Jon of the Shreds play-by-play review of the Walking Dead Pilot (spoilers!)

[JonOfTheShred]

So I cracked, and decided to watch the Walking Dead. Actually, who am I kidding, I've been waiting for a leak to finally check this show out! This will be pretty spoiler heavy, as I'm gonna do a play-by-play review and mark observations as I watch, so be advised before reading forward. Loved the first scene; a great introduction to the series. An abandoned camp that no doubt was overrun or fled, a big sign that says "NO GAS," a suitably grim looking landscape. The zombie girl moves pretty swift, I must say. Not sure if she was a tab bit too fast. Love the brutal head shot going right into the main credits, and love all the things shown in the credits that are like little nods to fans of the comic. (Specifically, Dales RV, which will obviously be a big part of the plot.) They changed up the chase a bit, eh? A bit more cops AND robbers. They kinda trick you with Rick, him getting shot in the vest and getting up fine, then turning around to talk to Shane as a third, unmentioned assailant exits the criminals vehicle. On the police scanner, they mentioned 2 assailants, not 3, so it took them all by surprise. Love that attention to detail: this was an unknown target that has a reason to take them by surprise. I like the flowers given to Rick while he was still in his coma / daze, and him waking up to find them dead...much like the rest of the world. That not so subtle symbolism clues those new to the Walking Dead in on how fucked up everything went while Rick was out. Hell, the vase might as well have had "Society" scrawled across it, because the world Rick wakes up in is a tastefully done apocalyptic wasteland. Great job on the sets, his whole introduction to this world completely pissed all over the intro of 28 Days Later. (Not saying either one copied the other, just saying TWD >>>>> 28 Days Later) So Rick is going down the stairs, and I noticed another subtle little thing I rather liked. He lights a match to go down the stairs, and it goes out, at which point he lights another. Not many movies would put the time in for something that small yet realistic. Most movies have guns that don't run out of ammo. This is just another, real small example of the realism conveyed. (Well, besides the whole zombie plague.) I REALLY like how you can see how bright the outside world is when Rick finally finds an exit. Don't think I've ever seen that in a movie either. Kinda puts you in his shoes, and leaves one unsettled and wondering if something is there in plain sight that you might not get to see before your eyes adjust and its already taking a bite out of your face. The reveal of the hundreds of body bags was EPIC. Gotta mention again how epic these sets are. I'm digging the score that goes along with it too. (Although I really wish I could've got the job: would love to be making the music to this! Go listen to the Horde Awaits and tell me it wouldn't be an epic ending theme song to play: www.wix.com/jonoftheshred/home) A few zombie kills in, and one may notice the blood is CGI...but hell, it actually looks pretty damn good. As it pours out of the wounds from headshots, it looks right, as opposed to the horrible CGI blood work in, say, Survival of the Dead. Not to mention the zombies themselves. The work done on these zombies is the best since Day of the Dead. In fact, I like these zombies even more than the ones in Day of the Dead; Bicycle zombies is the new Dr Tongue! (I always liked Dr Tongue more than Bub, btw, so that is saying a lot.) I'm surprised all the gore they're gonna allow to air on TV. This will be the most brutal show ever. But it is done...artfully. Its very tasteful and CREEPY, as opposed to gratuitous and cheesy. Glad they decided to add a lot to Morgan. Being the first people Rick encounters, its only fair they get a bit of time getting to know (and trust) each other. Its quite brief in the comic, I'm sure to keep things moving, but this show is gonna have ample opportunity to expand on the Walking Dead universe and the history of its characters. Right, so the car alarm going off right when you're getting into these characters interacting...its pretty startling. This show is sucking me right in. Once again, another subtle thing not many filmmakers would think to put in a zombie movie. Simple, yet effective. Very creepy and unsettling. After ransacking the police station and the both of them driving off in separate ways, I noticed the front door to the police station slowly open. Another subtle nod to the apocalyptic wasteland Rick is no living in. I got too enthralled at this point to do a play-by-play, as things got real intense. The farmhouse was quite reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead; the excessive amount of porches, the truck in the front yard that kinda looked like Bens, the dude that commit suicide looking like the big fat zombie in the NOTLD remake. The entire ending was epic. He sees the chopper and rides his horse almost directly into one of the biggest zombie hordes I've ever seen on film. The entire action sequence at that point was pretty ridiculous and intense. Its not like I didn't think Rick was gonna survive, more like thinking HOW? Especially under the tank. At that point, I was curious how they were gonna get him out of that mess, only to find out he actually enters the tank from the BOTTOM. Very clever commercials, everyone is probably gonna expect him to go in through the top. Loved two things about the ending: the "SHOCKER" type ending (not the hand gesture ) that fit very much into the same style of Kirkmans in the comic. (Glenn coming through the speaker with the first comic relief of the entire, grim, bleak episode: "Hey. Hey dumbass." Awesome.) And then they followed that up with the typical ending of a Romero flick: the huge scene of gore, followed by the awesome zoom out to reveal hundreds of zombies. This show is gonna rock. This will be my new favorite show, and I have high hopes for it. I really hope it maintains this feel, and I also really hope the Lost crowd gets sucked right in as others have mentioned, and it gets excellent ratings and renewed several times over. This show has serious potential to be the greatest zombie story ever put to film, much like its comic predecessor is the ultimate zombie story put into print. And who else that has already watched this think Romero SHOULD direct an episode? Because I'm thinking it'd lead him in the right direction to making classics again instead of mediocres and stinkers.

[ProfessorChaos]

holy overload, jon-boy. that review is almost as unnecessarily large as the pic in your signature. very much in line with what i felt/thought as i was watching. didn't pay that close of attention to the similarities between the farmhouse and the one from night 90, by that point, my senses were so blown i couldn't really decipher anything other than how fucking awesome everything i'd seen was and my mind was racing about all the great shit in store for us, given that the events in the pilot basically covered maybe an issue and a half of the comics. and as much as i hate to say it, i hope romero stays the fuck away from this project. i really don't think he would bring anything to the table and may even end up making a rather weak episode compared to the rest. while it's great to acknowledge him and his early works (not the shit he's put out lately) and how they got the ball rolling, darabont and his crew have taken the ball and ran with it, not even bothering to stop after the touchdown (like forrest gump did during his first game in college). i feel having romero come in as a guest director would be like going for a field goal on 1st and goal, to continue with the football analogy. thanks for creating the spark, uncle george, now stand back and watch darabont and company burn this motherfucker to the ground.

[JonOfTheShred]

and as much as i hate to say it, i hope romero stays the fuck away from this project. i really don't think he would bring anything to the table and may even end up making a rather weak episode compared to the rest. while it's great to acknowledge him and his early works (not the shit he's put out lately) and how they got the ball rolling, darabont and his crew have taken the ball and ran with it, not even bothering to stop after the touchdown (like forrest gump did during his first game in college). i feel having romero come in as a guest director would be like going for a field goal on 1st and goal, to continue with the football analogy. thanks for creating the spark, uncle george, now stand back and watch darabont and company burn this motherfucker to the ground. I'm not saying it needs him at all. Or that he'd necessarily bring any kind of innovation to the project. But I think that if he was on a set like the Walking Dead, that lightbulb that died after Day of the Dead with Captain Rhodes might turn back on, and he may be inspired again to reach for the heights of old. (And this is coming from someone that actually liked Land of the Dead a lot.)

[bassman]

We should probably focus all of the reviews into one thread. It's going to get out of hand if every member makes their own review thread... Glad you liked it.

[ProfessorChaos]

well, this one's spoiler-rific, so it doesn't really fit into the other thread. i guess when your signature is that big, though, you are entitled to make your very own play-by-play review threads....

[bassman]

Yep...this still works.

[JonOfTheShred]

well, this one's spoiler-rific, so it doesn't really fit into the other thread. i guess when your signature is that big, though, you are entitled to make your very own play-by-play review threads.... Damn, I made this epic picture of zombie Toads years ago, and finally found a suitable place to make it my signature, and instead of anyone commenting on the awesomeness of it, they all complain about its size. And I made a new thread because I was doing a play-by-play review. There's a LOT of things in here I wouldn't want ruined, so it would take an excessive amount of time to put them into spoiler boxes. And by the end of the day I'll have my signature shrunk.

[ProfessorChaos]

just teasing ya...your signature's not the worst one out there, but yours was the one that made me turn signatures off for my settings. it is a very cool pic, but it's way too big. (that's what she said!) sorry bout the "that's what she said" bit, had to beat moon to it. and i also meant to point out great insight about the flowers being totally dead, i was thinking the exact same thing when he reached over and crushed the dried petals..."if he only knew what's outside of this room.."

[JonOfTheShred]

just teasing ya...your signature's not the worst one out there, but yours was the one that made me turn signatures off for my settings. it is a very cool pic, but it's way too big. (that's what she said!) sorry bout the "that's what she said" bit, had to beat moon to it. and i also meant to point out great insight about the flowers being totally dead, i was thinking the exact same thing when he reached over and crushed the dried petals..."if he only knew what's outside of this room.." I realize y'all are jesting, I am as well. I realize there is way too much sky in that picture.

[MoonSylver]

.sorry bout the "that's what she said" bit, had to beat moon That's what SHE said!

[mista_mo]

Here is my review- It is fucking amazing. just watch it. Don't think about it, just sit in front of your tv until Halloween, and just wait, goddamn. OR, watch it online like I did, and blow a whole through your computer chair so large that a small dog could fit its head through and tickle your scrotum. This show is so good that you wouldn't even care that little wiggles is tickling with your gonads. Seriously just..watch the damn thing...ere words don't do it justice. 11/10

[BotOZombie]

I’ve posted something similar in the non-spoiler thread but hopefully here I can elaborate a bit. Well I watched it as I don’t have SKY (“UK’er” here!) and I would have had to wait for the DVD release. After seeing it I guarantee I will have the DVDs on pre-order as soon as it is available. Pretty strange to think I only heard of The Walking Dead through this forum about two months ago which resulted in me buying all twelve paperback volumes of the comic. Needless to say I am now hooked!! The thing that stood out about the pilot is that the acting is better than anything I think I have ever seen in a living dead movie (in my opinion) and I got swept along with the story quite easily. The zombies themselves creeped me out so much my sleeping pattern was affected for the first time since I saw Day of The Dead. I’m not saying they gave me nightmares but when I woke up I found myself thinking about the program and certain parts of the plot in particular the bike girls which I have to say was freaky as hell but at the same time it was upsetting to see her in that state, sort of a that could be me if this ever happened type moment. I found myself sitting at my computer with my mouth wide open at certain points (the whole hospital scene) and welling up with tears at others (the whole Dwayne and Morgan/Mummy Jones scenes). I’m also so pleased that they didn’t over do the horse death from a suffering point of view as I’m an animal lover and im not ashamed to say that, that stuff upsets me. Overall the zombie design is great and is evenly balanced with the plot line which results in a great end product. The one thing that instantly disappointed me versus the comic was the lack of cafeteria scene but as soon as he stepped outside it makes you realise that the omission of that was for the best. In short the whole thing blew my mind away, and if I was excited about the series before seeing the pilot I am now wetting myself with anticipation. 10/10 from me.

[hadrian0117]

...Loved the first scene; a great introduction to the series. An abandoned camp that no doubt was overrun or fled, a big sign that says "NO GAS," a suitably grim looking landscape...And who else that has already watched this think Romero SHOULD direct an episode? Because I'm thinking it'd lead him in the right direction to making classics again instead of mediocres and stinkers. Am I the only one surprised that gas was still only $2.999/gal the when they ran out? Y'd think it be more like $9.999, Premium Only before it sold out. I wouldn't object to Romero guest directing. A TV episode director has very little creative control compared to a film director. He'd be working from a script from the writing staff and following the showrunners guidlelines the whole time. It's worth the risk in case inspires him to make something that isn't crap. ...and as much as i hate to say it, i hope romero stays the fuck away from this project. i really don't think he would bring anything to the table and may even end up making a rather weak episode compared to the rest... ...I’m also so pleased that they didn’t over do the horse death from a suffering point of view as I’m an animal lover and im not ashamed to say that, that stuff upsets me... Ditto. Zombies feasting on animals like that squick me out far more when they do it to humans. Especially animals like horses or domestic pets. That pet store scene in RotLD II was the only one that really freaked me out as a kid. This looks like it's going to be fucking fantastic.

[Mike70]

Ditto. Zombies feasting on animals like that squick me out far more when they do it to humans. Especially animals like horses or domestic pets. i worry about some of you. i really do.