It seems like we’ve hit the mid-season slow-down a little early in season five. Understandable, considering everything that went on in episode three—losing Bob, terminating the Terminus threat, and an unknown outcome from Daryl and Carol’s pursuit of the mysterious car last seen abducting Beth. After all this time, we finally break away from the main group to answer that one nagging question, “What the heck happened to Beth?”
Warning! There are spoilers down here, guys. No. Seriously. This is not a game.
She was kidnapped, we saw that part. Then a few teasers hinted that she’s still alive and kicking. Now we find out she’s been holed up in a hospital this whole time, getting treatment from possibly the only doctor with access to medical supplies in Atlanta, GA. That’s the good news. The bad news, she’s now trapped in some Hotel California scheme to pay off the “debt” she incurred during treatment. Essentially, Beth became slave labor for the hospital and the cops who run it. No matter how much she works, she’ll still have debt hanging over her head for food, clothing, a bed to sleep in at night, bandages . . . the list is endless. She’s not alone. We meet two other “patients” in the hospital. One who tried to run, Joan, and Noah, who seems to have been there the longest.
We don’t see a lot of other people, though from the way Officer Lerner—the woman in charge—speaks, there are numerous others living in the hospital, just not on the floor Beth does all her work on. The problem with jumping away from the main cast to show a side story like this is, there’s not enough time to develop the plot. Because there were so few people present in the episode, the idea that Officer Lerner can look away while her male officers abuse and harass the women in the hospital is ludicrous. We see two, maybe three male officers throughout the episode, and many more women. Armed women. At what point did they all sit down and think, “It’s okay if they assault these women, and if it’s not, we’ll make it okay by not getting in their way.” The threat from Gorman and his cohorts is ridiculous. It isn’t a compromise, as Lerner tries to convince viewers. There’s plenty of other ways the writers could’ve ramped up the tension in the hospital without dragging sexual abuse into it. They wanted a bad guy and for some reason the default is to send them after the pretty young thing in some perverse manner. I expected more from this show.
This episode didn’t feel like “The Walking Dead” until the last fifteen minutes or so, when Beth had taken more than her fair amount of bull excrement and decided to take care of things herself. She uses Joan’s suicide to her advantage, gets rid of the Gorman problem, and helps Noah escape. That’s way more progress than Lerner made during her stint as the officer in charge. Unfortunately, Beth is captured in the process of seeing Noah to safety. This turn of attitude could be beneficial to Rick and his group now that they’re a man down. Before she’d been a burden when it came to fighting on the run. After her time with Daryl, she’s toughened up a little.
But can this new, tougher Beth deal with the curveball life threw her way at the end of the episode when Carol’s unconscious body was wheeled into the hospital? I sure hope so. Carol is one character who cannot and should not be trapped in an environment where abuse from men isn’t just tolerated, but encouraged. She was freed from that life. Going back would ruin her.
Hopefully next week isn’t as slow. From the preview, it didn’t appear to be. We will have to see how the two story lines weave into each other from here on out.
No bones about it, this season has been rough to watch. The emotions are raw, unfiltered. Every walker confrontation is filmed up close and personal, drawing viewers in. Tension between Rick’s group and the Terminus survivors is so thick, an elephant could tap dance on it. Three episodes in and we’re already terrified to get too attached to any character. For good reasons, as we’ll see in a little bit.
Spoiler warning! This is not a joke. Below is a whole slew of episode spoilers.
The opening scene with Gareth and Bob is flat-out freaky. Gareth has snapped the last sanity string holding up his humanity. He’s no better and no worse than the undead—eating to survive, no matter the source. There’s no hope of normalcy left for the Terminus group. Gareth understands all too well that they can’t go back to who/what they were before. All they can do is move forward, make allies. Those who join will aid them in their hunting needs. The people who refuse become dinner. For Gareth, life has become all too simple and clean.
Unfortunately his last meal before his talk with Bob wasn’t as clean as he’d hoped.
Now it’s clear why Bob had been outside the church weeping—he was bitten in the food bank’s basement, just when his life was becoming settled again. Unfortunate for him then, but a boon when he realizes he’s been turned into dinner for Gareth and company. Despite being ambushed and injured, unable to defend himself, Bob still fought against the Terminus crew. His fight didn’t end when they dumped him on the church’s front yard. Bob’s physical fight ended when his leg was devoured. His mission from then on out was to keep his friends and loved ones going until his time came to join Hershel, Andrea, Dale, T-Dog, and numerous others who had become part of the steel backbone keeping Rick’s haggard group on their feet. “Nightmares shouldn’t change who you are.” Bob slipped, fell into alcoholism when things got rough, but dug himself out—with a little help. Since then he’d been fully onboard, helping Rick keep everything and everyone together. His centered, playful way of approaching life will be missed.
Gabriel takes the brunt of everyone’s anger after they realize, not only has Bob vanished, but so has Carol and Daryl. After all the pressure he’s put under, he snaps and tells his tale. On the night the undead reached the area, he locked the church’s door—same as he did every night. Only, when his congregation came knocking, Gabriel hid and left them to the walkers drawn by their cries for sanctuary and damnation of Gabriel’s soul. He truly feels he’s going to hell for taking care of number one instead of opening the church to dozens of people he couldn’t possibly home and provide food for. After his breakdown in front of Rick, Gabriel falls into himself until the aftermath of a gruesome confrontation. Even then, he’s given up on himself and can’t muster enough to care and argue with Maggie after his decree, “This is the Lord’s house,” and she replies, “No. It’s just four walls and a roof.”
The tension in Rick’s group hits a high note in this episode. Abraham is done waiting and scrounging for supplies. He wants to get on the road to D.C. and finish his mission to deliver Eugene safely to the epidemic center. He sees Bob’s bitten condition as a threat. The second Bob was out of earshot, Abraham orders his people to pack and move out. Rick attempts to talk reason, and fails. Glenn, who spent a good chunk of time fighting alongside Abraham before the main group reunited, finally steps in and trades his and Maggie’s assistance in the mission for twelve hours of Abraham’s time to settle things at the church. What does Eugene think about all this? He wants to stay with Rick. Is it the quality of leadership? Rick’s ruthlessness that’s seen them relatively safe thus far? Or is he hiding a deeper truth than the one he’s sold Abraham on? I’m still inclined to believe Eugene is lying to Abraham for the protection and there’s no miraculous walker-killing virus.
We can’t wrap this up without going over one heck of a showdown between Rick’s group and the Terminus survivors at the church. What looks like an ambush on the weaker members of the group ends up being wholesale slaughter for Gareth and company—like fish in a barrel, and Rick dropped in a stick of dynamite. Gareth doesn’t bother to hide his admiration of the ruthlessness. Rick doesn’t bother to hide it, either, as he hacks Gareth apart with a machete. The rest of the Terminus survivors are dispatched in similarly brutal ways. The silver lining? Michonne has her sword back. The downside? This take-no-prisoners attitude makes some of the group uneasy. If Rick had just shot Gareth and his people, it would have been easier to accept the quick, clean death. Hacking and bludgeoning someone to death takes time. It is a drawn out, painful, and messy demise. Messy not just in the blood and brains spread everywhere, but the emotions such brutality dredges up.
The episode ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. Daryl, who missed out on all the gory fun, creeps out of the woods. Without Carol by his side. And talks to someone who we can’t see with obvious distress on his face. There may have been ample yelling at the screen when we realized that was how they planned to leave things until next week. You can’t do this to us, guys! Where is Carol?
Never Again. Never Trust. Review of The Walking Dead 501 By RC Murphy
It must be October. Everyone as far as the eye can see is trapped in Walker Fever—not to be confused with the fever the infected suffer before turning into the undead. We here at the ZSC Command Center are not immune and fell head-first into the fifth season of AMC’s The Walking Dead with snacks at our side . . . which we quickly ignored, given how bloody the first episode of the season turned out to be. With that in mind, let’s see what our favorite band of survivors are up to after being captured last season.
Spoiler Warning! Below are show spoilers. Turn back now if you haven’t watched this episode.
This episode had one flaw—the Terminus flashbacks. There were only two, at the beginning and end, but the information delivered was something clearly conveyed through dialog and set decoration in the middle of the episode. All the flashbacks provided was a little confusion as far as the timeline went. For half the episode, it appeared as though there was a time gap between when Rick and company were captured and the moment Carol and Tyreese were within hearing range of Terminus and all the gunfire. It wasn’t until Carol saw her once-friends bound and gagged that things started to make sense. Sometimes in story-telling, less is more. This was one of those cases.
Rick is still embracing the Ricktatorship, pushing everyone to arm themselves with whatever they can find in the train car. Miraculously, in the short time they were apparently imprisoned, they managed to build a good number of gnarly weapons using rusty nails, leather belts, hunks of wood, and who knows what else. All their work was for naught. Glenn, Rick, Ben, and Daryl were still taken by surprise and dragged into Terminus’ slaughterhouse. Which is the exact moment everyone set aside their popcorn and clutched the couch cushions so tight, their knuckles turned white.
Despite internet rumors, this was not the moment we said goodbye to any main cast members. Glenn is still alive and has taken on Hershel’s role, becoming Rick’s conscious when his desire for revenge threatens the entire group’s survival. It’s a position Glenn has filled before, but his youth and inexperience usually costs him solid ground to stand on in the face of Rick’s anger. This time Glenn seems better prepared to stand up for what he feels is right. He’s got far more at stake with Maggie at his side and committed to staying there no matter what. Not even his good friend will force him to risk her safety.
Carol is far, far removed from the character we met in season one. Now she can walk up and kill a walker without blinking, even while Tyreese stands behind her saying he’s not prepared to kill again. In the face of his perceived weakness and possible judgment, Carol doesn’t balk, doesn’t care. She will live, that’s that. She will make sure Tyreese and Judith live, no matter the cost to her. But she has no plans to stick with them. Being ousted from the group changed her more than the death of her husband and daughter. Solitude fits the new Carol. She’s truly free to do what she wants when she wants after years of being the steel backbone for her family. Will her resolve to remain a lone wolf stay firm after reconnecting with the rest of the group? Hard to tell, but the reunion hug she shared with Daryl was perhaps one of the happiest moments on the show in years.
This episode was all about escalation. One group wrongs another, the afflicted group seeks revenge. That’s how Terminus became a cannibal’s Fantasy Land—their once sanctuary was overrun, the women abused, countless murdered, but they took it back and became something ruthless and without morals. That’s how Carol and Rick ensured Terminus could not recover from their attack and escape. Even Tyreese did not escape without having to step up his game to not only kill walkers, but also a human who posed a serious threat to Judith. By the end of the episode, even viewers felt panicky, waiting to see how far the escalation would go. What would be the ultimate cost of this revenge pushing Rick forward? So far, no one in his group has paid. That luck can only go so far.
We were visited by a long-lost character at the end of the episode. What role do you think he’ll play in the grand scheme of things? Last time we saw this guy, he was twelve crayons short of a full set and sure to die at any time. That’s the wonderful thing about this show, the people we think will die, don’t. Those we wish would live, keel over without warning. It’s impossible to predict what’s around the corner. But that is half the fun of watching. It is also why The Walking Dead was picked up for a sixth season days before the fifth season premiere.
Starring: Kris Holden-Ried, Emily Hampshire, Shawn Doyle, and Claudia Bassols
Rated: NR (Adult language, partial nudity, mild drug use) From Filmax International:
Kate (Emily Hampshire) works at the hospital in the Return Unit, helping those who have been infected by the virus that turns people into zombies. Kate’s dedication to her work is absolute, but few people realize that for her it is also a personal matter; Kate’s own husband, Alex (Kris Holden-Ried), has been returned.
After various brutal and prolific attacks at the hands of Anti-Return groups and rumours that the “Protein” stock is running dangerously low, Kate fears for Alex´s safety. Suspicious of the government’s order that all the returned should report to a secure medical facility ‘for their own safety’, the couple decides to flee, taking with them all the doses of “Return Protein” they have. At no point does the couple imagine that the real threat is a lot closer than they think…
The Returned came from the same house as the [Rec] series, and the quality shows. I went into the film expecting one of the random, low-budget films that are usually slid under my cell door. Boy was I in for a surprise. While The Returned isn’t a blockbuster, it’s not something to snub at a glance.
Let’s get down to it. The film starts with what feels like a random, bouncy flashback scene. It isn’t entirely clear why we’re seeing this scene until the final minutes where it becomes clear this is a pivotal moment in Kate’s life, one that shapes how she deals with the fallout of so many harsh decisions from those around her. The importance could’ve been made clearer. Possibly by cutting some of the post-production additions—all the “noise” added to make the footage feel old—and pushing the credits until the following scene set in the present time.
As for the characters, I’ve found a rare film in that none of them are, as I call it, Too Stupid To Live. Every decision made throughout the movie is thought out, or when done impulsively there’s decent character-driven reasons, as is the case for Jacob and Amber when they ultimately are forced to make a hard decision that may put them at odds with their friends, Alex and Kate.
There’s not a lot of zombie action on screen. The film instead focuses on society’s inability to adapt to change and accept a new species of people. Because, that’s what the Returned are, something new and unpredictable. Forced to rely on a daily dosage of drugs, the Returned are given the same treatment as homosexual AIDS patients by the media. What happens when they stop taking their treatments? What will they do to others without treatment? How fast will this disease spread if the government doesn’t step in and micromanage their lives? Wouldn’t it be better if they were all just killed—gunned down while idiots seek to coddle the monsters? We recoil at the truth of it—anything new and uncertain is automatically handed a death sentence. That’s the way humanity is hard-wired. Kill the unknown to spare the larger population. Never mind who is traumatized in the process.
The Returned is a slow-burner. The plot pushes steadily forward, forced along by the characters, their decisions and reactions, and not the evil undead waiting to tear them limb from limb. This is not an action film. It’s a statement on a society that cannot change without first destroying itself. If you want hack-and-slash, keep moving. However, if you’d like to think about the implications of how zombies would change everyday life, give The Returned a chance. I’m giving it 3.5 bloody scalps out of five.
The series climax takes place against the backdrop of Roarton’s annual winter fete and traditional boundary march. Danger is descending on Kieren – Simon believes he’s the key to a Second Rising, while an unhinged Gary thinks he is planning a Blue Oblivion attack on Roarton.
Gary gets to Kieren first, determined to publicly out him as a ULA terrorist. He manhandles Kieren to the new graveyard where he knows the boundary march will be heading and then forces him to take Blue Oblivion. Kieren is made to face his darkest fear- becoming rabid again. When he endangers Steve, Jem finds herself pointing a gun at her brother’s head. It looks as though Simon’s job is going to be done for him.
Meanwhile, Maxine’s deepest secret is revealed when she has a public meltdown at the fete. The villagers finally see her for what she really is, but not before tragedy touches Roarton.
We’re introduced to a pair of new characters in the opening moments. It’s unclear who, exactly, they are based on a guarded conversation over diner coffee. It sounds like they’re on their way to Roarton to “collect” someone. Judging from the gear in their trunk, that someone won’t take the trip willingly. They make a visit to the clinic, where we’re lead to believe the duo may work for the drug company that tested on Simon and created Neurotripteline. We catch up with them at the end of the episode for a bit of grave-digging. Whose grave? Hold your horses, we’ll get there eventually.
The Walker family have done a 180* flip back toward how they originally treated Kieren. They don’t trust him or his new acceptance of his PDS status. Matter of fact, their trust is so shattered by their own fears, they’ve taken to locking him in his room. They plan to send him back to the rehab facility where he can’t be influenced by Simon or Amy. But not until after the village’s little celebration, of course. Can’t have anyone thinking something’s wrong in the Walker household. Must maintain appearances, and all that. Jem does her part, pushing aside her PTSD to deal with the celebration march and ignoring the obvious loathing her parents feel toward her brother. Her blind eye to the troubles around her from family and her idiot boyfriend Gary help lead to a vicious attack on Kieren.
Simon returns to the village with murder on his mind. He’s not the only one stalking Kieren, though. Gary’s connected the dots, tying the undead men together in a bond he can exploit in his scheme to stop Simon—despite Maxine’s insistence that he do nothing. She wants Simon to trigger the Second Rising. Wants so desperately to see her dead little brother again. Her words do nothing to quell Gary’s hate of all things PDS. Simon’s uncovered attack plans feed Gary’s fire. He attacks Kieren, dragging him from his home and dosing him with a hearty dose of Blue Oblivion—the drug that temporarily counteracts Neurotripteline and turns a PDS sufferer rabid. During their game of cat and rabid mouse, intentionally staged near the new cemetery to draw out Simon, Kieren runs into Jem, his father, the villagers on their march, and Simon’s ULA faithful who await the Second Rising. The stand-off is enough to make even my shriveled heart race. Steve Walker, of all people, is the one to confront Kieren. When faced with the possibility of hurting his father—who confesses he still loves his son—Kieren fights the effects of Blue Oblivion and returns to normal. In the mayhem, a villager shoots at Kieren. Simon takes the bullet and changes his mind. He can’t kill Kieren to bring on the Second Rising.
During the bru-ha-ha at the cemetery, Amy and Phillip take in the village celebration, like a normal couple. He even buys her a toffee apple. Wait, what? In addition to Amy’s regained sense of touch, she’s feeling temperature changes and eats solid food without the explosive GI consequences most PDS sufferers experience after a meal or a drink. After Phillip’s mother takes notice, they slink away for a private stroll through the old cemetery to visit Amy’s mother. Neither notice Maxine nearby, waiting for the Second Rising that never comes thanks to Simon’s change of heart. Only Maxine doesn’t know the truth of the First Risen and thinks Amy is the key to reviving her brother. In her desperation, Maxine stabs Amy in the heart. A heart which had just begun to beat again.
The Second Rising still does not happen.
A desperate Maxine appeals to the underling hatred the villagers in Roarton have expressed since the first PDS sufferers returned from the rehab facility. Kill all the PDS people in the village and they’ll have their loved ones back. Surprisingly, mass slaughter is beyond what the masses consider acceptable. They apprehend Maxine—after shocking her with a cattle prod intended to use on the PDS. For once they’ve done the right thing. Does it mean they’re okay with the undead? Not really. But in time, they might be.
Unfortunately, Maxine’s aim is true. Amy dies before Phillip and Kieren get her to the clinic. The doctor is astounded. By all appearances, Amy is human. She’s bleeding. Her eyes are their normal color—not the glazed white of the undead. Her skin is human normal, if a bit pale from blood loss. Would she have completely reverted had Maxine not killed her? Seems likely. Amy was the first, and so far only, PDS sufferer to revert to a normal life. And that makes her unique. Remember the shady folks we met at the beginning of the episode? Yup, they’re in town to collect Amy. Which now means digging up her grave after waiting hours for Phillip to give up hope of her return and leave. Late-night grave digging in the rain. Sounds fun. Sign me up.
The episode wraps up with Kieren and family working through their issues. Jem confesses to killing Henry and needing help for her PTSD. Simon gives up his plan to run away with Kieren, instead he decides to stay in Roarton. Does he want to be near the man he has grown to have feelings for, or is he staying put to make sure no one finds out the truth, that Kieren is the First Risen and his death may still bring on the Second Rising?
These are questions we’ll only have answers to if the show survives some hiccups with its mother channel. I, for one, hope we get to see the full five series the show’s writer says has already been plotted.
It’s no secret we get a little antsy this close to October. Not because someone left an open jar of honey next to the Command Center desk for the ants to enjoy, but because we’re so close to the return of AMC’s The Walking Dead, we can taste it. Not that I want to know what a walker tastes like. Or the food in Terminus. If you can even call it food considering what we all think it’s made of. Ew.
All babbling aside, TWD’s producers have been doing a pretty good job of giving us just enough information on the blog hosted by AMC to keep us from pacing a hole in concrete floors. Executive Producer David Alpert had a couple things to say during an interview from the trenches while filming recently:
Q: Last year, you mentioned Season 4’s theme related to the possibility of civilization. What would you say the theme for Season 5 is?
A: I think with Season 4, Scott Gimple really focused on whether you can get away from the things that you’ve done. Can you turn your back on your past? I think Season 5 is a response to that, in that you are what you’ve done, where you’ve been and where you’re from.
Q: We’ve heard the Season 5 Premiere was quite ambitious in terms of production. What are you most excited for fans to see once it airs?
A: We’re attempting things that have never really been done before on the show. We’re taking some bigger swings and I can’t wait for the fans to see that. Hopefully, they feel as good about it as we do.
Alpert also alluded to the comic book baddie Negan joining the cast soon. How soon? We have no clue. Rumors have been flying right and left since the Governor’s demise—who will be the new Big Bad? In the comic book realm, there’s over 50 issues between the Governor’s death and Negan’s appearance. As we’ve seen in the past, the producers aren’t afraid to tweak what’s already established. Alpert did add, “I cannot wait until we introduce Negan. He is just like the coolest f—ing character on the planet. You thought the Governor was bad news? . . . Man, wait until you meet Negan! He’s one of the greatest villains ever created. It’s so exciting.”
In other TWD news, on September 5th AMC announced that it ordered a pilot for a companion series to The Walking Dead. TWD producers Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and David Alpert will act as executive producers, with the addition of Dave Erickson from Sons of Anarchy who will also be the showrunner. There’s no casting or location news this early in the game. Production won’t begin until late 2014.
Robert Kirkman had this to say about the new series, “There are many corners of The Walking Dead universe that remain unseen in the shadows. Being given the opportunity to shine a light into those corners and see what lurks out there is an absolute thrill. I know the fans are anxious to hear what Dave and I have been cooking up for this new version of The Walking Dead, and I’m happy to be one step closer to sharing it with them.”
Lastly, AMC recently released 10 production stills from season five over on their website to continue teasing us. Go ahead, take a peek. Might as well watch the trailer again while you’re over there, too.
A. Zombie Reviews . . . Cockneys vs Zombies (2013) By A. Zombie
Rating: NR (Adult language, violence, gore)
Starring: Rasmus Hardiker, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Ryan, Jack Doolan, and Georgia King
From cockneysvszombiesmovie.com
COCKNEY: A native of the East End of London, born within hearing of the ringing of the Bow Bells
ZOMBIE: A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse
SYNOPSIS: The Bow Bells Care Home is under threat and the McGuire’s – Andy, Terry, and Katy – need to find some way to keep their grandfather and his friends in the East End, where they belong. But, when you’re robbing a bank, zombie invasions makes things a lot harder. And let’s face it, they need all the help they can get when their bank-robbing experts turn out to be Mental Mickey and Davey Tuppance. As contractors to an East London building site unlock a 350-year old vault full of seriously hungry zombies, the East End has suddenly gone to hell and the Cockney way of life is under threat. Equipped with all the guns and ammo they can carry, it’s up to the gang to save the hostages, their grandfather, and East London from zombie Armageddon.
You have to love a movie which starts, not with a zombie attack, but with a fart joke and foul-mouthed construction workers. Cockneys vs Zombies takes a while to hit the undead action after the bumbling construction guys accidentally unleash the zombies lurking in a 17th century catacomb hidden under London’s East End. First, we’re introduced to Andy and Terry. The boys are obviously up to something nefarious, but the depth of their desperation isn’t completely clear until they finish delivering meals to the old folks home and set off to collect their intrepid band of misfit bank robbers. How the guys thought they could pull off the heist implies a strand of the DNA in the McGuire lineage is pure crazy with a pinch of delusion. For heaven’s sake, their disguises included fake mustaches giving me flashbacks to Magnum, P.I.
The true highlight of the film isn’t the zombies or the action (a whole five seconds of it) during the extremely successful bank heist. C vs Z’s golden goose lays in the cast of characters residing in the old folks home. They’re a laugh riot. Don’t balk in the face of shambling evil. And, amazingly, even with their replacement hips, bad hearts, and various ailments, they’re still capable of out running a zombie. Or blowing a hole in one’s head.
This isn’t a shoot-em-up zombie flick. It’s a comedy surrounding a family trying to make the best of a bad situation. There just happens to be zombies wandering around to make the situation that much more difficult. The film is also pretty truthful when it comes to showing how normal people would react and fight the undead. For instance, Emma—one of the hostages from the bank heist—attacks her first zombie with limp-wristed swings of a shovel, a load of determination, and some choice phrases to voice her frustration when the zombie doesn’t instantly keel over. Then there’s a few characters who transform into sharp-shooters, laying waste to every shambling corpse coming their way, covering both sides of the fighting coin.
Makeup FX for the general zombies are basic, but well done. No cheesy Halloween night makeup jobs where someone forgot to cover their ears. The main FX gags are amazing in their detail. At one point, Mickey ends up with a portion of a zombie hanging from his arm for several scenes. Not once did the makeup and prosthetics look rubbery or fake—as often happens in zombie films. The same goes for the few disemboweling scenes, intestines looking like actual intestines instead of rubber hoses slathered in colored Karo syrup.
Cockneys vs Zombies is a slow-moving, but hilarious addition to the genre. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea—some prefer much more tension with their undead viewing—but I believe many of you will enjoy watching this with friends. I’m giving it four punctured stomachs out of five.
We’re nearly finished with the second series of “In the Flesh.” There’s only one more episode after this and the fate of the show for a third series has yet to be determined. We’re not saying goodbye to the citizens in Roarton just yet, so let’s see what havoc they’ve wreaked this time around.
From BBC: Kieren finds the strength to shed his contact lenses and cover-up mousse in public for the first time. However, he’s wrongly accused of freeing the rabids at the GP surgery and hauled in front of the increasingly tyrannical parish council. The council place Kieren under house arrest, threatening to send him back to the Norfolk treatment centre if he doesn’t confess. Disappointed by his parents’ reaction, Kieren seeks out Simon and is floored to discover he has disappeared.
Meanwhile, we follow Simon to the city. We flashback to his horrific experiences in and outside the treatment centre, learning how he was radicalized and became the Undead Prophet’s final and most beloved disciple. When the Undead Prophet tells Simon he must sacrifice Kieren to instigate the Second Rising, his faith is rocked for the first time. However, he returns to Roarton grimly resolved to carry out his mission.
At last we’re given a glimpse at what makes Simon tick. The main focus of the episode, aside from what’s going on with Kieren, was the mysterious Simon’s backstory. He’s tucked away in a hotel room—which seems out of place in Roarton, given the scope we’ve seen of the village—to meet with another ULA member. His fellow disciple delivers a DVD and a leather-wrapped package full of crude weapons. The message? Kill the First Risen. The weight of his task triggers a psychotic episode, slamming Simon back to his first memories after the Rising. A cheesy way to get a character’s backstory, true. But it does deliver vital information. For instance, Simon was the first rabid PDS sufferer to have a positive reaction to the experimental drugs that’d eventually turn into Neurotripteline. He volunteered, with some coercion from scientists, to remain a guinea pig for their continued drug testing.
Simon was tortured in the name of science, even after he regained enough of his mental factions to realize he wasn’t happy with what they did to him.
Eventually he convinced them to let him go. But what damage did they do during testing? He seemed to suffer several hallucinations, where the first idea of the Undead Prophet occurred to him. Was it an outside source messing with his already clouded mind or an internal manifestation of Simon’s desire to liberate his kind? Being released from the drug tests and the rehab facility didn’t mean the end of Simon’s mental anguish. We find out, through a tense encounter with his father, that Simon murdered his mother during the Rising. The guilt eats at him, even after his father seemingly forgives him. That lasted for about six hours.
In the middle of the night Simon’s father booted him from their flat with nothing but a bag of clothes and whatever money is in his pockets. Adrift, Simon reached out to the only person who’d tried to help him—the mysterious voice he’d heard during his maybe-hallucinations and snuck a phone number into his belongings before his release. The ULA and their masked Undead Prophet gave Simon a family, a home, and a purpose in life. At last we understand why he’s so committed to them, despite his growing feelings for Kieren. But is his loyalty greater than his love?
While Simon struggles with his past, Kieren is very much involved in the present dangers for PDS sufferers. At home, he finally decides to embrace his true nature and goes without the makeup and contacts he’s hidden behind since returning to Roarton. This does nothing to soothe his parent’s rattled nerves after Kieren confessed that he remembers killing people before his treatment. They can’t bury their heads in the sand anymore, lie to themselves and say their son is different from the Rabids. On the heels of their argument, Kieren is dragged from his house—blamed for the clinic break-in and resulting Rabid attack, despite a complete lack of evidence. Point-blank, the village council tells him to confess to the crime or he’ll be taken back to the rehab facility with no promises he’ll ever see freedom again.
He’s given time to think about it and put on house arrest. The family tells him to sign the confession. What could it hurt? Why buck against the system? Surely the council knows what’s best for Roarton. As this second argument escalates, Steve expresses his annoyance with Kieren. Anytime his son fancies a new boy, the trouble starts. It happened with Rick Macy, and the problems are doubled with Simon’s influence. Maybe sending him back to the rehab facility would “fix” what’s wrong with their son. All Kieren can say is, “This is who I am.” Which applies equally to his sexuality and acceptance of his condition as a PDS sufferer.
Amy’s strange reaction to the Neurotripteline continues to plague her. She’s convinced this is the end and embraces the notion with one last day of fun with Phillip at her side. They take in a game of crazy golf, which is over too soon for her tastes. In a quick run-in with Kieren, Amy tells him she knows about his maybe-relationship with Simon and gives her blessing. She’s washing clean the slate. But why? We find out toward the end of the episode when she invites Phillip to an impromptu camping trip in the rain and asks him to kill her. Despite her bravado about the time before rehab, Amy is terrified to turn rabid again. She’s lived enough in the months since gaining her freedom to know turning rabid would cost everyone she’s grown to love. What if she hurt Phillip or her BDFF, Kieren? Her life has been about finding happiness. But lately, she can’t feel anything. It’s making her miserable. Something happens, though, just as Phillip is about to go through with her wish to end it all. Amy feels the rain on her face. What does this mean? Has she evolved to another level of PDS that doesn’t require drug treatments? Are the tweaked drug doses finally regulating her system? There’s so much yet to learn about their condition.
The next episode will be our last with Kieren and the folks in Roarton—for a while or for good is yet to be seen. I, for one, have thoroughly enjoyed this look at life through the undead’s eyes. It’s about time our kind was fairly represented on television.
It’s been a while since we caught up with the undead trying to make a life in politically backwards Roarton. How successful has the Give Back Scheme been? What did the kiss between Kieren and Simon mean for the future and their mutual friend Amy? Episode four didn’t answer a lot of the questions burning a hole in my slowly rotting brain, but pushed up the stakes leading to the final episodes in series two.
From BBC:
Kieren is conflicted about seeing Simon behind Amy’s back and frustrated by his cult leader persona around the adoring Undead of Roarton. However, Simon proves how much he cares by stepping into Kieren’s world and having Sunday lunch at the Walkers’. Unfortunately, Amy witnesses the loved-up pair en route to Kieren’s house and is crushed by their betrayal.
After a positive start, the Sunday lunch descends into chaos. A tipsy and trouble-making Jem and Gary descend on the meal, provoking Kieren into a confession which sends shockwaves around the family – and astounds Simon.
Philip can’t reconcile himself with Maxine’s questionable politics and the two go head to head. Seeing Philip as a thorn in her side, Maxine orchestrates his downfall and is delighted when his Undead perversion is publicly revealed. Philip’s political aspirations come tumbling down around him, but a silver lining is provided by an unexpected romantic encounter.
Maxine, with help from the villagers who feel the need to persecute anyone not sharing their warped morals, go on a seek-and-destroy mission. Any PDS person not complying with the bizarre laws now governing the undead will be brought to justice—or their idea of it. Which ranges from public humiliation to murder. Their mission isn’t limited to PDS persons, either. Maxine uses her office to bully the mother of supposedly missing Henry Lonsdale into silence. She employs similar tactics to blackmail Phillip Wilson—village council member who is hopelessly in love with Amy and has been using PDS prostitutes to live out his girlfriend fantasies about his one-time lover. He had a solid plan, sneak in, get some cuddle time, and sneak back out. Too bad the old lady across the street is tech-savvy and recorded his comings and goings. Maxine gets her paws on the tape. But Phillip’s initial shame of being found out is overcome by his sense of what’s right when he’s ordered to perpetuate the lies Maxine cooked for Mrs. Lonsdale. He outs himself as a PDS-lover and brothel regular during the staged protest to undermine Maxine’s control and delivers a stirring speech outing the villagers’ hypocrisy. None of them are perfect, so who are they to judge how others find employment and comfort. Unfortunately, they’re all so comfortable in their hate, no one listens. Except Amy.
The mysterious side-effects from the Neurotripteline plaguing Amy aren’t getting better. She’s reflexively doing human things like making herself breakfast. Worse, though, is her memory loss and continuing nose bleeds. All of which she hides from Kieren and Simon. With her rekindled friendship with Phillip, can she find someone to confess her problems to? Phillip’s mother knows, but there’s only so much she can do to help. Amy’s reaction to the drug is unique, or simply not advertised by the drug makers to cover their collective backside.
One thing to be said about this show, it likes to push the limits. How many paranormal shows have a non-stereotypical gay main character, let alone a character who doesn’t instantly fall in bed with their main love interest seconds after their first kiss? Kieren, despite being attracted to Simon, is still wary of everything the guy says and does. He doesn’t completely agree with Simon’s politics and calls him out on the cult-like activity he perpetuates on behalf of the ULA. If Kieren were a woman, she’d giggle, flip her hair, and forgive her man his many sins after the kiss they shared at the end of episode three. Instead Simon has to work for Kieren’s trust, going so far as to apply the required makeup and contacts before they go to lunch with the Walkers.
Steve Walker has his head in the sand again. So much for the progress he’d made since the end of series one. He’s convinced the Give Back Scheme will be good for PDS persons. Considers it a work program that’ll give his son skills to use once he’s done his Give Back time to get a real job. Kieren had a job. Steve argues that it’s a good start. Kieren replies with, “. . . it’s not a start if it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s just showing up for that day’s humiliation.” Kieren’s pub job was nothing like what the council force him to do now, which includes ridiculous classes where PDS sufferers are taught to say, “Sorry I caused your anxiety . . .” and various other self-blaming phrases to use with the living.
The big revelation of the episode came during the Walker family lunch. Jem drags her patrol mate, and maybe-boyfriend, Gary along, putting two former HVF soldiers and two PDS sufferers at the same dining table. Kieren’s parents are willfully oblivious to the tension. Until Gary decides to share a gruesome and insensitive war story. Kieren retaliates, telling his rising story for the first time. Simon, who’d done his best to sit quietly and suffer through the meal in hopes of getting Brownie points, perks up and grills Kieren about his rising. By the end of the meal, Simon is convinced Kieren is indeed the First Risen.
What does this mean for Kieren? It’s unclear. But with two episodes left in series two, things are about to hit the fan.
In this episode, we take a slight detour and focus mainly on a side-character’s struggle to return to a normal life after the implement of the government’s Give Back Scheme. Can Freddy find normalcy? Can any of the PDS sufferers who’ve returned to Roarton regain their old lives?
From BBC:
Fate throws Kieren and Simon together on the ‘Give Back’ scheme, this time at the doctor’s surgery. Simon reassures Kieren that he’s not leading Amy on, but the pair come to blows when Kieren thwarts his plan to free two caged rabids.
We also get to know PDS sufferer Freddie Preston. Freddie returned from the grave to find his childhood sweetheart Haley shacked up in their marital home with her new boyfriend Amir. Haley and Amir are allowing Freddie to stay in the spare room until he’s back on his feet. This is not ideal, as Freddie struggles with the notion of ’till death do us part’ and is determined to win back the woman he loves.
When Kieren is thrust into the aftermath of Freddie’s plan, he sees Simon’s views in a different light. Even though he hates the thought of hurting Amy, he can’t help but follow his heart.
In the aftermath of last week’s accidental shooting by Jem, we see her attempt to do the correct thing . . . while the adults play “Hide the corpse in the woods.” Maxine and Gary do the exact opposite of what Jem needs to get her head on straight—with her guilt over shooting Henry and the PTSD she’s dealt with since the HVF was disbanded. As the adults in charge, they should take proper legal action. Instead, their hatred and fear of PDS people makes them accessories to her crime. The only reason Maxine isn’t upset is because Henry wasn’t the mythical “first risen” everyone’s searching for in Roarton, the undead who will ultimately bring about the second rising. After Maxine’s strange behavior—hello, talking to a suitcase—one begins to wonder how personal her efforts are to see this supposed second rising. Did she lose someone during the first rising, an undead lover or child who was slaughtered? Was she expecting someone to return who didn’t when Roarton’s graveyard vomited up its dead? She’s cagier than a parakeet, that’s for sure.
A large piece of this episode was dedicated to Freddy’s struggle to find his place in the village. After his release from the rehab facility, he returned home to discover during the years he roamed the countryside rabid, his wife had moved on and moved her boyfriend into the house they’d shared. As a favor, possibly out of pity, she’d allowed Freddy to stay with them. But they boyfriend’s had enough. Freddy is obviously still in love with his wife, but she’s having a hard time accepting that after years of mourning and maturing, whereas he’s stuck where he was the moment he died. His attempts to court her go awry. Freddy lures her to a place where they can be alone, where he tries to convince her one last time to run away with him. In the process, he forgets his meds and turns rabid. His inability to move on nearly cost him his life when Gary showed up. If Kieren hadn’t intercepted the call Gary put through to Jem asking her to help put Freddy down, they guy would be dead. And for what? A woman who said her goodbyes already and wants the freedom to settle down as she nears thirty? Freddy is desperate for anything to call his own. He’s been denied the opportunity to own his own business. He can’t even legally drive a car. And how can he make money to provide for himself when he’s forced into the Give Back Scheme? The PDS are stuck in a hole. Freddy is just the latest victim.
Kieren’s interactions with Simon started to heat up in the last episode. This time around, they’re fanning the embers. During the Give Back tasks for the day, the men are scheduled to work at the clinic as a clean-up crew, while Phillip traps Amy in the council office to play as his (unwilling) secretary. The guys argue over whether or not to free a pair of rabid undead caged in the clinic. When Kieren protests and stops Simon, Simon’s disappointment has teeth. He says a few times, his feeling for Amy aren’t romantic. Simon loves her, but not in the way she loves him. Has he used her to get to Roarton and Kieren? Undoubtedly. Everything he’s said in the last two episodes points to manipulation on his part. Amy is convinced she’ll marry Simon.
Simon is about as willing to do that as she is to have another one-night-stand with Phillip. How will she feel when she finds out her undead best friend kissed her maybe-to-be fiancé? Who knows? Perhaps the betrayal will aggravate her still unknown condition. We saw what happens when a PDS sufferer’s meds wears off when Freddy forgot his dose.
Will the same happen to Amy? It’d be awful to lose her vibrant personality amongst the doom and gloom generation.
We don’t see a lot of other people, though from the way Officer Lerner—the woman in charge—speaks, there are numerous others living in the hospital, just not on the floor Beth does all her work on. The problem with jumping away from the main cast to show a side story like this is, there’s not enough time to develop the plot. Because there were so few people present in the episode, the idea that Officer Lerner can look away while her male officers abuse and harass the women in the hospital is ludicrous. We see two, maybe three male officers throughout the episode, and many more women. Armed women. At what point did they all sit down and think, “It’s okay if they assault these women, and if it’s not, we’ll make it okay by not getting in their way.” The threat from Gorman and his cohorts is ridiculous. It isn’t a compromise, as Lerner tries to convince viewers. There’s plenty of other ways the writers could’ve ramped up the tension in the hospital without dragging sexual abuse into it. They wanted a bad guy and for some reason the default is to send them after the pretty young thing in some perverse manner. I expected more from this show.
Rick is still embracing the Ricktatorship, pushing everyone to arm themselves with whatever they can find in the train car. Miraculously, in the short time they were apparently imprisoned, they managed to build a good number of gnarly weapons using rusty nails, leather belts, hunks of wood, and who knows what else. All their work was for naught. Glenn, Rick, Ben, and Daryl were still taken by surprise and dragged into Terminus’ slaughterhouse. Which is the exact moment everyone set aside their popcorn and clutched the couch cushions so tight, their knuckles turned white.
Carol is far, far removed from the character we met in season one. Now she can walk up and kill a walker without blinking, even while Tyreese stands behind her saying he’s not prepared to kill again. In the face of his perceived weakness and possible judgment, Carol doesn’t balk, doesn’t care. She will live, that’s that. She will make sure Tyreese and Judith live, no matter the cost to her. But she has no plans to stick with them. Being ousted from the group changed her more than the death of her husband and daughter. Solitude fits the new Carol. She’s truly free to do what she wants when she wants after years of being the steel backbone for her family. Will her resolve to remain a lone wolf stay firm after reconnecting with the rest of the group? Hard to tell, but the reunion hug she shared with Daryl was perhaps one of the happiest moments on the show in years.
There’s not a lot of zombie action on screen. The film instead focuses on society’s inability to adapt to change and accept a new species of people. Because, that’s what the Returned are, something new and unpredictable. Forced to rely on a daily dosage of drugs, the Returned are given the same treatment as homosexual AIDS patients by the media. What happens when they stop taking their treatments? What will they do to others without treatment? How fast will this disease spread if the government doesn’t step in and micromanage their lives? Wouldn’t it be better if they were all just killed—gunned down while idiots seek to coddle the monsters? We recoil at the truth of it—anything new and uncertain is automatically handed a death sentence. That’s the way humanity is hard-wired. Kill the unknown to spare the larger population. Never mind who is traumatized in the process.
The true highlight of the film isn’t the zombies or the action (a whole five seconds of it) during the extremely successful bank heist. C vs Z’s golden goose lays in the cast of characters residing in the old folks home. They’re a laugh riot. Don’t balk in the face of shambling evil. And, amazingly, even with their replacement hips, bad hearts, and various ailments, they’re still capable of out running a zombie. Or blowing a hole in one’s head.
Makeup FX for the general zombies are basic, but well done. No cheesy Halloween night makeup jobs where someone forgot to cover their ears. The main FX gags are amazing in their detail. At one point, Mickey ends up with a portion of a zombie hanging from his arm for several scenes. Not once did the makeup and prosthetics look rubbery or fake—as often happens in zombie films. The same goes for the few disemboweling scenes, intestines looking like actual intestines instead of rubber hoses slathered in colored Karo syrup.
