I have loved zombies all of my life. I suppose I have to blame (or thank, as the case may be) my oldest sister, Lisa, for this absolute truism. From my earliest memories, I know that I have been a lover of the horror genre... and here's why.
I grew up during, and through the aftermath of, the Vietnam War. The world that existed, back then, was such a different place. In many ways, I believe we were a tougher country back then. Not because we were at war, but because kids were treated differently. We were not treated like adults, but we were expected to have brains enough to understand like adults. We certainly were not over-babied the way children are protected today. George Carlin calls it the "Pussification" of the American culture. Being American and seeing this pussification firsthand, I agree with the theorywhole-heartedly.
As a mere child, I was allowed to enter the movie theaters of New Jersey and New York City to see the roughest, baddest movies of the day. And I'm not talking about the standard Hollywood horror fare of the era; I'm talking about the exploitation flicks that rocked city audiences. (Even though I saw all the Hollywood stuff, too)!
At eight (8) years old, I proudly sat in smelly, old theatres and watched Don Coscarelli's "Phantasm" starring Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man. I marveled at George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead", crying when Roger was dying and told his friends that he was going to try not to come back as a zombie and not to kill him until they were sure. I was in attendance for "Hard Core" with George C. Scott when I was still too innocent to wonder about what was making the floor sticky. And I loved watching Wings Hauser beat the living hell out of hookers as Ramrod in "Vice Squad", a violent achievement of low budget cinema. And in most of these masterpieces, there were plenty of b-movie breasts. And all of this before the age of 10!!
Now, before you start judging my parents, you should know that, back then, no one questioned these films. Children were expected to understand; it's just a movie, so view it as such. And for the most part, we were fine with it, too. Except, I did wet the bed the night I saw "Phantasm". (It was honestly one of the longest nights of my life and there was no way I was stepping foot off the bed. Why? So the Tall Man can grab my ankle and yank me under the bed after spouting his catchphrase... "Boy!")
So, I developed a taste for film, the horror genre specifically, which was fed by my older sister's few "Fangoria" magazines. Man, I would spend hours begging her to let me read them and swore I would take care of them. When she would relent, I would read about such people as Dario Argento and John Carpenter and couldn't wait to see their next movies, which were filled with weird, horrific concepts and the origins of the "slasher" movies. But it was that George Romero guy who left an indelible stain on my cinematic heart.
Which brings us to "The Walking Dead". I have the first three black & white, softcover, collected works that I picked up when they were first released a few years back. So, I've been familiar with the property from the start, but since I don't pick up individual comics anymore, I usually just wait for a trade paperback reprint. The TPB is several issues reprinted, bound and usually sells for cheaper than getting each issue would, so why not? The only reason I stopped collecting them after #3 was not because I didn't like the story, it was because I had lost my job and couldn't find the loot to pick up the rest. I fully plan to do so now.
The Walking Dead is not ABOUT zombies. Sure, they are there and often in droves, but the story is not about them as they rarely further the plot. The story is about survival, specifically Rick Grimes' survival and coping with his desperate situation. I was suprised that many issues went by that didn't have zombies in them at all!
I waited patiently for Sunday's premiere, hoping and praying it would be a decent adaptation. I was not disappointed.
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD:
The show's opening scene begins after the zombie apocalypse as Officer Rick Grimes, on his way to Atlanta, pulls his police cruiser over to salvage gasoline, to no avail. He spots a little girl carrying a teddy bear walking away from him and calls to her. She spins around and, you guessed it, she's zombified, braces and all. Rick reluctantly pulls his revolver and ventilates her brains. We're treated to a slow motion shot as she hits the ground. Fade out; Title Sequence.
The next scene is Rick and Shane, his partner, discussing women in good old boy fashion. Shane's kinda funny telling Rick the truths he'd LIKE to say to women, but admits he speaks to them nicer than he really wants to. He's also a little too greedily interested for information about the trouble that Rick and his wife, Lori, are having in their relationship. He asks Rick very personal questions and Rick feels he can confide in him, because they are cops together.
In the line of duty, Rick is careless and is shot by a suprise assailant on his upper left side. Shane tries comfort him and the next thing Rick knows, he's flashing in and out of conscienceness in a hospital bed and Shane is bringing him the cheapest flower bouquet you ever saw and says that everyone chipped in on them. Rick wakes up and talks to Shane but no one's there. We notice Rick has a several week old beard on his face and those flowers he thought Shane just dropped off are as old and dry as Betty White's dusty muffin. Despite not having water or food for who knows how long, Rick seems okay, if still a little wounded.
Rick leaves the room and notices the hospital is abandoned. He tries to make his way out of the hospital, coming across a half eaten corpse of a woman in the hallway (perhaps the nurse left behind to watch over the coma patients?) and a locked door with the legend spraypainted across it "Do Not Open. Dead inside" (my ex-gf had that same phrase tattooed over her heart). There are groans and fingers poking through the cracks of the door as Rick tries to understand what the hell is going on.
Rick passes dozens of dead bodies laid out in rows outside the hospital and as he makes his way home, he finds an abandoned 10 speed bike next to a legless female zombie. This is the first time he really begins to get an idea of what has happened. Once home, he finds it devoid of his wife and son plus their family photos. (Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays Rick, brought some real emotion to these scenes. I never have seen him perform before, but I was impressed with what he brought to the first episode.)
Rick sits on his front stoop and is promptly knocked unconscious by a shovel wielding young boy. The boy, Duane, and his dad Morgan are survivors who have set up shop in Rick's neighbor's home. (The boy's name is Duane Jones, homage to the actor who played Ben in the original "Night of the Living Dead".)
Once Rick wakes up and explains his situation, he convinces them that his still-healing wound is NOT a zombie bite. They explain that they are trying to get over the fact that their loved one, Morgan's wife and Duane's mom, has become a zombie and often returns to the house that they inhabit. Morgan has not yet talked himself into shooting his dead wife through the head.
Rick learns that the CDC aka Center for Disease Control had set up shop in Atlanta, GA and surmises that his wife and son, Carl, went there for safety. He decides to go there to look for them.
The next morning, Rick, Morgan and Duane head to the Sheriff's Office and Rick kills his first zombie by bashing it's head in with a baseball bat. It's pretty savage and sickens Rick, but he seems to be a tough guy and can take it. All 3 survivors happily take a shower at the station, Duane singing and dancing his appreciation for the hot water (it shows how the simple little things like a hot shower can really mean a lot), since there has been no hot water for weeks.
Rick arms himself and dresses in his Sheriff uniform, giving Morgan some weapons and ammunition. Duane wants to learn to shoot and Rick teaches him to respect the weapon. Morgan promises to show him how to shoot, but won't give him a gun before he does.
Morgan tells Rick that he and his son are going to stay in town for the time being and Rick gives him a radio, telling him that he will turn it on every day at dawn, in case Morgan and Duane head to Atlanta, so they can find him. As they prepare to leave, Rick sees a zombie Sheriff's Deputy outside the locked gate. He recognizes him and says that the deputy was pretty much a fool, but that he doesn't deserve to be walking around undead. He mercifully shoots him in the head, ending his torment. Rick takes his police cruiser and heads out.
Before Rick leaves town, he stops at the spot where he found the 10 speed bike and finds the legless female zombie who has crawled a ways away, in search of food. The zombie looks weak and hisses at him, reaching it's bony arm toward him. It's not threatening at this point, just miserably sad. Rick speaks to it, "I'm sorry this happened to you". The zombie just gurgles at him and Rick performs a mercy killing.
Morgan and Duane return home and Morgan heads to the second floor, telling Duane to stay downstairs. Morgan starts blasting zombies through the head from the upstairs window, hoping to draw his wife out. She finally arrives and Morgan sets her up for the kill, but he just can't do it. He cries and gets angry with himself, try to pull the trigger, but he cannot bring himself under control and lets her walk away. Duane is left downstairs, terrified. (Lennie Jones as Morgan is exceptionally good in his emotional scenes, just watching his torment over the decision to put his wife to rest made my eyes well up with tears.)
Rick heads to Atlanta and tries his CB radio. Suprisingly, a group of survivors hear his call and answer, but they are unable to make contact as Rick doesn't hear anything on his end. They call someone over to work the radio and it happens to be Shane, Rick's partner! He tries to answer the call, but cannot get a clear signal. He speaks to Lori, Rick's wife, and we find out that they are romantically entangled, as they make out for a few seconds, until Carl, Rick's son, shows up and Shane acts like nothing and walks away.
Rick's police cruiser runs out of gas and walks to a nearby farmhouse. Looking into the window, he sees that the previous tenants have already killed themselves. He finds a horse in their stable/barn and saddles up like a real cowboy.
The next scenes are my absolute favorite in the premiere. They show Rick on horseback, riding up to and through, the deserted Atlanta streets. It's so eerie seeing a big city so devoid of life. Deserted military vehicles are left abandoned in the streets and there is garbage everywhere. As Rick and his horse trot through this ruined nightmare landscape, he hears a strange noise in the sky; a helicopter flies overhead! As he giddyups the horse, they turn a corner and run into... a street filled with the corpses of The Walking Dead.
He tries to escape, but they are behind him, as well. These zombies are quick, too. Not as fast and enraged as in "28 Days Later", but fast enough to grab Rick's horse. As he scrambles away, he watches the Dead pull the horse down and begin to tear it apart, eating it.
He drops his duffle bag filled with weapons and ammo, but notices a tank nearby. He crawls beneath it, but the Dead begin to crawl after him. He tags a few in the head with his revolver, but there are just too many, so he puts the gun to his temple. At the last second, he notices there is an open hatch on the underside of the Tank and crawls into it. He latches it behind him and scrambles to the top of the tank to shut the top hatch. He is now safely locked inside... a tomb.
Or so he thinks, a zombie soldier is in the tank and Rick blasts him, almost going deaf in the process. Rick tries to keep his cool while his ears stop ringing at the loud shot in such an enclosed metal space. He starts to consider his next option, but it doesn't seem like he has one since there are hundreds of the Dead right outside this location.
It is at this point, the military radio in the tank crackles and someone calls Rick a dumbass. Before Rick can understand, he hears the male voice ask ask "You in the tank. Are you cozy in there?"
The last scene of the episode is a great overhead pullback from the tank with hundreds of zombies banging on the tank, eating the horse and generally staggering around the area. All the while, a weird happy-sounding pop tune plays over the soundtrack. Smash cut to BLACK.
I loved the premiere episode and watched it twice, so far. I am sure I will watch it again before next weeks episode, just to refresh my memory. I can't wait to see how the show deviates from the comic.
I feel that the acting was superb all the way around. Andrew Lincoln and Lennie Jones get major props for showing their emotional acting chops! The rest of the people in this episode were only in a scene or two and didn't get to do much, but I know Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori will show us some decent acting skills. I remember watching her in "Prison Break" and enjoying her performance in that show.
In the series preview, they showed scenes form the next several episodes and I noticed that Michael Rooker shows up. Mr. Rooker is a good actor that shows up from time to time in genre flicks, usually as a villain. He was a demented murderer in "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", a jealous husband/murderer in "Sea of Love", a good guy cowboy in "Tombstone", a good cop in "The Dark Half", he played a bald "Pop Svenning" in Mallrats for Kevin Smith and the man/monster in "Slither". I can't wait to see what he does in this series!
Jeffrey DeMunn shows up for a scene, also, but that's too be expected since he is a Darabont favorite. He was in "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile", "The Majestic" and "The Mist". He's a capable actor and a lot of fun to watch, adding realism to every role he is in.
The rest of the cast are unknown to me and I like that. Sometimes, casting too many stars in a production can weigh it down or give you some kind of expectation that can alter the way you view it. Imagine if Bruce Willis was cast as Rick Grimes... tell me you wouldn't expect him to be talking smack after each zombie headshot! Or if Russell Crowe was Rick, he'd just snarl at everyone and furrow his brow at everything (that's all he does in every role he's ever had).
I like going into watching a show with (mostly) new faces and not knowing anything they have done. That way everything is fresh, from the faces of the actors to their performances.
Sincerely,
Dino
