Z Nation, Season 1, Episode 1

Puppies and Kittens is the start of something awesome. Z Nation honestly has one of the best first episodes ever. The world is overrun by the Undead and the people working on a vaccine are about to get overrun. This single event drives the next five seasons. Murphy has been bitten, and he hasn’t turned.

Murphy’s Bites

Puppies and Kittens kicks of the series, and the season with non stop action, while setting the groundwork for the next five seasons. The initial zombie horde scenes are first class, and one of my all time favorite scenes of any zombie show is when the dead wash up along the riverbank, and the survivors at the camp don’t quite realize how bad that is going to end up for them, for about 30 seconds:

Puppies and Kittens Zombie Flood

Episode 1 introduces us to the heart of the Z Nation cast as well. It is the apocalypse, and some people will come and go, but all the major players are introduced in Puppies and Kittens. Yes, there are other players in the game, but these are my favorites:

Murphy:

Murphy is the convict turned successful zombie vaccine survivor. The nations, even the worlds, chances of long term survival are flowing through is veins…maybe.

Keith Allan as “Murphy”

Keith Allan plays Murphy like an expert at a piano, always striking the right note at the perfect moment. Murphy is a very flawed man, and while he has moments of redemption and growth, he is who he is.

Doc:

Russell Hodgkinson, if you’re reading this, you are my all time favorite character of the series. You bring the fun, funny, and awesome to every scene you’re in.

Russell Hodgkinson as “Doc”

Doc always has just a little more story to tell, shedding a bit more light on what has been an interesting, complicated life. I hope I bump into you at an airport someday so I can thank you for how many times you’ve made me smile and laugh.

Lt. Roberta Warren:

Lt. Roberta Warren is the rock of the survivor group. She’s smart, hard as nails, and knows how to mercy the undead while never losing her compassion.

Kellita Smith as “Lt. Roberta Warren”

Lt. Warren is what we all want and need in our survivor group. She is a utility player who thinks on her feet and can shift from strategy to hand to hand combat without breaking a sweat.

Citizen Z:

Citizen Z is my second favorite character of the series. I’m sure it has nothing to do with him being a computer geek fighting the good fight from behind his keyboard, and I somehow identify with that.

DJ Qualls as “Citizen Z”

Citizen Z is the lone survivor of an NSA/Military communications base in the far north. He stays behind to make sure that Murphy is in transit, only to find that his comrades leave him behind, and save his life in the process. Citizen Z has the full capability of the United States intelligence systems at his fingertips, and he uses it to full effect to help the survivors try to get Murphy to safety.

10K:

What does a sniper do when his unit has been devoured and he’s all alone? He goes on a target hunt to try to get his number to 10,000 kills, that’s what he does.

Nat Zang as “10K”

Puppies and Kittens Scoring

Puppies and Kittens kicks off an awesome series and scores 95/100. If you are not watching Z Nation yet, you need to be!

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Puppies and Kittens95
12Fracking Zombies80
13Philly Feast80
14Full Metal Zombie81
15Home Sweet Zombie75
16Resurrection Z81
17Welcome to the Fu-Bar83
18Zunami64
19Die Zombie Die… Again29
110Going Nuclear79
111Sisters Of Mercy82
112Murphy's Law80
113Doctor of the Dead91
21The Murphy90
22White Light81
23Zombie Road90
24Batch 4760
25Zombaby85
26Zombie Baby Daddy86
27Down The Mississippi87
28The Collector63
29Rozwell69
210We Were Nowhere Near the Grand Canyon72
211Corporate Retreat85
212Party with the Zeros64
213Adiós, Muchachos69
214Day 190
215All Good Things Must Come to an End 94
31No Mercy90
32A New Mission77
33Murphy's Miracle80
34Escorpion and the Red Hand70
35Little Red and the Wolfz79
36Doc Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest73
37Welcome to Murphytown 67
38Election Day80
39Heart of Darkness70
310They Grow Up So Quickly85
311Doc’s Angels70
312The Siege of Murphytown70
313Duel90
314Everybody Dies in the End70

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Season 1, Episode 1

The Walking Dead, World Beyond, Season 1, Episode 1 is titled Brave. It is ten years after the initial Zombie Apocalypse has decimated the planet.

The world is reminiscent of the Hunger Games. There are several factions. Each acts on their own with little to no communication between them. This ties into the two main character’s background. Iris and Hope’s father was taken away from Campus Colony to help the Civic Republic.

It is very clear that Iris and Hope’s father was very important to the Campus Colony. It is also fairly clear that even though he left to help the Civic Republic, he doesn’t quite trust them. He set up a pager and a printer so he can send his daughters messages without the Civic Republic knowing.

TWD: The World Beyond
The Walking Dead: World Beyond

After a long pause in messages, Iris and Hope’s father sends them a warning. Things aren’t going well. Safety is not guaranteed. This triggers the girls, and two of their friends to decide to walk over a thousand miles to get to New York, where the Civic Republic have the girl’s father.

Sneaking Away

The small group sneaks out of Campus Colony, followed by their guardian, who is essentially the town sheriff, and his female deputy. Which is just in time, because the Civic Republic decides its worth killing everyone at Campus Colony to find the girls.

The campus slaughter was actually a little vague. Or maybe I’m just dim. I wasn’t sure where they were killing people, even though Elizabeth, the Civic Republic Leader, asks if her men checked in several of the buildings.

Thus starts the Episode 1, Brave.

Overall I enjoyed it. There is a lot packed into the first episode, including some very heavy handed foreshadowing. The girls are both tortured by the memory of losing their mother, which leads to several flashbacks. In the process we find out that the woman who killed their mother, just happens to be the pregnant mother of one of their travelling companions, who of course remembers his mother and unborn sister fondly. I’m sure he doesn’t know that Hope shot his mom after his mom killed her mom. (I hated typing that many moms in such short order.)

The acting is okay, but some of the dialogue seems forced. Hopefully the cast will gel more with each other as the season goes on.

Brave Scoring

Brave earned a 70/100 and I am hoping it gets better, because I am looking forward to the next episode. What cost it points? The rough edges in the dialogue and some of the acting is a B-. The other item which cost some points is that Campus Community seems a little too clean and well fed for the apocalypse. I know its 10 years later and they have a secure campus, but still, it didn’t feel enough like the apocalypse for me.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Brave70
12The Blaze Of Glory50
13The Tyger and the Lamb65
14The Wrong End of a Telescope71
15Madman Across the Water60
16Shadow Puppets60
17Truth Or Dare60
18The Sky Is a Graveyard62
19The Deepest Cut55
110In This Life50

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

The Hive (2014)

The Hive is a mix of demonic possession, amnesia movie, and zombie movie all rolled up into a glorious cluster f*ck. That might sound like it could be so bad it might be good right? Let’s see if we are going to luck out and be in that so bad it’s good category.

Yes, this is a movie that probably sounded amazing when reading the script, but once it was executed, it was just a mess. There is way too much backstory on the camp counselors leading up to the current events. I don’t need so much detail on the characters lives in this kind of movie! Worse, the zombie action if brief and far between.

I’m sorry, I like the classic infection model where bites spread the infection. The demonic possession model doesn’t do it for me. Why did they pick vomiting black goo to spread the demonic possession. Stick with the classics mechanism. Biting!

The Hive Scoring

The Hive is slow, mildly boring, and not a great example of a zombie movie. You can choose better, which is why The Hive ranked a 12/100. Why a 12? Because I had to drink 12 glasses of bourbon in order to keep watching The Hive.

ReviewYearScoreType
#Alive2020100Action / Infection
Dawn Of The Dead1978100Action / Horror / Classics
Night Of The Living Dead1968100Action / Horror / Classics
World War Z2013100Action / Infection
28 Days Later2002100Action / Infection
Train To Busan2016100Action / Infection
Zombieland2010100Comedy / Action
Flesh And Blood201899Shorts
Serenity200599Action / Sci-Fi
The Girl With All The Gifts201695Action / Infection
Land Of The Dead200594Action / Horror
Resident Evil: Apocalypse200493Action / Infection
Resident Evil200292Action / Infection
Rampant201891Action / Infection / Mid Evil
Day of the Dead200890Action / Infection
Cooties201489Comedy / Action
The Return of the Living Dead198585Comedy / Action
Night of the Comet198485Comedy / Action
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula 202084Action / Infection
Zombieland: Double Tap201983Comedy / Action
Fido200682Comedy / Action
Shaun Of The Dead200481Comedy / Action
Zombie197980Action / Horror
The Evil Dead198180Classic / Action
I Am Legend (2007)200780Action / Infection
28 Weeks Later200780Action / Infection
Infection201979Action / Infection
It Stains The Sands Red201679Action / Infection
Overlord201879Action / Horror
A Little Bit Zombie201278Comedy / Action
Plan Z201678Action / Infection
Wyrmwood: Apocalypse 202177Action / Infection
Day of the Dead198577Action / Horror / Classics
Dead Rising: Endgame201677Action / Infection
Freaks of Nature201576Comedy / Action
The Dead201076Action / Infection
Cockneys Vs. Zombies201275Comedy / Action
Here Alone201675Suspense / Infection
The Battery201274Drama / Infection
Shed of the Dead 201974Comedy / Action
Alone202073Action / Infection
Survival Of The Dead200973Action / Horror
State of Emergency201173Action / Infection
Remains201172Action / Infection
Dawning of the Dead201772Action / Infection
Dance of the Dead 200872Comedy / Action
The Rezort201572Action / Infection
The Army of the Dead202171Action / Infection
Witness Infection202171Comedy / Action
Daylight's End201671Action / Infection
The Valley Of The Dead202170Horror / Infection
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead201470Action / Infection
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse201570Comedy / Action
Resident Evil: Afterlife201070Action / Infection
Night of the Living Deb201570Comedy / Romance
For A Few Zombies More201570Action / Infection
Zombie Night201370Action / Infection
Dead Rising: Watchtower 201570Action / Infection
Zombie Hunter201370Action / Infection
The Dead 2: India201570Action / Infection
Among The Living202269Suspense / Horror
Exit Humanity201169Action / Infection
Bird Box201869Action / Horror / Possession
Republic Z201868Action / Comedy
Blood Quantum201968Action / Infection
Ravenous201768Action / Infection
Quarantine200867Infection / Horror
Forget Everything And Run (F.E.A.R.)202167Suspense / Horror
The Night Eats The World201867Suspense / Infection
Ultimate Zombie Feast202066Shorts/ Action
How To Kill A Zombie201466Action / Comedy
Cargo201766Suspense / Infection
Trench 11201766Action / Horror
Dead County202165Drama / Horror
Zombie Town200765Action / Horror
Zoombies201665Awesomely Bad
The End?201764Horror / Infection
Quarantine 2201164Action / Infection
Zombie Apocalypse201164Action / Infection
Red Spring201763Action / Infection
Virus:32202262Horror / Infection
Resident Evil: Extinction200762Action / Infection
Resident Evil Retribution201261Action / Infection
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead202360Comedy / Action
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter201660Action / Infection
Life After Beth201459Comedy / Action
Diary Of The Dead200758Action / Horror
Revelation Trail201357Action / Horror
Eat Brains Love201956Comedy / Horror
My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse201556Comedy / Action
Deadsight201855Suspense / Infection
Anna And The Apocalypse201755Musical / Infection
Amigo Undead201554Comedy / Horror
Bong of the Living Dead201754Action / Infection
Black Friday202153Action / Horror
The Dead Undead201053Action / Infection
Redcon-1201852Action / Horror
Deadheads201152Comedy / Romance
Dead Don't Die in Dallas201951Action / Infection / LGBTQ
Day of the Dead: Bloodline201851Action / Infection
Road Wars201550Action / Infection
Disaster L.A.201450Action
Zombie Strippers!200849Horror / Comedy
Within the Woods of Undead County201649Action / Infection
Day Zero202348Horror / Infection
Rise of The Zombies201248Action / Infection
I Am Alone201548Action / Infection
Valentine DayZ201847Action / Infection / Awesomely Bad
Lethal Virus202146Action / Horror
Savageland201546Horror / Drama
Zombie Warz: Falls The Shadow201145Action / Horror
Infected201945Shorts
Bridge of the Doomed202244Horror / Infection
Block Z202044Action / Infection
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City202143Action / Horror
The Dead Don't Die201943Spoof / Drama
The Plague200642Action / Horror
Strain 100202042Action / Infection
Infected202141Action / Horror
Before Dawn201341Drama / Action
When the Fever Breaks201941Suspense / Infection
Zombie Undead201040Action / Infection
Hostile201740Action / Infection
Dead Before Down201239Horror / Supernatural
Gangs Of The Dead200638Action / Infection
Zombies201737Action / Infection
American Zombieland202036Comedy / Infection
Cannon Fodder / Battle Of The Undead201335Action / Horror
Zombie Diaries 2201135Action / Infection
Dead Trigger201735Action / Infection
Deadlocked202035Action / Infection
Another World201435Action / Infection
Evilution200934Action / Horror
KL24: Zombies201734Action / Infection
Re-Elected202033Comedy / Suspense
Antisocial 2201533Action / Infection
Aquarium of the Dead202132Comedy / Horror
Antisocial201332Action / Infection
By Day's End202031Suspense / Infection
Dead 7201631Action / Infection
Pandemic201630Action / Infection
Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies201729Comedy / Action
Zombie Hood201328Action / Infection
The Dustwalker201927Action / Parasite
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium200526Action / Infection
Solar Impact201925Action / Horror
Anger Of The Dead201525Action / Infection
The Last Hope201724Action / Infection
The Day of the Living Dead201423Drama / Detective
Zombie Road201822Shorts
Zombie Wars200721Action / Infection
Army of Thieves202120Heist / Horror
Last Rites Of The Dead201920Drama / Thriller
The Mad200719Comedy / Infection
The Living Dead202018Horror / Drama
Zone of the Dead200917Action / Infection
Killer Weekend201816Comedy / Not Zombies
G Zombie202115Drama / Infection
Quarantine L.A.201314Action / Infection
Driven202013Drama / Suspense
The Hive201412Demonic Possession / Horror
The Horde201611Action / Gore
Rebirth202010Action / Horror
The Last Starship201710Action / Infection
Rising Undead / Rise of the Undead20059Action / Horror
Rise of the Zombie20139Drama / Action
Plague20148Suspense / Drama
Flu20138Infection / Not Zombies
Red Days20167Action / Infection
The Returned20136Drama / Romance
Apocalypse Nerds20125Comedy / Action
Zombie with a Shotgun20194 Infection / Drama
Soon Enough20183Action / Drama
Army of the Dead20082Action / Horror
Range 1520162Comedy / Action
Nazi Undead20181Paranormal / Horror
Pandemic20091Drama / Action
Eyes Of The Dead20151Action / Infection
All My Friends Are Dead20210Horror / Not Zombies
Curse of the Blind Dead20200Horror / Not Zombies
Carriers20090Drama / Not Zombies
Afflicted20130Drama / Infection
Broadcast Dead 20180Horror / Thriller
Dead End20030Horror / Thriller

See all Zombie Movies here.