Coming Home opens with powerful imagery of WWII before cutting to Daryl in the pit. As usual, Daryl is kicking some Zombie Ass. The undead might be hopped up on go juice, but Daryl is a natural born fighter. His harsh upbringing has made him a survivor.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
The episode has team Daryl fighting their way out of the Madam Genet’s stronghold. There is a ton of good action scenes, as well as phenomenal character development. Normal Reedus was born to play Daryl Dixon.
The episode ends on a double cliffhanger. And yes I spoil those surprises if you keep reading below the Spoilers section!
Coming Home Scoring
Coming Home is the final episode of the season. Honestly, that is its biggest sin. Otherwise it hit it out of the park and scores 100/100. Daryl Dixon ended the last two episodes with perfect scores! How I just have to hope that the show had enough viewership to start a franchise!
Overall Daryl Dixon Season 1 scored an 87/100 for the series, making it Worth Your Time!
Spoilers Below:
Coming Home has some awesome action scenes and mini storylines. The whole Quinn plot sees the greedy, self absorbed man do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Daryl, knowing the full truth, still honors Quinn’s sacrifice with Isabelle. The overall plot of the episode hits us with two major events at the end. Is Daryl going to stay in France or try to get back to the States? Or is god damn Carol going to come to find Daryl instead.
I hated Carol at times in the main series, but over time she became my second favorite character after Daryl. That says something about the writing doesn’t it?
The series ends with Daryl between Laurent and the ship that can start him on the way home. Back in the States Carol begins her hunt to find out what happened to Daryl. A double cliffhanger – but it was so well done.
The Good
When Daryl in the pit and tells Quinn he’s going going to die. They think they are about to fight each other, and Daryl plans on winning.
I loved how one of the Crazed Zombie tackles another Zombie. Whatever they infected the undead with – its not making them more stable – just more vicious.
Teamwork makes the dream work. Pop that Zombie head off!
Pop That Head Off!
Daryl might be a total bad ass but he is also very emotionally smart. After using Quinn as a weapon so he can escape, Daryl lets Isabella think that Quinn didn’t explicitly ask him to tell her. Which of course Quinn did, but he’s an ass. Of course Isabelle already knew that, and suspected Quinn’s real motives.
I love when the walkers just start coming out of the surroundings after laying dormant for a while. The scenes on the beaches of Normandy when Daryl wakes up a small horde was awesome!
The Bad
How many times is Daryl going to be separated from Laurent by a set of bars in this series? I think this was the 3rd time right?
When Codron catches up to Team Daryl at the broken car, it was just a little too perfect how Laurent’s comment made the man spare them all. Surely he would have popped Daryl at the very least for killing his brother?
How is Daryl able to resist Isabelle and the chemistry between them?
Infected is the Episode 2 of Season 1 of HBO’s new Zombie Apocalypse series.
There are spoilers in the review below.
The Last of Us: Infected
Jakarta, Indonesia 2003
Infected opens on a diner. Ibu Ratna is eating her lunch. Two uniformed men enter. Ibu Ratner has no choice but to go with them. The soldiers driver her to a base and show her a pathology slide taken from a human subject.
Ibu Ratna calmly explains that what she is seeing does not make any sense. Cordyceps cannot survive in humans. After questioning the three star general Ibu gives the soldiers some chilling advice. If they want to control the infect that is about to be unleashed they should start bombing.
Boston, Current Day
Ellie wakes up in a square of sunlight. Joel and Tess are sitting nearby watching her. Ellie’s positive test has Joel spooked.
Tess interrogates Ellie, forcing the girl to tell them her secret. The Fireflies are convinced that Ellie has the cure to the infection. Joel doesn’t believe it but Tess doesn’t care. She is more pragmatic. If the Fireflies are willing to pay for transporting Ellie, Tess is willing to do whatever needs to get done in order to get paid.
Tess forces Joel to think of the payday. It is time to head west. The first challenge is getting through Boston. The original route has been damaged by collapsing buildings, forcing the small group to cut through a hotel.
This gives us one of the first really cool visuals of the episode. Once they make it onto a terrace they see that the infected have swarmed out into the open. Ellie notices how the infected move in unison and Tess uses it as a chance to educate the young lady on how the Cordyceps can communicate across large distances.
The Horde
With their original plan blocked by infected, they fall back to take a route through The Museum.
The Museum, Current Day
Joel examines the Cordyceps veins outside The Museum, hopeful that the dried up tendrils mean the building is clear of the infected. At first all seems well. At least until Ellie finds a fresh body. Joel and Tess are anxious. Clearly they know that they are in danger. With little options, they continue through The Museum.
They make it up a few flights of stairs before the way behind them caves in, drawing the attention of the infected. In the distance we hear clicks and cries. The infected are coming. The three travels hide as the infected stumble into the room. The infected can’t see them, but it can hear them if they make any noise. Joel cautions her to be quiet but she can’t help but gasp in fear.
The survivors are separated briefly as the infected attack.
This leads to some awesome combat scenes. The Cordyceps are hard to kill, although head shots seem to be the most effective.
Ellie ends up bitten again while Tess has rolled her ankle. The trio makes it to the roof and then down through the collapsed buildings to the street.
The Street, Current Day
Once through The Museum the trio reaches a large transport vehicle. Whoever Joel was expecting to be there isn’t. There is however a body on the ground and a blood trail leading inside a nearby building.
Tess rushes in. The band of survivors they were hoping to find has been destroyed. Joel looks at the bodies. One of the band must have been bitten, which resulted in a battle that destroyed the group. Joel wants to keep moving but Tess tells them they are going to need to leave her behind.
Tess has been bitten. As the new reality sits in, one of the bodies on the floor moves and Joel quickly dispatches it with a head shot.
Tess shows Joel Ellie’s wound. Tess is going to turn, but Ellie isn’t. Joel has to get Ellie to Bill and Frank’s. They can take Ellie west if he can get her to them. As Tess is begging Joel to agree we see the hand near the infected Joel just killed. There is a tendril of Cordyceps nearby.
The Infected Phone Home
The infected are coming.
Tess grabs a rifle and uses it to spill barrels of fuel. She is going to keep the Cordyceps from following Joel and Ellie at all costs. As the door breaks down Tess is flicking her lighter, struggling to get a spark as hordes of infected run up the stairs.
One of the infected pauses in front of Tess, giving her a Cordyceps kiss as she desperately tries to flick her lighter. Just as she is being fully taken the lighter ignites and first floor of the building goes up.
Joel and Ellie hear the explosion and turn to see fire envelop the building.
Scoring
There were so many things I love about Infected. Ellie is sassy, funny, and adds a bit of humor to what could otherwise become too heavy. On the other side, Joel and Tess exude anxiety and fear when they are moving through the infected territory, making me sit on the edge of my seat with tension.
Infected earned every point of its perfect 100/100 score.
When You’re Lost in the Darkness opens with two epidemiologists discussing microorganisms and how they could cause a global pandemic. One of the epidemiologist explains how some fungi take control of their hosts and force them to do the fungi’s will. What is that will? To spread, to take over. This segment was a great way to explain what is about to start.
2003
Sarah Miller, played by Nico Parker, wakes up in her pink bedroom adorned with posters, school awards, and pictures of her friends and family. She immediately runs to make sure her father, Joel Miller, played by Pedro Pascal is awake.
It is Joel’s birthday. He seems gruff, but clearly his daughter loves him. The two have immediate onscreen chemistry. As Joel’s brother comes in we find out that there are money problems. Joel is going to work a double on his birthday.
Sarah runs upstairs to take a watch and money from her father’s nightstand. After hearing about their money issues, it seems like a crappy thing to do.
Nana
As the Miller’s are leaving, we are introduced to their next door neighbors. The neighbors ask Sarah to come over later, laying on a guilt trip. Sarah reluctantly agreess to go over after school.
After school Sarah heads to a watch repair shop. We find out that she isn’t a thief after all. She took the money and the watch to fix it as a birthday present for her father. The shopkeeper fixes the watch just in time before his wife demands he shuts the store. Sarah leaves the store is shutdown for the day.
It has started. Once Sarah gets back to her neighbors, it isn’t long before we see Nana turn.
Nana Turns
The scene is a masterpiece. It was subtle, and I found myself tensing up as I watched how the dog reacted to Nana Zombie. Just like Terminators, Dogs know when your not really human!
Sarah may not fully understand what is going on yet, but she is on edge. After she falls asleep on Joel’s lap his brother Tommy calls him. Tommy took a swing at an attacker in a bar fight and begs Joel to come bail him out. This of course leaves Sarah home alone.
The sounds of helicopters and flashing lights wakes Sarah up. The news is playing an emergency broadcast warning. Mercy, the neighbors dog is at her door. Sarah tries to take Mercy home, but Mercy wants nothing to do with it.
This leads us to our first Zombie Attack. It has a slow build, which left me more tense than if it was a jump scare.
Nana Attacks
Escape
Joel and Tommy show up just in time to save Sarah. The trio jump into Tommy’s truck and try to find a way out of town. As they drive away we see another concerned neighbor come out, thinking she just saw Tommy drive over people. The concerned neighbor rushes to help. The infected attack her as the trio escape.
The trio head to the highway to find the military isn’t allowing anyone to leave. Planes fall out of the sky as the three attempt to flee through town. Another driver rams their car, flipping it over. The accident separates the group. Tommy tells them he will meet them at the river. Joel picks up his injured daughter and runs.
The infected are everywhere. Joel makes it to the river only to be stopped by the military. The soldier has orders to shoot anyone leaving the town.
The scene is sad. It hurt to watch.
Twenty Years Later
A child is walking along an overgrown path. He comes through the brush to reveal a world no longer dominated by mankind.
Mankind Lost
The child is captured, tested, and quickly euthanized after testing positive. The rules of this world are cruel but clear. The infected are not people. The infected must be killed.
The world has changed. The survivors use paper chits as money. Joel is desperate to make enough money to buy a car battery. He has to get out west to find him brother who has gone silent. Joel will do anything to get the money he needs. This includes selling drugs and acting as an enforcer.
Ellie Williams
Ellie is played by Bella Ramsey of Game of Thrones fame. The partisan group “The Fireflies” has Ellie in chains. They are watching her, making sure she is still human.
Joel & Ellie Meet
The Fireflies try to buy the same battery that Joel is after. Blood is shed and the leader of the local Fireflies is wounded. Her own plans to take Ellie west are shot. She offers Joel a vehicle and supplies if he will take Ellie. Joel reluctantly agrees.
Joel, Tess, and Ellie escape the compound only to be caught be the corrupt guard Joel was selling drugs to earlier. The guard follows protocol and tests each of them. Ellie’s status as infected is confirmed.
Is Ellie the savior? Is whatever allows her to test positive but resist the infections control what the world needs to survive?
I can’t wait for episode 2!
Scoring
When You’re Lost in the Darkness not only has amazing actors with great chemistry but excellent writing. The story is the main focus, and it is a story that grips you and holds on until the end of the episode. Because of this When You’re Lost in the Darkness earned a 100/100, making it Worth Your Time.
Pretty Much Dead Already opens with tension. Rick and Lori are dealing with the fallout of her unable to keep her legs closed for Shane, while Glen keeps looking over at Maggie who is standing on the porch. He’s decided he doesn’t have a choice, to keep the secret any longer, and drops the bomb on Team Rick that the barn is full of walkers.
The Barn Is Full of Walkers
The barn full of walker ignites the group. Shane wants to leave while Rick and Daryl want to stay and find Sophia.
With the secret out Glen begs Maggie to talk, but she just breaks an egg over his head, not ready to make nice. While Maggie is taking her anger out on Glen, Daryl is stubbornly trying to go back out, wounded, to search for Sophia. When Carol stops him, he loses it.
As everyone is dealing with their sh*t, Rick goes to talk to Hershel.
Rick Tells Hershel They Found The Barn
Rick wants to talk about the barn. Hershel just tells Rick he wants his group to move on by the end of the week. He doesn’t want to talk about the barn. Rick tells Hershel that forcing them to leave would mean putting everyone at risk, including his pregnant wife. Hershel doesn’t want to hear it.
A little later Hershel tells Maggie that he gave Rick the order to leave, and Maggie uses his faith to show him what the bible would have said. Hershel struggles with what Maggie is saying but he gets pulled away when he’s told “its happened again”.
Hershel bring Rick with him to the creek. The bottom of the stream is soft and silty, and walkers get stuck there. Maggie must have an impact on Hershel, even though they didn’t really finish their conversation. Hershel asks Rick if he can stop killing the walkers.
Zombie Capture
Rick asks Hershel what they are going to do when the Barn gets full but Hershel doesn’t answer as they wrangle the two Zombies away from the stream.
Back at the farm Glen confronts Maggie, telling her he never wants to see her in danger again, and the words made Maggie realize he does really care about her – and smooching commenced.
While Maggie and Glen are making up, Dale and Shane are having it out. Shane wants the guns that Dale is trying to stash, and it almost comes to blows.
Shane is pissed, and that anger overflows onto rick and Hershel when he sees them coming back with the two restrained Zombies. This leads to Shane screaming about how a sick person couldn’t take multiple gunshot wounds to the chest – before he finally puts the walker down with a headshot.
That’s Enough
It’s still not enough for Shane though, and he lets loose the barn zombies in a fit of rage, which leads to one of the iconic moments of The Walking Dead universe. After the team puts down the other zombies, the last walker out the gate is revealed. The team has found Sophia.
The Team Finds Sophia
Pretty Much Dead Already Scoring
Pretty Much Dead Already is one of those episodes that you will remember for years to come. I still remember this episode when it was on the air the first time. I remember sitting on the couch with my older boys, and we all gasped when we saw Sophia. Pretty Much Dead Already scores a 100/100. It is a master class in suspense and character development.
Guts opens up on Lori and Shane’s survivor group. We get introduced to characters we saw but didn’t really hear much from in Days Gone Bye. The first of which is Dale, who is dutifully watching over the camp from on top of the RV. We know he’s a good guy because Lori trusts him to watch over Carl if she needs to leave camp.
Dale On Watch
Lori is Whorey
Lori is in the woods when she hears movement. She nearly pees herself when Shane grabs her and pulls her to the ground. The two quickly get down to business. Shane pauses when he sees her wedding ring on a necklace and they don’t continue until she takes it off.
We then cut back to the tank where Rick is swarmed with walkers.
Swarmed
Glenn informs Rick he’s in trouble, but at least he’s got Glenn’s eyes outside helping him find the path of least resistance. On top of that Rick finds a grenade near the dead crew member. Glenn pushes Rick to run for it while the walkers are distracted with their horse dinner.
Rick makes it down the street and almost pops Glenn before his new friend leads him to the safety of a fire escape. Glenn then tells Rick what a dumbass he is again. As they flee across the roof Rick asks Glenn why he helped, and I love Glenn’s answer.
Rick: “Back at the tank, why’d you stick your neck out for me?”
Glenn: “Call it foolish, naïve hope that if I’m ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess I’m an even bigger dumbass than you.”
The exchange just shows Glenn’s nature. He’s a realist, but a glass half full type of guy at the same time.
Andrea
As Glenn and Rick flee down into the building Glenn radios out that he’s got a guest. Several people come out to bash some walkers as Glenn leads Rick into the relative safety of his friend’s company. At least until Andrea puts a gun in his face. She is pissed that Rick pulled walkers down on them.
Andrea Says Hi To Rick
Andrea is convinced that Rick has killed them by making so much noise. The other survivors explain to Rick that they are there to scavenge, and the key to scavenging is getting in, grabbing items they need, and getting out without making too much noise. Rick’s gunfire has pulled all the walkers in earshot. Worse yet, the glass isn’t going to hold the undead back for long.
Breaking Glass
The survivors ask Rick what he was doing out there, and me mentions the helicopter he heard and saw in the buildings reflection. They thinks he’s nuts. As they decide to flee upward they hear gunshots and Andrea askes “Oh no, is that Dixon?”
Merle Dixon Having Some Target Practice
Merle
When the survivors get to the roof Merle is laughing. T-Dog is miffed that Merle is wasting bullets, and bringing more walkers down on them. Merle then shows his true nature. Merle isn’t a fan of diversity and isn’t willing to take feedback, much less orders from T-Dog.
I was a little shocked to hear Merle use the hard “N” word. Its been a decade since I originally watched Guts during its original airing and I didn’t remember that. This of course leads to a fist fight. Merle takes down Rick, then gets T-Dog on the ground and pummels him. He then goes on a rant. Merle votes Merle is in charge, and its honestly the only vote Merle cares about. He makes the other survivors raise their hands by casually sweeping them with his pistol.
Thankfully Rick is there to even things up and he bashes Merle in the back of the head. Rick then handcuffs the Dumb-As-Sh*t, Inbred White Trash Fool before reminding Merle you “Ought to be polite to a man with a gun.” Which is exactly what Merle told the rest of them when they started to complain about him shooting his rifle.
As the others discuss their next steps, Merle hits on Andrea. Even handcuffed Merle is just a disgusting human being with no self control.
Merle’s Weak Attempt At A Pick Up Line
Rick asks them if the sewers are an option which leads Glenn to show them what he thinks is the sewer entrance in the basement.
The team has a plan. Glenn and Morales are going to see if the sewers are a viable exit while the rest of the team monitors the store front and tries to reach out for help using the radio from the roof. Glenn and Morales find their way blocked by a massive steel grate, which already has walkers eating rats on the other side. Yum…
In the store Andrea is looking at a necklace and Rick asks her if she sees something she likes and we learn that Andrea has a sister. Andrea’s sister is still young enough to love things like unicorns, and especially mermaids.
Andrea’s Mermaid Pendant For Her Sister
When Rick asks her why she doesn’t take it, she replies that there is a cop staring at her before Rick assures her its okay. This is what TWD does so well, shows the humanity in each of its characters.
Glenn and Morales come back up and let them know the storm drain isn’t an option just in time for the glass in the storefront to break some more. Time is running out.
As the team discusses their options Rick comes up with a crazy plan. The walkers hunt by sound, sight, and smell, and Rick wants to know if masking one of those senses might change how the walkers react to them.
They grab one of the dead walkers outside the rear door and hack him up after saying a few quick words. At least the guy was an organ donor, so he did sign up for this right? The team then uses a bit of emulsified walker to coat themselves.
As Glenn is complaining, Rick tells him to think about something else, like Puppies and Kittens!!!
Puppies And Kittens
I had no idea that Z Nation borrowed this from TWD! I had to go back to check. Guts first aired on November 7th, 2010 while Z Nation’s Puppies and Kittens episode didn’t air until four years later.
Zombie Camo
Rick did achieve his goal though. He and Glenn smell like walkers. The last thing Rick does before walking out into the horde is to throw T-Dog the key to Mer’s cuffs.
Rick and Glenn carefully make it through the walker horde, their disguises appearing to hold up, at least for the moment.
Walker Walking
Back at the survivors camp, Andrea’s sister, Amy is worried. T-Dog just manages to get a message through as the weather changes. T-Dog lets them know they are surrounded at the department store, but the connection is poor. Amy wants people to go into Atlanta to save her sister, but Shane say’s they can’t risk mores lives while Lori looks on, wide eyed.
Rick and Glenn are in the thick of the walkers when the rain starts to fall, washing away the precious walker gore they’ve covered themselves in.
Walker Walking In The Rain
Rick tries to comfort Glenn, but even as he’s saying their protective layer isn’t washing off, the walkers are beginning to focus on the two live humans more and more.
It’s time to run. Rick and Glenn just make it to the construction site before the horde turns on them. Thanks to the construction fencing they are able to grab a box truck and start rolling before the horde is on top of them.
Rolling Rescue
As Andrea, T-Dog and Morales watch from the top of the department store they are at first afraid Rick and Glenn are abandoning them, but Rick just needed to find another vehicle so they could create a distraction. Glenn calls them on the radio and tells them to come down to the rolling gates and be ready to roll.
As they move out Merle begs T-Dog not to just leave him there. T-Dog is actually going to let Merle go before he trips and the handcuff key goes flying.
Key Down The Drain
I tried to highlight that little key flying towards the drain, and that is exactly where it went. T-Dog does the only thing he thinks will help and locks the door to the roof. At least the horde won’t be able to eat Merle while he’s trapped.
Out on the street Glenn uses his stolen Dodge Charger (with its alarm blaring) to pull the horde away from the side entrance. This gives Rick the time he needs to collect the other survivors.
T-Dog tells the others he dropped the key as they flee Atlanta.
Guts ends with Glenn flying down the highway, intoxicated with speed as the car alarm continues to go off.
Glenn Speeding Away
Guts Scoring
Guts scored a 100/100, making the first time a season opener and second episode both just hit it out of the park. I forgot how awesome these original episodes were. Guts is Worth Your Time.
Days Gone Bye kicked off not just The Walking Dead series, but spins off to become two more shows as well as an after episode talk show. Its hard to believe The Walking Dead is over a decade old at this point. I remember waiting to watch it with my older boys, all of us sitting on the couch, and we’d excitedly discuss what was going on during commercials.
Days Gone Bye reminded me why we love this series so much. It is just a masterclass in how to set mood and build characters.
Current Timeline
Days Gone Bye starts in the now. Rick has stopped at a gas station surrounded by what was a refugee camp, hoping to find some gas. What he finds instead is the iconic “little girl zombie“.
Little Girl Zombie
Rick is Wounded (Flashback)
We then cut to the series theme song before we take a step back in time. Rick Grimes and Shane are eating lunch as Shane is complaining about his girlfriend who leaves every light on in his house. Rick is telling Shane about his own problems with his wife Lori when the call comes in. There is a high speed pursuit, and one officer has already been shot and wounded. Rick and Shane put out the spike strip and wait.
Spike Strip Deployed
After the bad guys hit the spike strip and wreck the bad guys come out with guns in hand. Rick gets tagged in the vest by assailant one. Assailant two goes down in a hail of bullets. Rick and Shane are celebrating the bullet hitting Rick’s vest when a 3rd Assailant climbs out and shoots Rick in the left shoulder.
Rick Gets Shot
We then see some haze as Shane drops by to talk to Rick who is barely conscious in the hospital.
Rick Wakes Up (Current Timeline)
When Rick wakes up he’s a little delirious. He thinks Shane is still in his room, but the flowers in the vase are dried up and dead. Rick tries to get out of bed and ends up on the floor, calling for a nurse who never comes. When he finally makes it to out of his room he finds a hospital bed pushed up against his door and a dim hallway with no nurses or patients in sight.
Empty Hallway
Rick finds his way to a nurses station and finds some matches, but its not long before he sees what type of world he’s woken into. Down the hallway there is what’s left of a woman lying on the floor.
Zombie Chow
Rick just woke up from some form of barely conscious state. he has no idea what’s going on, and its not getting better. He wanders down the hall the other way to find a doorway chained shut with a warning spray painted across the doors. I’m actually surprised this type of error made it into the show. What the hell does “Don’t Dead Open Inside” mean anyway?
Don’t Dead Open Inside
Do fingers count as Rick’s first Zombie? He sees fingers coming through the door, but he doesn’t really know what’s going on yet so I’m going to say no, he still hasn’t seen his first Zombie.
Exiting The Hospital
Rick freaks out and flees through the fire escape, which is very dark and creepy before finding himself on the hospital loading dock. Bodies are lined up, and most of them have blood marks near their heads, showing they turned and were put down before being lined up outside. We get a good idea of just how bad things were as the camera pulls back, showing the volume of dead that were piling up.
Lots of Bodies
Rick wanders away from the loading dock and finds what looks to be a military deployment on the nearby hill. Whatever happened at the hospital must have been quick. The helicopters appear to have weapons mounted but there are no nearby bodies, which makes me think the crews were taken down away from the helos.
Military Hardware Outside Hospital
Rick wanders away from the hospital until he finds a bicycle, as well as his first Zombie.
Rick’s First Zombie
Lucky for Rick the first zombie he encountered was half the woman she was before turning. Rick jumps on the bike and races to his home to find it empty. Lori and Carl aren’t there and Rick has a moment of doubt. Is he in his hospital bed hallucinating?
Morgan
Rick goes out to the front of his house, his vision blurred as he sees a man walking towards him in the distance just before he gets clocked. As Rick is lying there half out of it he sees Morgan put a revolver against the walkers head and pull the trigger.
Morgan Taking Care Of A Walker
Morgan points his gun at Rick and demands to know what caused his wound as Rick passes out. When he wakes up Morgan has changed his bandage and tied him to the bed.
Once Morgan is convinced Rick wasn’t bitten, he cuts him loose. Rick, Morgan and Morgan’s son Duane end up in the living room and Rick is confused. He watched Morgan kill a man, and this is the first time we hear the term “walker”. Morgan tells Rick he didn’t kill a man, he killed a walker.
Morgan tries to explain the rules of the new world to Rick once he realizes Rick has no clue what’s going on, but Rick doesn’t look like he’s 100% convinced yet.
After a car alarm brings the survivors to the window we see Morgan’s turned walker wandering around in front of the house, which set’s Duane off. Rick is at the door, looking out the peep hole when Morgan’s wife comes to the door, attracted to something about the house.
Morgan’s Wife
Training Day
The next day Rick gets to kill his first walker. Morgan has given him a face shield and a baseball bat, but Rick’s still weak from being shot, and just barely gets the job done. Afterwards Rick takes Morgan to his house and explains that he thinks Lori and Carl are alive because clothes and pictures are missing.
Duane volunteers that they probably went to Atlanta. Before everything collapsed, people were told to head for Atlanta. There was supposed to be security there as well as the CDC. Rick has found a new destination, but first, he needs some gear.
This brings Rick to the station, where there is still enough propane in the tanks to allow the three survivors to enjoy a hot shower, a rarity in the post apocalypse days. After collecting weapons Rick gives Morgan a rifle and ammo before heading out.
As Rick goes back to find his first walker and put her out of her misery Morgan goes to his window to practice with his new rifle. Rick kills the female walker as Morgan kills a few of the walkers in front of his house, but isn’t able to pull the trigger when he finds his turned wife in his scope sights.
Atlanta
Rick is on his way to Atlanta, hailing anyone who can hear him on his CB radio. A group of survivors, including Lori and Shane can hear him, but Rick never get’s their transmission. Lori didn’t hear Rick’s voice, but she wants to warn whoever sent the transmission. The group of survivors know that Atlanta isn’t safe.
On his way into the city Rick is running out of fuel, but he finds a farm and a horse, which leads to another iconic shot from the series as Rick rides his steed into the city.
Rick’s Horseback Journey Into Atlanta
The city looks deserted at first, but its not long before Rick encounters his first walkers. The horse is skittish and does not like the undead. Rick is making his way down the street when he hears a helicopter and sees its reflection in a skyscraper, which leads him to go charging around the corner to try and get a glimpse of the whirly bird. Instead he finds himself face to face with a massive herd of walkers.
Rick Comes Face to Face With His First Horde
Things go downhill from here for Rick. Rick tries to flee but finds himself surrounded. His horse spooks and throws him as the zombies swarm. Rick uses the momentary distraction of his horse being eaten to climb under a tank. It doesn’t take long for the walkers to find him. Risk escapes into the tank through a hatch just in time.
Rick quickly kills a crew member turned walker before the tank is swarmed. Rick is surrounded on all sides, and in big trouble when someone reaches out on the radio.
Glenn – “Hey, you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank.”
They were probably the sweetest words Rick’s ever heard.
Days Gone By Scoring
Days Gone Bye scored a 100/100 and is Worth Your Time. The atmosphere and mood set by this work of art was just perfect. This is what every other zombie show strives to be.
The first zombie movie I watched today was just so bad I had to find something better! My brother recommended a South Korean film named #Alive.
#Alive is a zombie action, psychological thriller about a young man who is isolated in his apartment building after the zombie apocalypse starts.
As he deals with isolation and listening to his family die he finally breaks and goes on a golf club wielding rampage. At least until he panics and finds himself surrounded. It turns out leaving your shelter because you’re pissed isn’t such a good idea.
The movie overall is really well done. The special effects are top notch, and the zombie action is awesome. There are a bunch of well done scenes with zombie swarms, and the main character, Oh Joon-woo, played by Ah-In Yoo does an amazing job acting out the fear and gradual decline into anxiety fueled crazy that any one of us would fall into.
That decline took Oh to the edge, and he would have fallen over if another survivor wasn’t there to give him hope. This was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Watching Oh prepare and scavenge was just really well done.
The zombie horde scene between the two apartment blocks is one of the best I’ve seen.
#Alive Scoring
If you like Zombie Movies, this is a must watch, as it scored a perfect 100/100.
You can also watch the American remake Alone, but it didn’t hold up as well and scored a 73/100.
Night of the Living Dead is the movie that started it all. We owe George A. Romero so much for starting the Zombie Film genre. He started a billion dollar industry with less than a $120,000 dollar investment.
Its been several years since I watched Night of the Living Dead, and I was actually surprised how well it holds up to the years. The action starts quickly with Barbra, played by the lovely Judith O’Dea, visiting a cemetery with her brother. She is quickly attacked by the undead. While her brother falls to the first zombie, Barbra flees in her vehicle.
Barbra finds a farmhouse not too far away, where she meets Ben, played by Duane Jones. While Barbra struggles to cope with what is going on, Ben has already come to grips with the fact that the dead are hungry.
The characters are well rounded, and each of them has their own struggles and motivations. In the end, this is really the heart of every zombie movie, how do the survivors deal with the undead, and with each other?
George A. Romero really does an amazing job at showing the conflict inherent in any human interaction, and then how stress magnifies those emotions. Every writer and director who is thinking of making a Zombie Movie should watch this classic movie.
If you haven’t seen Night of the Living Dead, its is a much watch, and scores a 100/100. It is Worth Your Time.
28 Days Later is a must watch addition to the genre. As the original “Fast” zombie movie it started a new sub category of Zombie Movie that is still going strong today.
The main character, Jim, is played by Cillian Murphy of Peaky Blinders fame. Jim wakes up in the hospital but something is wrong, there are no staff or patients around. Jim wanders outside to find that London looks deserted. At least until he make his way into a church, and discovers the town isn’t as deserted as it appears.
The dead slowly wake up from whatever state of hibernation they are in, and Jim’s journey is nearly ended right there. If it weren’t for Selena, played by Naomie Harris, Jim would have died on the street, swarmed by fast moving biters.
Scoring
If you somehow missed 28 Days Later, you need to watch it now. It scored a 100/100, making it Worth Your Time. 28 Days Later not only changed the Zombie Movie genre forever, but did so with amazing visuals, nail biting action, and the perfect ending that hinted at things to come.
Of course, if you watch 28 Days Later you may as well make it a mini film festival and enjoy 28 Weeks Later as well.
It is hard to believe that Zombieland is now almost fifteen years old. Especially when watching it and realizing that it is still a movie that other zombie movies struggle to live up to. The movie has several subplots, an amazing cameo, and pulls it all together in an action packed and fun way.
I highly recommend Zombieland , especially if you are introducing the genre to someone who isn’t sure if they are into the Undead. Zombie movies aren’t just about people getting their faces eaten off – its also about accidentally killing Bill Murray.
I like to think of Zombieland as the sweet red wine my friends used to introduce me to alcohol. I went to a Baptist college so there wasn’t a lot of drinking. So they got me hooked on the stuff that was sweet and light before they pulled out the tequila and whiskey. This movie is a great way to dip someone’s toes into Zombies – and how knows, maybe you can move on to the hard stuff after.
Zombieland Scoring
Zombieland really does have a little bit of everything. It has zombies and great action scenes, a love story, and a buddy/buddy movie all wrapped into one. It is also one my all time favorite zombie/comedy movies. So it should not be a surprise that is scores a perfect 100/100.
If you didn’t like Zombieland your probably a shuffling undead corpse already.
