graham as Abby Grant, one of the few survivors of a flu pandemic that has almost wiped out the human race. She meets and bands together with other survivors and together, they attempt to stay alive, and try to avoid the dangers of this new, quieter world they inhabit. It lasted a mere two seasons before its cancellation in 2010 (the same year Walking Dead began to air). Predating Walking Dead by a good couple of years (though airing after the Dead comics began publication In 2003), Survivors explores very similar themes, such as community spirit, reconnecting with family and fighting oppressive leadership – characterised here by the last surviving government official. It was a terrific series – great writing, excellent performances and stunning cinematography and visual effects. It also hammered home the idea that no character is safe at any time, as two of the most arguably well known actors in the show – Freema Agyeman and Shaun Dingwall – succumb to the deadly flu in the very first episode. Unfortunately, it seemed that the viewing figures weren’t meeting the standards set by the show’s high budget, and it was not renewed for a third season.

Then, in October 2010, The Walking Dead began to air. I had never heard of the comics and, to this day, still haven’t read them, so it was all new to me. But from the moment Rick pulled the trigger on that small girl with the half-missing cheek as she quickly staggered towards him, I was hooked. Its first season’s relatively short running time of six episodes was a welcome change from the usual American television dramas which, at this time, usually stretched out to a good 24 or so episodes. Thankfully, Americans are beginning to learn that it’s about quality not quantity, and they delivered six action-packed, thoughtful and scary episodes of character-driven – as opposed to gore-driven – drama. (Having said that, there was still gore a-plenty.)

First of all, the show presented a group of diverse, flawed, but very likeable characters. With the exceptions of Carol’s abusive husband Ed, our initial introduction to Daryl and, as the first two seasons progressed, the mentally unstable Shane, it was a show about relatively decent, ordinary people coming to terms with a terrible predicament that they neither deserved nor asked for. The early seasons remain my favourites, as our group takes refuge at a secluded camp, and then at a farmhouse in rural Georgia. Though several are very vocally critical of the second season, I seriously adored it, as it gave the characters some time for respite and allowed for thorough character exposition, almost crossing into Shakespearian territory as the Rick-Lori-Shayne love triangle complicated further and further. It also echoed the “cosy catastrophe” element of post-apocalyptic fiction – the idea that a group of protagonists can live a relatively comfortable life in the face of a great disaster, or that the apocalypse has freed them from the constraints of society – present in the works of John Wyndham and George A. Romero. Additionally, it was refreshing to see that the old classic style of zombies – the slow, Romero-esque shamblers – were not only being used, but were being made threatening and scary again. While Romero somehow managed to imbue his zombies with a sense of character and intelligence – by the end of 1985’s Day Of The Dead, one zombie even understands the concept of sarcasm – Walking Dead’s zombies are just beasts, plain and simple.

However, season three was a game-changer in this respect. Life became so much more difficult for the survivors after they lost their home at the end of season two, and additional threat was added by the tyrannical and psychotic rule of the Governor, expertly played by David Morrissey. Walking Dead began to let viewers know that not everyone in the zombie apocalypse was very nice.

As each season passed, the show became more harrowing and difficult to watch, with some standout moments being the death of Hershel, Carol’s “look at the flowers” moment and the group’s arrival at Terminus. As a matter of fact, the opening scene of season five’s first episode, “No Sanctuary”, was perhaps the most disturbing five minutes in television that I’ve ever seen. But just when it looks like there’s no hope for our survivors, viewers were uplifted and rejoicing by the end of the episode as Carol stepped in to save the day in some of the most spectacular scenes of the series yet. They all still stuck together, and seemed to be able to overcome any dangers they faced.

Season six was fairly uneven, with some outstanding zombie horde scenes, excellent fight scenes involving the Wolves, but also a poorly executed and frustrating red herring involving the alleged death of Glenn (who didn’t really die, he just fell off a bin). Nonetheless, it was still enjoyable to watch and fascinating to watch the characters develop. An easy example would be the episode “Here’s Not Here”, which may just be the finest episode of the whole series.

Now, onto season seven. As I’ve said, I understand that it’s a zombie apocalypse, and things are likely to get rather unpleasant, but this season has been damn near unwatchable. We have seen remarkable character exposition and fantastic human drama, but the untold misery and cruelty inflicted upon our heroes episode by episode became just too much to take, and sitting through it each week was extremely hard work. I’m not criticising the writing or the acting, as both have been beautiful, I just wanted some relief for our poor friends that never seemed to come. It hasn’t just been tough, it’s been thoroughly depressing.

I was at a point during the mid-season finale, just as Spencer was disembowelled by Negan, returned as the living dead and was subsequently shot by Rick, where I expected the end credits to pop up right after that scene. If it had ended there, I’m pretty certain I would have stopped watching The Walking Dead. However, the last few minutes as the cast reunited at the hilltop community was virtually the only saving grace of this season so far (except Carol and Morgan’s wonderful episode entitled “The Well”). I simply hope that the next eight episodes can give us at least some glimmer of hope.

I think I’m beginning to look at antagonists differently at the moment. Characters such as Negan used to annoy me, as I simply wanted to meet nice people onscreen, and I couldn’t believe that a character could be so sadistic and brutal. Sure, the Governor was wicked, but his killing just seemed like a means to an end and, later, revenge. But Negan, he just gets off on watching people suffer.

A similar thought came recently when I watched a Korean zombie film entitled Train To Busan, which featured a fairly stereotypical “business man” character whose sole purpose was to survive the movie by sacrificing anything and anyone in his way. Again, I thought to myself, who would behave like that?

Then, another thought washed over me. And it chilled me to the bone.

Donald Trump in a zombie apocalypse.

I’ll just let you think about that.