The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Season 1, Episode 6

Shadow Puppets begin with our survivors finding a young man lurking in the woods not far from their camp. There is a brief stand off before Percy is forced to drop his weapon. He has no food and no gear on him because he’s been robbed.

Percy

Iris takes pity on the kid and gives him some food.

I actually felt mad, then sad, that one of the most intense moments of the season so far is when Percy is telling his story of walking down a highway in the snow when he hears a herd coming. He can’t find an unlocked car, and he’s basically ready to give up. He climbs up on the roof of a vehicle, and shuts his eyes, preparing for the end.

Only when he does open his eyes, its a herd of buffalo.

This scene really made me question the casting choices for our main group. They are okay actors, but they don’t bring any intensity to these characters.

At a minimum Silas and Iris need to get eaten, then we can decide how the others hold up. Sorry, just being brutally honest.

Percy’s Story

As Percy is telling his story he says a few things that don’t seem plausible, not if he had to walk. But if he had a car…

With the promise of wheels to get Iris and Hope to their father the team decides to help Percy get his vehicle back. The team follows Percy into an abandoned town and get led on a bit of a wild goose hunt.

Not everything is exactly what it seems, and it turns out Percy and his Uncle have just been pulling an elaborate con to try and steal supplies. In the end, they all make nice, but there were a lot of things about this episode that I found really annoying.

There are so many times when Percy’s con could have gone horribly wrong. Some groups would probably of just killed him outright when he showed up. Then there is the fact that he had to rely on them picking up on how fast he travelled? Was he just going to keep dropping hints until they realized he had a car? Even if the group did let Percy live originally, once they know there is a vehicle involved, and he told them roughly where the vehicle was, they could have killed him then, and then gone after the wheels. Lastly, when they find the vehicle and Percy’s Uncle is playing possum, someone could have decided to stick him anyway, just to make sure.

Shadow Puppets Scoring

The whole set up seems overly contrived and complicated, which is the main reason that Shadow Puppets scores a 60/100.

At least there were garbage zombies to make the episode a little better.

Garbage Zombies
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
SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020)

I’m just going to start by saying that Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula has some big shoes to fill. Train to Busan scored a 100/100, putting it in an elite group of Zombie Movies.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula takes place four years after the Korean Peninsula has been completely overrun by the undead. The nations around Korea have cordoned it off to try and contain the virus. As always, criminals will find a way to make money. An Organized syndicate has a plan to do just that.

There is a lot of cash on the peninsula. The mob has bribed the coast guard to let a small team enter. Why?So they can get to a truck full of money and get it out.

Our two main characters are a brother and brother in law who survived. There family didn’t. The memory of their wife/sister and son/nephew dying haunts them. Dying by Zombie is not pretty.

Going Back

The brothers make their way to the Peninsula with a small team. They find the truck full of money fairly easily. Things appear to be going well. At least until the undead swarm, taking out everyone on the team save for the brothers.

This is where things take a hard left turn. One brother ends up stuck in the truck. The other is saved by two young sisters in a car. It feels like the writers of Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula watched one too many Fast & The Furious movies after this. Lots of cool car action. It’s just a bit of a genre blender.

The kids take the brother in law to meet the family. The kids live with their mom and her crazy dad. Meanwhile the other brother end up at a survivor stronghold. New survivors are not welcome. They are used to entertain the masses. He’s forced to participate in a barbaric live game show. The captured are forced to fight the undead. It’s not a pretty way to go.

It’s now up to the free brother in law to convince a mother to risk her life to get the truck back. In exchange he promises she can rescue her kids from the horrors of the island.

Thus kicks off the next act of the movie. It is a combination rescue mission as well as truck heist. This in turn leads to a long vehicle chase as the good guys make their way to the port, and their hopeful escape.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula Scoring

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula scored an 84/100. That is a great score for any other Zombie Movie but represents a big drop from the original.

What cost it points? The first was the fact that the mom would let her two young daughters take joy rides in a city infested with the undead.

The second was the vehicle scenes. They were fun and interesting, but they don’t generate the same tension as people fleeing on foot would. One of the things that made the Train to Busan so powerful was that you felt the survivors fear and anxiety as the undead swarmed, and the situation grew increasingly more desperate. It’s an energy that Peninsula does its best to recreate, but not quote as good as the original.

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.

Quarantine L.A. (2013)

You all owe me one. Watching Quarantine L.A. was like having dental work with no Novocain. Not just painful, but torture. I tried to get into it. I really did. The movie is just missing that spark for me.

Why? What made the movie less than watchable? The acting is horrible. Lots of over acting. Mix that with people who react in ways that don’t make sense for the situation. Then we can talk about the CGI and practical effects. The special effects are atrocious. They are bad enough that I was left wondering if they were done as a school project. The special effects are that bad. The plot, what little of it I could understand, was written by a five year old. Maybe that kid had a cold. Which would explain how a five year old could also be high on cold medicine right? Finally, the dialogue was just as bad. I’ve enjoyed some really bad movies. This was not one of them.

Quarantine L.A. Scoring

Quarantine L.A. earned a 14/100. It’s no the worst movie I’ve ever watched, but its only 14 points away from that dubious honor. This is a Just Bad movie. Skip it.

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.

Black Summer, Season 1, Episode 5

Diner is another intense episode.

William and Sun are trapped inside the Diner. The biters circle around the outside of the building, slamming into the windows whenever the biters sees a survivor inside.

The Diner has become a pressure cooker. William and Sun are inside with the same people who just ran them off the road. Tensions are high and William is ready to throw down.

Black Summer: Tension
Tension

William has a horrible decision to make. Do you sacrifice the person who saved you or do you stand up for the people who have helped you survive?

Diner is also the convergence episode. Team William and Team Rose meet at the Diner.

Diner Scoring

The episode is psychologically and emotionally intense. There isn’t a lot of actual violence or zombie hordes, but we do hear that the biters can cross rivers, “like ants” and we learn that a horde is coming, but it is still an episode Worth Your Time that scores an 86/100.

The points are in large part due to how well the tension builds, but it is also in good part due to Sal Velez Jr.’s acting as William. He is just a powerhouse in terms of emotional and physical believability.

Black Summer is everything I’m looking for in a Zombie Series. Fight me if you disagree.

If you are looking for another intense, gritty series, I highly recommend The Last of Us!

Black Summer
Black Summer
SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

Black Summer, Season 1, Episode 4

Alone picks up right were Summer School left off. Sun and William are stuck in the diner, and surprisingly, Beard is alive!!!

As a tribute to him not being dead, I looked up Beard’s name. His name is Lance, played by Kelsey Flower. He wakes up on the floor of the school and panics when he hears the kids running amuck around him. The noise drives him to the roof, where we see there are at least a few planes in the air. It’s hard to tell, but I think the one fighter was actually on a bombing run.

Black Summer

I guess that means some organized force is still in play right?

Lance decides that going back into the school is a bad idea, and climbs down just in time for the Lost Boys to drop his body whom they shot down to chase him.

Bonus points for using the biters as self tracking weapons.

Time to Scream

Lance makes it free, but he’s bleeding, and it looks like he may have hurt his leg in the final jump off the first floor roof of the school. After wandering around the deserted town a little, Lance decides that screaming would be a good idea? Come on, that is just stupid. He only just escaped one biter, and if there aren’t people around, there have to be infected, right?

We then get introduced to Dog, who promptly ignores Lance. Lucky for him, there is grocery store around the corner. This seems like another very unpleasable find? Rose said its been weeks since she fled her house, so the Apocalypse has been raging for a while. Are there so few survivors that no one raided the shelves? Because the store is fully stocked.

Lance is leisurely strolling when he hears one of the infected, and low and behold, its his heat seeking zombie attacker, possibly following him from the blood trail Lance has left behind.

Poor Lance, all he had to do was lock the doors behind him. Instead he gets chased away from his food haul only to be forced to climb on top of a bus in order not to get caught.

Bus Trapped

Lance finally does something smart and lies down so the biter can’t see him. It seems to calm down the creature and Lance is able to wait a little while until the biter goes dormant. In the end it doesn’t work out so well though. Lance thinks he’s got a chance to run, but instead shows the biter how to get from the engine up onto the roof, and the chase is back on.

The Fire Station

At least until Lance finds the door to the local fire station and is able to et inside. The respite doesn’t last long, the biter slips under a partially open garage door.

Lucky for Lance, its a fire station, and that means there’s an axe…

Fire Axe

Bad news for Lance is that he’s scared sh*tless and instead of using that axe to take out the biter, he gets it stuck in a locker and forced to run again.

As he’s running down the street, he sees another survivor, and screams for help as he runs into the town library. Just when we think Lance is going to get caught, he’s saved by a stranger.

No good deed goes unpunished though. Alone ends with Lance picking up a stone bowl, coming up behind his savior, who it appears has been bitten. There is no mercy for the infected.

Alone Scoring

Alone was an intense episode and deserves every one of the 82/100 points it earned. What cost it some points? Lance screaming when there are biters around, and the fully stocked grocery store cost it a few, and then the simple fact that this episode was really a Lance versus a single biter. It was good, but I do like a good horde thrown in for good measure.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

Black Summer, Season 1, Episode 3

Summer School finds Team Rose hiding inside a school, lead inside by a creepy figure wearing a hoodie.

Creepy Dude

The school looks empty, but they don’t take any risks. They grab some supplies and hole up in the band room. Spears clears the space, but is stressed and anxious.

The team tries to rest, but its not long before they are woken by someone or something on the roof. For some reason, they think going to find the cause of the noise is a good idea, but are just lead on a chase after seeing a little kid at the end of the hall.

Creepy Kid

After a brief chase they stop and we get a dose of sanity from Spears.

Spears: “Enough of this sh*t. Let’s get out of here.”

Bearded Guy: “What about the kid?”

Spears: “F*ck the kid. We’re not alone. We should go.

This is the part that drives me crazy in shows and movies. Its an apocalypse, and weird little kids are running around, taunting you. Why would you chase after them? Wait, how could Team Rose make the decision to look for the kid even worse? They could split up!

Nobody but Spears has a weapon? Why would you split up? The moment Rose and her mute friend find the bodies in the shower, they should have backtracked to Spears and bolted.

Shower Slaughter

What could be worse after splitting into two groups? Brian, the mute, runs from Rose, so now there are three groups. Spears and Beard explore the basement until Beard walks through a door and sets off at trap. I’m guessing he’s dead.

Spears and Rose group back up just in time to be introduced to the kids who have taken over the school.

The kids have taken Brian, but don’t realize he’s deaf, so when they take his hood off and he starts to walk, one of the kids shoots him, which turns him into a biter. Apparently this is a world similar to The Walking Dead and if you die, you turn. This leads to an interesting lunchroom table fight while the kids cheer on the violence.

Four survivors entered. Two made it back out.

I’m giving Summer School a 70/100 because I hate it when characters do the worst possible thing when it comes to survival. They should have called the episode “Lord of the Flies” because that is what all the kids with spears reminded me of.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

Black Summer, Season 1, Episode 2

Drive picks up, you guessed it, in the minivan with William, Sun, and Barbara. They are trying to make it to the stadium, which is supposed to be a rally point for the evacuation.

William is the leader of the group. Barbara is scared and insecure, and Sun is a determined, but hampered by her inability to communicate well. They are trying to navigate through streets full of abandoned cars and peoples belongings. As they drive they spot a black pickup, which appears to be pacing them.

Black Track Pacing Them

William thinks he’s lost them but in the process drives down an alley. Several survivors try to hijack their minivan, or maybe just take their supplies. This gets a kids bike stuck under the minivan and leads to the Best Zombie Kill of the episode.

Car Kill

Unfortunately for Team William, the success isn’t long lived. They barely get a little further down the road when the Black Truck finds them again. We then get to see a minivan drift around some corners in a post apocalyptic car chase.

Bad Drivers

Team William thinks they’ve gotten away, but you know that’s not quite how it works. There is a final car chase, and I do mean final, because Barbara bites it when William get’s distracted and drives head long into a truck carrying concrete barriers. The vehicles are wrecked, but William, Sun, and the other survivors make it into a diner before the infected can chase them down.

Rose and Spears, and their two companions aren’t as lucky as William, they are forced to walk. They don’t get far before they see a man and a woman trying to run from one of the infected. It’s an intense scene that shows us just how dangerous the infected are. Within seconds of being bitten, the woman becomes a starving monster.

Bitten & Turned

Team Rose makes it around the attack site and continue on their stroll. We get more evidence of just how bad things have gotten as they pass by a car that appears to have been hijacked.

Thus ends Driven.

Drive Scoring

Drive was an intense episode and scores 80/100, making it Worth Your Time.

SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Season 1, Episode 4

The Wrong End of a Telescope is the fourth episode of the season. I’m hoping its a strong episode, because the last two have been in Rainy Day territory, and I have to be honest, I expect more from anything that carries The Walking Dead name.

The Wrong End of a Telescope picks up on the far side of the Blaze of Glory. Team Iris/Hope is on the march, trying to figure out where their father is.

The Group On The March

New York State

They know he’s in New York State, just not where, and unfortunately for them, New York State is a big piece of land.

New York State
New York State

To be exact, there are 54,556 square miles to cover. That is a lot of ground for a few kids and two adults.

The Team holes up in an abandoned high school. Because what building has lots of rooms for zombies to hide in and might have been used to house refugee who then were turned? Aren’t high school gyms full of cots during natural disasters?

The Team Enters The High School
The Team Enters The High School

So far we are ten minutes into the episode, and haven’t seen a single Empty yet. What does the team do? They decide to split up to explore, but at least they are pairing up. Still, separating the group in unknown territory seems like a bad idea.

Where Is The Anxiety?

I hope I’m not being too critical, but the atmosphere is still off. The survivors don’t seem to have any anxiety.

We are not fifteen minutes in, still haven’t seen a zombie. The people who produced this know the show has “The Walking Dead” in the title right?

Okay, we are now at the eighteen minute mark, and we finally see a zombie!!! And maybe something worse than a zombie, because whatever was crawling out of the room just got pulled back in. I’m guessing that whatever eats zombies, is likely dangerous to the survivors as well? Right?

Finally, there is a little bit of apprehension building. The survivors are in the high school, and something is in there with them. Which would be awesome, but the episode immediately cuts to a long cut scene of Hope and her dad.

There is too much backstory!!! We don’t need to know every characters life story in the first few episodes.

The Killing Room

Felix and Elton have found what appears to be a killing room for Empties, and Felix wants to get out. He doesn’t know who or what is killing the zombies, and it sounds like he doesn’t want to stay around long enough to find out.

Just when things were getting good, and we see a wolf snarling at Huck and Hope, we get forced to watch Irish and Silas practice ballroom dancing. I have nothing against ballroom dancing, but the blending of the last school dance, with them dancing, just ruins the mood. Aren’t I meant to feel like they could get eaten at any moment?

Hope and Huck slip around the angry doggy while Felix and Elton decide to go into the basement to get back to the gym where Iris and Silas are. At least Hope and Huck find some supplies, even if they had to killer an Empty to get them.

There are only fifteen minutes left, but things are finally picking up. Something is in the vents, and when it starts to grown I actually had a small jump scare.

Zombies In Lockers

Iris and Silas are in the gym basement, where apparently a lot of zombies were put in lockers? Lucky for Silas and Iris, they happen to end up just on the other side of the door where Huck and Hope are. This is right about where Silas looses it, and decides its better to beat a zombie to death with his bare hands than use his big freaking wrench.

The team is now reunited, just in time to see Silas lose his sh*t. We still don’t know exactly what he did, but the narrator did say even his mother testified against him, so it must have been bad.

While the main group is getting ready to get back on the road, Felix and Huck are working over Elton, trying to get him to join there “Go Back” movement.

The episode had a slow start but picked up as it went on. I’m giving The Wrong End of a Telescope a 71/100, and hoping next weeks episode is even better.

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
SeasonEpisodeEpisode NameScore
11Human Flow85
12Drive80
13Summer School70
14Alone82
15Diner86
16Heist90
17The Tunnel83
18The Stadium91
21The Cold95
22Prelude80
23Card Game91
24Cold War83
25White Horse88
26Currency69
27The Lodge75
28The Plane99

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

ZOMBIE SERIES – Z NATION, SEASON 1, EPISODE 3, Philly Feast

Philly Feast gives us Cassandra’s backstory. It also gives us a good picture of just how bad things are in Z Nation world. How bad? Well, let’s just say you aren’t going to want to have a Philly Cheesesteak post ZA.

There is a lot to love in Episode 3, Philly Feast. The first is the attention to detail. I’m pretty sure we see a bit of armpit hair when Cassandra takes her shirt off. Sure, it could be that she’s just adopted the European practice, but I’m going to give Z Nation credit for gluing it on there, because who has time to shave their pits when zombies are trying to eat you?

Cassandra’s Armpit Hair….Maybe?

The second was Citizen Z sharing a steak with his new dog friend, and the way they used that steak flipping to segue into the Family’s camp, which is where most of the action in Philly Feast takes place.

The third was seeing the Liberty Bell turn into a zombie killing projectile, which is also this episodes Best Zombie Kill:

Best Zombie Kill: Liberty Bell Zombie Killer

If you carefully in the lower right of the image, you can see the legs of the first zombie taken out by the Liberty Bell.

Philly Feast Scoring

Overall, Philly Feast is a solid episode and scored an 80/100, putting it in the Worth Your Time category.

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!

Z Nation, Season 1, Episode 2

Fracking Zombies keeps up the fast paced action and expands the story on multiple fronts.

The crew escorting Murphy is focused on making a gas run, trying to fill up a tanker so they have all the fuel they need to make the long journey to California.

but for me the more powerful half of the episode revolved around Citizen Z. He’s been alone in the artic for a year and the isolation is getting to him. When he sees what appears to be another survivor, his heart swells with hope and joy.

Artic Station Security Footage

The real star of this episode is the

The Best Zombie Kill is a toss up between Doc killing a zombie with his knife and Citizen Z doing his flying leap to kill a zombie dog. Let me know which one you think should win. The flying zombie dog kill would have been a clear winner, but we don’t get to see the whole thing.

Doc with a knife slap to the chin.
Citizen Z about to make a flying leap attack on a zombie dog.

For those of you thinking that 10K with his slingshot of death should win Best Zombie Kill, I’m sorry, you’ve been robbed.

Fracking Zombies Scoring

Fracking Zombies was another great episode and scored 80/100, making it Worth Your Time.

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!