On the blessed hellride...: November 2010

So, The Walking Dead. I've been way too excited (or busy with other less important stuff, like work, weekend partying and so forth) to have had the time to actually address this phenomenon properly. So here's me, telling you why I like it so much. As simple as these 3 reasons:

1. Modern and still gory zombies
It turns out they actually can be made. I usually express my frustration over these modern zombie creations (e.g. Day of the Dead 2008, Diary of the Dead 2007) where you always seem to find a flaw; one without equivalent make-up, a dozen of them running too fast, a handful climbing the walls (really?), a couple with inhuman (hilarious irony) strength, an infected/transformed (your pick) old lady with too clean shoes. The list can be made long.

And I don't have an OCD with zombie, I take no obsessed pleasure in seeing them eating flesh and ripping out intestines while uttering guttural, retarded noises. But I'm still a girl of principal, and considering the fit I wanna throw when I see the mentally twisted (e.g. glittering) versions of vampires (I will address my vampire infatuation in a future post) I consider imitation and appearances to be an important factor. The zombies of The Walking Dead are like a remodeled, more handsome (that means more credibly replicated) version of the generation that ravaged in Dawn of the Dead (2004). The makeup seems to be perfected (after what I guess are countless hours of work), the acting is on spot and what special effects have been presented so far, have been satisfying and not over the top. Thank you AMC.

2. Suspenseful and people oriented
This is one of the first tv-shows that makes its pilot and initial episodes to stay focused on the pray and not the killing itself. Sure, there have been a few chases, obviously a couple of deaths (with so many zombies hanging around), some lost comrades and the travesty of a brutally slayed horse (I hate when people mess with animals).

Here you get to familiarize with the characters while the zombies are off, plotting whatever small minded plans they can plot in their pea sized brains. It's fascinating this focus on character apperance, story telling and expectation building. It's a huge suspense waiting for the hands on, full front, up close battle.

3. Fascination with fear
And not just the horror related. I really don't fantasize of being one of the flesh devouring zombies, moaning and stumbling around in dirty underwear without any thought process. I have a fascination with emotional fear, as well. It makes me desire the survival instinct that kicks in with humans and the human mind, when they're put in situations similar to a destruction-of-the-world one. People putting their lives and minds to the utter edge of survival and losing all that's worth something along the way. The whole camp idyll in this show gives me serious LOST vibes. And I love it. This can only end in emotional disaster and deranged mental efforts on the verge of insanity. The one that makes your stomach twist, watching it.

And I love how they've already had to make such a camouflage that they dressed themselves as zombies, smeared in intestines and dead-zombie-guy-blood. Fabulous.