Talk about the horror movie cliche.(OK, so the cliche may not be true.
As befits a show set in Los Angeles, the cast is diverse, but two weeks in, all three black characters who’ve had actual lines are dead. The musical crescendos have a Grade-B quality. Now the police have shot two unarmed civilians - but we viewers know what’s going on.įTWD hits some false notes. The first bullet, in her torso, does nothing. When a second zombie staggers out of the crowd, a female officer shoots her twice. Yes, he was unarmed, but we viewers know he’s not a man. Article content The zombies of The Walking Dead aren’t monsters anymore we know them too wellĪ somewhat contrived scene meant to play uneasily upon our political sensibilities offers a group of police officers surrounded by a jeering crowd, protesting what they believe to be the murder of an unarmed man. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Unlike TWD, FTWD isn’t set in an imaginary world that engages us without threatening us. The ordinariness of life, even as true horror is going on a block or two away, strikes at something far more visceral than – – sigh! - yet another wave of enemies, alive or dead, whom Rick Grimes and his trusty band will successfully fight off. Events slip gradually away, with few thinking anything is amiss. Is the president aboard the airborne command post? What happens when the plane lands?įTWD doesn’t give us the answer, but shows us instead the desperate trust of ordinary people that the powers-that-be will find a way to fix things. One always wonders what’s going on in the White House as the zombies take over. This happens all the time in the standard disaster movie (think The Day After Tomorrow). Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team.īut there must have been a moment when not everybody saw the crisis coming. If we glimpse the disaster at all, it’s either through flashbacks or in a world where things fall apart with ridiculous speed, the quicker to get to the undead hordes. Most stories from the genre begin just where the name suggests - after the apocalypse has occurred. If post-apocalyptic tales serve as catharsis for young people who believe the future to be grim, FTWD offers us characters who experience rather than remember the collapse of civilization. But fans of the original should give the spinoff a chance, because creator Robert Kirkman and his team are on to something important. On Twitter, viewers have derided the show as slow and soap-opera-ish. Critical response has been decidedly mixed.
The spinoff from AMC’s smash hit The Walking Dead amassed record ratings for its debut, but holding its audience may not be easy. Two episodes into the limited run of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, I can safely say that in at least one respect it’s already surpassed the original: It’s creepier. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected.