Night of the Living Dead Review

Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero's original zombie film that created the mold that almost every subsequent zombie story would follow for years to come. 

Before Night of the Living Dead, the zombie genre usually referred to mindless slaves under a spell of some kind (usually Voodoo), yet it is George A. Romero's classic suspense horror film that created the foundation on which the modern zombie genre is based on. As a fan of the Walking Dead and a few other zombie franchises, I wanted to see where the craze started, but does it live up to its undead legacy?

Directed by: George A. Romero
Genre: Zombie, Horror, Suspense,
Release Date: October 1, 1968
Running Time: 95 minutes
MMPA rating: N/A (PG-13)

The Good: Revolutionary concept, Duane Jones as Ben is excellent, Shockingly dark for the era,

The Bad: Atrocious acting, Lacks suspense, Weak characters (outside of Ben),

Plot: 7.2/10- Conceptually Night of the Living Dead is groundbreaking and revolutionary in almost every way. In execution however, the film suffers from its extremely low budget and B-movie aspects. On the positives, the way zombies in the film are portrayed (although the movie never refers to them as "zombies,” but rather ghouls) is almost exactly how they are today. Once you die, you come back within a few minutes to feast upon the flesh of the living, unless the brain is destroyed. Unfortunately, the thrills do not hold up today at all. While other classic horrors films such as Psycho and Alien are just as thrilling today as they were years ago, Night of the Living Dead rarely borders on suspenseful.

Characterization: 3.5/10- The main character, Ben, is notable for being one of the first black main characters in a major motion picture, and he is easily the best aspect of the film. He is smart, calm, and has common sense in terms of dealing with the "ghouls," whereas the other characters are often dumb and selfish. The female lead, Barbra, is completely helpless, catatonic, and incredibly annoying. Sure, she does have a reason for freaking out, but does she have to be so annoying? The other characters are thinly defined and dumb for the majority of the film.

Direction: 6.5/10- For the time, the zombie killing action was new, so I will give it a few points for that.

Acting: 2.1/10- Outside of Duane Jones' performance as Ben, which is rather good, the rest of the cast is horrid! Granted, this is a B-movie, but does the acting have to be this unbearable!? Almost every single actor's delivery is either over-the-top or monotone and dull.

Special effects: 7.8/10- For such a low budget, the zombie makeup and fleshing eating gore still holds fairly well today. It is certainly dated, but in the black and white, it looks alright.

Soundtrack: 2.3/10- Literally taken from another B-movie, The Hideous Sun Demon, the score is about as generic and typical of the B-movie horror genre as it gets.

Humor: N/A- Despite some acting that is so bad it makes you laugh, there is not any humor.

Entertainment Value: 6.2/10- In spite the horrible acting, seeing where the zombie genre and its tropes began kept me intrigued for the majority of the film.

Overall: 6.1/10- Despite virtually inventing a genre, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is not a classic that stands the test of time, unless of course, you love corny B-movies. With that said, Night of the Living Dead does feature several strong elements amidst a bevy of horrible acting and cheesy dialogue.

Closing comments: Fans of the zombie genre should watch Night of the Living Dead solely for the sake of viewing the original film that started it all. Others however, you should probably give this a pass in favor of superior zombie media like The Walking Dead or Romero's sequels.

Recommended for: Zombie fans, Classic movie fans, B-movie fans,

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Fear the Walking Dead Premieres Tonight

Fear the Walking Dead premieres tonight! Fear the Walking Dead is a spinoff of the popular Walking Dead TV series Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, and Frank Dillane set in Los Angeles. The author of the comic, Robert Kirkman, is also one of the writers for the new series. With the new zombie series airing, tomorrow I will be reviewing the original zombie movie that started it all, Night of the Living Dead!

I am extremely skeptical about whether or not Fear the Walking Dead will be able to capture what made the original great, at least during those few really good seasons. Of course, whether it is awful or not, I will watch it since I am a fan. With that said, the original Walking Dead has been very inconsistent since Season 3, and it makes me wonder if Fear will be more like the first season, which was great, or like the current series, which, while very good, can lose focus on its main goal at times.If there is enough interest, I might review the first episode. Are you going to watch the series? What do you expect from it? Please comment below, and check tomorrow for my review of Night of the Living Dead.

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The Walking Dead Season 4 Finale Review

Season four of The Walking Dead has come to a close, does it live up to the hype?

*Massive Spoilers for the finale below*

After six episodes that are almost entirely setup and one episode that might the best the series has produced to date, we have "A," the season finale that finally reveals what's up with Terminus.

"A" opens with a flashback where we get to see Hershel again, as well as the inception of Farmer Rick. In a season finale where we really need to get the plot moving, the flashbacks almost started to annoy me because I wanted plot progression and these kept getting in the way of the suspense. However, those flashbacks were there to show how Rick changed from Farmer Rick to Bada** Killer Rick. Even though some of those added scenes were good, I felt like there were a few too many of them because, as one IGN critic basically said, the writers spelled it out a little to clearly for the audience that Rick has changed. Showing that he has changed is great for giving us a confirmed identity of the character and his attitude, but a few less scenes in the past could have given us the same effect while still moving the plot forward, at least for those that are avid fans of the series and not the casual viewer. Despite my compliant, this flashback thing was not a huge issue in the end, just a little unnecessary.

Getting back to the present with Rick, Michonne, and Carl, we finally get the long awaited confrontation between Joe's group and Rick and company, and it was probably the most satisfying part of the entire episode. That scene was intense! I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Daryl to show up or for Rick and others to do something. Since I figured all three of the characters are virtually untouchable in terms of being killed, I did not expect anyone to die, but it was suspenseful nonetheless. Then Daryl showed up and instantly did the noble thing and try to sacrifice himself to save the others. Some people on the internet suggested that Daryl might make a tough decision when they finally met up, I knew the writers would keep Daryl as the noble bada** redneck. What surprised me the most is when Rick goes all Walker over Joe and bits a chunk out of his neck and kills him! Jacob and I were in complete "What the Heck!" shock when that happened! Michonne and Daryl taking out the rest of Joe's guys with Rick ripping apart the guy that messed, was very well done. After the fight, there was a great moment between Rick and Daryl with Rick basically saying "You're my brother" to Daryl. I really liked that part. Daryl had so many fantastic moments during the episode in general that I was impressed. Also, on a side note, that scene is said to be heavily inspired by a very similar scene from the comics.

Brothers to the end

Moving on to Terminus, Rick and other not going through the front door of Terminus was a smart move for both the character and the writers to take since Rick is not going to be dumb and trusting anymore. He protects his family and friends first and foremost; no more Farmer Rick. Rick attacking the Terminus guy so soon was not exactly the smartest thing since they were not exactly in the most strategic position. But the action was nonetheless very well done and had some great wide angle shots.

The theorists were correct, the people of Terminus are cannibals! Or at least that is what is being heavily implied with the human carcasses in that pen. If I and others had not basically figured out that they were cannibals, it would have been even more shocking, but it was still a big surprise, especially how it was portrayed. My guess is that the meat on the grill wasn't one of your typical verity of meat if you know what I mean. The entire place is majorly creepy, and the cult like symbols on the walls made it even more eerie. 

After being chased towards the train car, with an A on it, hence the title of the episode, Rick and company finally met up with Glenn, Maggie, and the others with one very cool scene of the group walking forward from the dark, which actually gave me chills. Rick gives an epic speech that ended somewhat oddly. Once he said "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out..." I thought he was actually going to mention something important that the Terminus did not know like a secret escape or that a large herd of Walkers were on the way, but alas, the season ends with him declaring "They're screwing with the wrong people." Not a bad way to end it, but a little disappointing and uneventful. Also, on a general note, the episode had excellent direction, truly top notch stuff.

Now for my thoughts of the episode as a finale. It was great, easily the second best episode of this half season behind the instant classic "The Grove," and a lot better than Season 3's finale, but still not everything that I wanted to see. After so much setup, I expected something big that would give resolution to the Terminus thing as well as all of the characters. Unfortunately, we still do not know anything about Beth or what is happening to Carol and company. My guess is that next season Carol and Tyreese will be the ones to help break the gang out of Terminus. If you thought you might have heard them in the containers as Rick and others were running through Terminus, some fans went back and analyzed the audio and virtually confirmed that those voices were not theirs. My other guess is that Carol and Tyreese are behind the rest of the groups since they took a few days to "Look at the flowers," if you know what I mean. Among the general expected parts, there was one thing that surprised me more than anything else: the lack of a main character dying! In fact, only Joe's group, one Terminus guy, and that one guy that Carl saw get eaten were the only casualties of the episode. After being on the edge-of-my-seat waiting for someone to die, no one died. However, I am actually happy that no one died (unless it was Tara) because I really like these characters. My theory is that Bob, Sasha, or Glenn/Maggie are the next to die since all of those characters were built up even this past season. As a finale, "A" was very strong. Despite the lack of true resolution, the ending of the episode had me more excited and pumped to see what was coming next than ever before. 

Overall: 9.3/10- Despite some flaws, "A" was a strong finale that makes me all the more excited to see what is in store for Rick and the gang next!

My review for the entire season 4 will come at some point within the next two months, so until next season, remember...

Sorry, I had to do it.

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Walking Dead Finale Tonight!

Despite its ups and downs, The Walking Dead is still a great, yet inconsistent, series and I am sad to see the season end. I almost feel as though it has just started, but watching and reviewing The Walking Dead these past eight weeks has been a lot of fun, and I will definitely continue to review the series it returns in October. Plus, we will be getting a Walking Dead spin-off series in 2015. My guess is that it is going to have something to do with Washington DC, either that or a different group entirely disconnected from the events of this series. 

The second half of season four has had its moments of frustration, especially due to the slow pace the characters are moving the plot along. However, it has brought back some of the survival aspects to the series, as well as focusing more on my favorite characters Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie. Now that I am watching the series on a weekly basis, I can see why so many viewers were frustrated with season two and the farm.

As for the finale itself, I am excited, yet worried that either one of my favorite characters are going to die or the finale is going to be a disappointment. 

My review for season four as a whole will be coming at some point in the near future, as well as my review for the finale a week from today. 

Are you excited for the finale? Please comment below.

Yeah, I have a twisted sense of humor

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Walking Dead: Us Review

After one of the best episodes of the entire series last week and that this is the second to last episode of the season, there was a lot riding on it. 

*Massive Spoilers are Ahead*

Unfortunately, "Us" was not fantastic, but it was another standard episode that ended on a high note. 

Glenn's determination to find Maggie was great. Most everything about his character was done very well. Eugene, Rostia, and Abraham all had good scenes. Eugene, aka Doctor Mullet, was very cool in the episode and he is actually turning out to be a much better character than I had expected. I am still not entirely sure if he is telling the truth or not about knowing the secret about the beginning of the infection. Tara continues to be the worst part of the series for me, but it is best not to say anything more about that.

Daryl's part with Joe's gang was cool. The concept of "claiming" things and the laws of the their ways was interesting. Seeing that dirt bag try and frame Daryl and then get what's coming to him was great! Even though Daryl has grown as a character, I was glad he decided not to cover the body of that guy. My brother and I were actually saying "Don't do it Daryl. He does deserve it." The brutal system of honor-among-thieves was a great contrast to the other group. Also, the "There's nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that think's he's an indoor cat." allegory was clever. 

Seeing Rick, Michonne, and Carol was good and it setup for the reveal that Joe's group is following them. The Michonne and Carol duo is a lot of fun, especially with the candy bar. Obviously, Daryl is going to either convince them not to kill Rick and others, or Daryl is going to kill Joe's group. My question though is: what happened to Beth!? I sure hope they tell us something in the finale next week.

Now for the first big part of the episode: Maggie and Glenn's reunion! Thankfully they did not die before seeing each other again, and since they are two of my favorite characters, I really hope not neither of them dies in tomorrow's episode. Their reunion after shooting up all of the Walkers was a great cheer moment in the episode; however, the burning of Maggie's picture was a little on the sappy side.

As for the other big reveal: We finally got to see Terminus! After an entire half season we finally get to see Terminus! I do not know about you, but flowers and that women gave off some majorly creepy vibes. The entire place looked eerie and like it is too good to be true. People are theorizing that Terminus is a trap and that they might be cannibals, which is not a bad theory, although I am kind of hoping that is not the case. 

Overall: 8.2/10- While not even close to the mind blowing amazing episode last week, "Us" finally got most of the group to Terminus. Tomorrow's finale better be freaking amazing, because we have waited long enough.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Walking Dead: The Grove Review

Wow, after watching "The Grove" I was completely speechless, and I am still in complete and utter shock.

*Major spoilers*

Wow! I am still in shock. The writers of the Walking Dead are a bunch of sick SOBs. Again, if you have not seen the episode, go watch it. Now that everyone reading has most likely seen the episode by now: holy crap Lizzie murdered Mika! And Carol killed Lizzie! Wow, just wow, that has to be one of the most messed  up things I have ever seen. Before all the crazy crap started happening, I was really enjoying the episode a lot more than I expected since Carol has never been one of my favorite characters. But when Carol and Tyreese were joking and then walked up on Lizzie with a bloody knife and her sister lying on the ground, I was like "What the heck..." After that, my brother and I did not speak a word until the end of the episode. Seriously, I still cannot believe the writers had Lizzie kill her sister and Carol kill Lizzie. It was crushing, shocking, and incredibly saddening. 

A lot of people seem to hate Lizzie, but I always liked her because she is mentally messed up. Obviously, from how the characters acted, Lizzie had some mental problems before the outbreak. The actresses for Lizzie and Mika were both much improved, which made their shocking deaths all the more powerful. When Mika saved Lizzie from being bite by the Walker and the creepy burnt Walkers attacking, I thought Lizzie was finally convinced that they have to kill Walkers. So that made the reveal that Lizzie committed sororicide all the more shocking, and to make it even more messed up, Lizzie was going to kill Judith next! Carol having to talk her down from killing Judith next was majorly suspenseful. To add even more insanity, is that Carol had to kill Lizzie! I still cannot believe she killed her. I expected her and Lizzie just to leave, but she did what she had to do to keep everyone safe. Carol has never been one of my favorite characters, but she has improved a lot in this episode. You begin to wonder if she understands this new apocalypse better than anyone else. Moving onto the next bombshell, the tension between Carol and Tyreese finally came to fruition when Carol finally admitted that she killed Tyreese's girlfriend. What was even more unexpected is that Tyreese turned out to be the better man and actually forgive Carol! That was unexpected, but I really liked how the conflict was resolved. Carol gave Tyreese the chance to kill her for what she did and he chose not to do it. Both Carol and Tyreese have become much more likable characters. 

As a whole, this is easily a Top 10 Episodes of the series for me at least. It is seriously messed and I cannot believe the series went there with Lizzie and Mika.

Overall: 10/10- Without a doubt, "The Grove" is the best episode of this half season, if not the best of season four. It reminded us how truly amazing and dark The Walking Dead can be when it tries.

My thoughts during this scene: "What the heck........ Lizzie killed Mika? *Incomprehensible babble*"

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The Walking Dead: Alone Review

The Walking Dead picks up the pace again with another strong episode that gave some good Walker killing action along with some new characters. 

*Spoilers for the entire episode are ahead.*

"Alone" opening was horrifying, but not it had nothing to do with the Walkers. The opening with Bob had me afraid that the series took an incredibly strange time-leap since Bob looked different. Thankfully however, it was just a flashback that made me feel incredibly stupid for not figuring it out sooner. My biggest positive with the episode, other than Daryl being generally awesome, is that Bob has changed from being one of my most disliked characters into a really good character in just one episode. Despite the limited screen time, Bob's character took some significant and believable steps forward in terms of character development. Bob's moment with Sasha was great. "I'm going to try something here" *Kisses Sasha* "Well okay." That scene made me laugh! You gotta love Bob approach: He is like, "well okay, it was worth a shot." In general Bob's character was a lot better in the episode. 

Daryl and Beth's interaction was a lot better this episode, even if a few scenes had some odd romantic tension. The Walker attack was a great scene of suspense and action, especially with the eerie night setting. The Walkers in the mist attack earlier in the episode with Maggie's group was even creepier and it was very well filmed. Maggie, or as I like to call her now "Psycho Maggie," was particularly awesome this episode. Her desperate search for Glenn has turned her into a somewhat crazy character, albeit for good reason, but considering that I, for some weird reason, like that type of female character, I like the change. It would be even more tragic if Glenn or Maggie died at this point, although either one of their deaths would not be good for the series at this point. 

What exactly happened to Beth? In one review someone suggested that Beth drove off in a frantic rush for safety. However, I thought it was heavily implied that someone basically kidnapped her. Did I miss something? Which do you think happened to her? I am mostly sure she was kidnapped.

Daryl meeting Joe's group presents some interesting places for the story to go. His group seems like a crazy group of killers. Isn't Joe the same character that invaded the house that Rick and the others were in?

My biggest issue of the entire episode is the problem that has plagued the second half of the season in general, lack of progression. At this point I am reserved to the fact that we will not be getting to see everyone together until the last two episodes, so it is not bothering me as much as it has others.

Overall: 8.6/10- Overall, "Alone" was another strong entry that some viewers will not like due to the lack progression, but other than that, it was a very good episode.

Note: Normally I will not go this picture crazy with my short Walking Dead reviews, but I thought they were needed for this review.

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The Walking Dead: Still Review

Finally! An entire episode about everyone's favorite crossbow wielding redneck zombie slayer, Daryl Dixon.
*Spoilers Ahead*

Considering that Daryl is basically everyone's favorite character, myself included, an episode that focuses on only him and Beth was an exciting idea, and while it was a very good episode, it was not the best. After seeing her father decapitated by the Governor, Beth basically wants to become an alcoholic for no other reason than her father is dead. While her motives for wanting to get a drink because she can and to help her get past her father's death could be an intriguing idea, the execution was lacking. Beth has been one of my favorite side characters of the Walking Dead series for a while, and getting to see more of her was a good thing, but she bordered on annoying for half the episode. She is certainly not the next "Andrea" as some are saying though. If I am not mistaken, this is the first Walking Dead episode to only feature two non-dead characters (thanks for info Jamie). 

Daryl acted like a pissed-off jerk for the first half of the episode and while he did have reason to be angry, he was not really Daryl, which was odd. Thankfully we got to hear some of his backstory in the old abandoned moonshiner shack and develop his character a lot more. As for the possible romance between Daryl and Beth, I hope it does not happen because the age gap is 17 years. Hopefully there will continue to be no romance for Daryl in the future. The spoon with Washington DC on it was obviously hinting at the possibility of characters heading that way in the future, but I hope that will only be for the spin-off series. The final resolution between Daryl and Beth after getting drunk was satisfying and well executed as they essentially flipped off the past. Per-usual, the zombie horror and action was intense and creepy. The series never ceasing to impress me with its ability to produce nail biting suspense!

And yes, that was a real snake that Norman Reedus was eating.

Overall: 8.2/10- As a Daryl fan, part of me wants to say that this was a fantastic episode, but the critic side of me keeps saying that it has some flaws. In the end, "Still" might be a filler episode, but it was still entertaining.

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The Walking Dead: Claimed Review

The Walking Dead continues its high quality with another very solid episode.

*Spoilers for the episode are ahead*

First off, we learn that Eugene, or as I like to call him "Doctor Mullet," knows the secret behind the infection! Not surprisingly, he cannot tell anyone the truth because that is "classified." The idea of a possible cure for the infection is somewhat of an intriguing concept, but that would kind of cheapen the amazing premise of the series. If anything, the upcoming Walking Dead spin-off series should handle the cure and leave our main group out of it. That being said, I am not sure if Doctor Mullet actually knows anything useful or not, but he is definitely inept because of how he stupidly shot the truck up. I know that character is in the comics, but I do not want to know what happened so I have not looked into that. 

The opening with Abraham's introduction was great, and thus far, I am really liking the character how charismatic he is. While I believe he probably has ulterior motives, if he is trying to make up for something he did in his past, then Abraham could turn out to be a cool character and not just another Governor. Overall, the new characters are likable and Glenn's determination early in the episode was great. I did however have a problem with Rosita's attire. 

Sure, cosplaying as Lara Croft (left) from Tomb Raider or Revy (right) from Black Lagoon is perfectly suitable attire for a zombie apocalypse (sarcasm).

As for the Rick, Carl, and Michonne's part of the episode, it was much improved compared to "After." Thankfully Michonne continues to develop into something more than just a brooding ronin and into a well developed character that happens to have the most Walker killing weapon ever. The whole interaction between Carl and Michonne was great, and I am really enjoying the best friend type of relationship developing between them. The scenes with Rick were intense! The scavengers were unexpected and how Rick killed that guy to create a distraction was great, even if I did not catch on to what he was trying to do until later. 

There is not a lot that I disliked about the episode. It was not perfect or one of the best by any means, but it was a good continuation of the storyline. Now that the groups are split up, the series is back to the struggle to survive feel of the first season, which I am enjoying a lot.

Overall: 8.3/10- While mostly setup, "Claimed" was another very solid episode that introduced us to a new group of great characters.

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know!

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The Walking Dead "Inmates" Review

After a less than satisfying mid-season premiere episode, The Walking Dead has a return to form with "Inmates."
*Spoilers Ahead*
Finally! Daryl has returned! In general, season four has had a severe lack of Daryl and while he is barely featured in this episode, the little bit we did get to see was more than welcome! After watching Beth's opening monologue, I actually turned to Jacob, my brother and fellow critic, and said, "That opening monologue was better than the entire previous episode!" While I did not hate "After," for a mid-season premiere, it was less than satisfactory, especially compared to "Inmates." Why wasn't "Inmates" the mid-season opener? It was fast paced, suspenseful, and it had all of the characters that we actually care about! The reason as to why "Inmates" was not the opener is that we, the audience, still had to believe that Judith was dead. Speaking of which, even though I was not surprised she was still alive and that Lizzie saved her, I am mostly indifferent about her surviving. Maybe when Rick and Carl find out, they will not be as mopey and conflicting. Here is a breakdown of the different groups and my thoughts.

Daryl and Beth: Despite being brief, more Daryl is always a good thing! Beth has been one of my favorite characters that has yet to be given enough screen-time, so the team of Beth and Daryl was good to see.

Tyreese, Lizzie, Mika, and Judith: Seeing Tyreese trying to take care of the kids was great! Lizzie continues to be an awesomely psychotic little girl. When she started to smother Judith was almost thought for a minute that she was going to end up killing her! That would be one sick way of doing it, but I would not put it past the writers on the Walking Dead. Mika is okay, but her sister is the real star. When Carol turned out to be the one that saved the children and then met Tyreese, my first thought was: "Oh crap, this is going to get interesting!" For the first few minutes, I kind of forgot that Rick never told Tyreese what happened, so it was a little more suspense than it would have been otherwise, but it still a great scene.

Maggie, Sasha, and Bob: Maggie has always been another personal favorite character of mine, especially that Hershel is gone. Her frantic search for Glenn and killing the Walkers on the bus was a great, for the most part. Her smashing the head of the Walker into the side of the bus was a little odd in how it was filmed and portrayed, but the rest of that scene was great. As usual, it was freaking suspenseful! But more on that next.

Glenn and Stupid Girl: One compliant many viewers have had is that the reveal that Glenn is not dead was spoiled in the previews, which is somewhat of a dumb argument. First off, if you do not want to be spoiled, just do not watch the preview! I never watch the preview for any TV show since I know it will likely spoil something. The only time it is unavoidable is when there is a commercial on TV, but other than that, it is really your fault. As for the reveal itself, it was not surprising in the least because we know Glenn cannot die yet, but that did not prevent me from being on the edge-of-my-seat in suspense and the reveal that Glenn was still at the prison was great and unexpected. What I did not like about his part is that he saved that woman from the Governor's camp. While he had his reasons, she is a character that I wish would just die because she is incredibly annoying!

In general, you could say that the episode was emotionally manipulative and that the creators of the show were just toying with us, and if it was any other show out there, I would be inclined to agree, but The Walking Dead's great suspense relies on the fact that we do care about (most) of these characters, which drives the suspense. No other live-action has put me on the edge-of-my-seat as much as The Walking Dead has, and now that I am watching it week to week without having any inclination of what is going to happen each week, the suspense is raised to even higher levels.

The ending with the brief introduction of Abraham, Eugene,  and Rosita from the comic will surely please those that have read it (myself not included... yet).

Overall: 8.8/10- Despite not having quite enough time to devote to each group of characters, "Inmates" was an excellent return to form that reminds us why we all love watching The Walking Dead in the first place, the characters! And it actually answered all of our questions, in one episode!

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Walking Dead: "After" Review

The Walking Dead finally returns after its mid-season break, but was "After" worth the wait? As usual with my TV episode reviews, massive spoilers about the episode are ahead, so go watch the episode before you continue reading.
*Warning Spoilers are Ahead*

"After" shows the aftermath of the prison attack and the shocking death of one of my favorite characters, Hershel Greene. As expected, the episode follows what happened to Rick and Carl after the group split, but unfortunately, the episode rehashes some old themes with the conflict between Rick and Carl. Most of the episode featured Carl brooding and being angry at Rick for not treating him like a man. Haven't we already seen this conflict resolved in previous episodes? Or am I forgetting something. I am debating whether or not Carl make sense since he is still a teen, or at the same time, he acted more mature in the past. In the end, some of the scenes worked, others did not; it was mostly a mixed bag for me. When Carl sees the video games and has a this moment of joy, but then returns back to his survival self was a very well executed scene. Also, the part where he eats all of the chocolate pudding was perfect! And kind of hilarious, especially the part where he tells Rick that he did it. Speaking of Rick, I kept thinking: "There is no way that he is going to die, but maybe he will." I do not know why, but the way the episode presented his character, it seemed as though there was a slight chance that he would die, but in the back of mind, I knew they could not actually do it. Even though Rick acting like a zombie was something that I expected when he would not wake up, seeing Carl breakdown, unable to shoot his father, was well done. The best part of the episode was most definitely Michonne's scenes. The trippy dream-sequence/flashback was filmed brilliantly, particularly the part where her knife turns into her Samurai sword. Considering what Michonne had said in the past, it was obvious that she once had a child, but I did not expect her to he so well off since she sounded as though she had a difficult past before the zombies apocalypse. Hopefully we will get to see more of her backstory since her character is finally starting to be fully realized. My only compliant with the Michonne part is that the zombies seemed surprisingly easy to tame considering that in season three Milton said that the lack of arms and other methods to attack made the zombies easier to tame. However, I wish she did not kill her pack zombies again since I really liked that about her character in the third season.

As usual with the series, the zombie action was suspenseful as ever some very tense scenes that reminded me why The Walking Dead is such a great series. With the exception of a few characters, no one is safe, therefore every zombie encounter is suspenseful and exciting! Also, as always with the show, the effects for the zombies and everything was top notch.

Opening with a clear picture of the Government with a clearly defined bullet hole in his head that confirms that we will not be seeing him return as a Walker, although that would have been interesting. Alsp, seeing Hershel's zombified head was unexpected for sure, but it was good to confirm that his body was, indeed, dead.

Overall: 7.3/10- "After" gave us a solid, albeit not fantastic, episode that showed the aftermath of the mid-season finale, hopefully we will get to see more of everyone's favorite character, Daryl, next week.

Note: The ratings for The Walking Dead are not relative to other TV reviews such as Agents of SHIELD.

Providing these reviews have a decent readership, I will continue to post them as I watch the series. One other thing, this episode almost topped the Olympics in terms of ratings, and it did topped the Olympics in the most desired demographic. Considering that the Walking Dead is on cable and the Olympics is on network TV, that is mighty impressive!

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below.

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The Walking Dead Season 3 Review

Season four of the Walking Dead is premiering Sunday and in preparation, here is my review for season three of The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead season three, the season that finally finds a balance between action and character drama. Season three of the Walking Dead delivers everything that I wanted from the series since I started watching it and many things I did not even know I wanted. Almost everything about season three is just better than what has come before. The action is grander, the characters are better portrayed, and the effects are improved, everything except the finale and anything with Andrea is fantastic. Not every episode throughout the season is the best, but it is a lot more consistent than season two and featured some of the best episodes of the series to date. One of the best aspects of The Walking Dead as a whole is its ability to just kill off characters without warning. As soon as you think everyone is safe, BOOM someone dies. Once someone is dead, there is no coming back or copouts; that character is dead and often without a dramatic sendoff, which is actually realistic (if you consider the whole zombie apocalypse thing realistic to start with). Because the series creates such deep and likable characters that seem like real people, when a main character dies, you really feel that character's death much more than just about any other show. Also, the characters are much better developed than most any other show out there.

The town of Woodbury is where much of the season takes and that is actually a real place in Georgia that I have been through several times. However, the Woodbury scenes are not actually filmed there, but in Senoia, Georgia.

*Major Spoilers*
While this is not necessarily a problem with the show, it seems like a running joke that the token black guy must die. First the big black guy in the prison dies, then T-Dog dies soon as he shows actual character development, which is fine since he was kind of a useless character anyway. Next, both of the black prisoners die. Since Michonne probably cannot die because she is such an important character in the comics, Tyreese has to be the next one to go. This whole section is just a joke because I am not saying the show is racist; it is just a funny coincidence that the black guy always seems to die.
*End Spoilers*

The Good: Shocking deaths, Hershel is now a great character, Daryl is even more awesome, Impressive action scenes, Intriguing new setting, The Governor is a fantastic villain, Many "holy crap I can't believe that just happened!" moments, Improved special effects, Entertaining shootouts, Well chosen licensed music, Same eerie main theme, Everything about the previous seasons but better, Great new characters, Michonne, Carol isn't annoying, Consistently strong episodes (mostly), Rick's inner conflict and struggle,

The Bad: Andrea, Andrea, Andrea, and did I mention Andrea?, Disappointing finale,


Plot: 9.8/10- The Walking Dead's plot was mostly consistent and well paced compared to the previous season. The season introduces several new characters, new locations, and shocking twists throughout. Season three is more about fighting other people than previous seasons since the group has discovered how to more easily kill the Walkers. The way society dissolves after the apocalypse is fascinating and the show gives us an in depth look into how that happens. With the Walkers everywhere, seeing how people cope with the Walkers and see them as everyday occurrences is interesting. The pacing of the season is much improved over what has previously been in the series with more action and "stuff" and "things" actually happening, rather than just sitting around waiting for the characters to do something like much of season two.
*Major Spoilers*
After the bombshell ending of season two that revealed that everyone is infected and if you die, you come back as a Walker, unless your brain is taken out, the whole game has changed as well as how they deal with death. It brings a whole new dynamic to the series.
Now for the major deaths of season three. First off Lori's death: She probably had one of the better sendoffs of the series thus far, making her death one of the more saddening ones. However, after her death, the series turned out significantly better than it had previously been and her lack of presence was actually a positive rather than a negative in the end, even if her death was tragically shocking. Her ghostly presence was a little annoying at times, but Rick's descent into madness was one of the best character journeys I have seen. While Axel's death was not saddening, it was shocking! He was just talking and then BOOM! He's dead. That was one of the most "holy crap" moments of the series. Probably the saddest death of the season goes to Merle, who started to become one of my favorite characters in his last few episodes, and seeing Daryl's reaction made it one of the best deaths of the series. As for Andrea's death, it was one of the happiest parts of the season for me. Andrea is, hands down, my most hated character of the series and even though she had some good moments in season three, she was majorly annoying most of the time. Even though rooting for anyone to be killed by a Walker is difficult in the series, I was almost rooting for her to die, which actually happened! I was thinking "Ding-dong the witch is dead" after she finally died.
Now for some non death related spoilers: Glenn and Maggie are a great couple; one of the best on television, and their relationship never overshadows the plot. Hershel losing his leg was shocking and Rick having to cut it off was one of the more gruesome scenes of the series. The Governor is one of the best parts of the season since David Morrissey sounds just like Liam Neeson from Taken; plus his character is one of the best psychopaths since the Joker. There are so many things to talk, but that will be for another time.
*End Spoilers*


Action: 9.7/10- Best action scenes on a live-action television series, hands down. Season three ramped up the zombie action and violence along with some great shootouts and tactical battles between humans. Now that the group is running low on ammo, they are forced to use close quarters combat to battle the Walkers, which makes for some of the most intense and suspenseful actions scenes anywhere.

Acting: 9.9/10- With the exception of Laurie Holden, the acting is all around fantastic. Danai Gurira as Michonne takes a few episodes to really grow into her role, but does well by the later half of the season. In my discussion of each character, I will go more in depth about the actors and the characters.

Production Value/Special effects: 10/10- Best production value on television, at least on basic cable. All of the makeup for the Walkers are fantastic and creepy. All of the prosthetics and effects used to show the kills are very impressive. Occasionally, you can notice that CGI is used, but most of the effects are practical and look realistic.

Soundtrack: 8.3/10- The main theme remains the same eerie tune of the previous seasons, just with new visuals. Most of the background is not particularly noticeable but it serves its purpose in building suspense. One of the biggest problems with TV shows is when an episode ends with a licensed, usually sad, song that is suppose to add "emotion" or something to the ending and I hate that almost every time it is used. However, the Walking Dead manages to actually use licensed songs effectively, which is a major compliment coming from me.

Humor: 6.2/10- The Walking Dead is not a particularly humorous series, however Merle does provide some great humorous moments, even if many of them are kind of dark.

Overall: 9.6/10- Season three of The Walking Dead improves upon the flaws of seasons past as well as adding some great new characters. Everything about season three is just better, and it is one of the best seasons of any live-action television series I have ever seen; it is just that amazing.

Closing comments: As before, if you do not mind the violence, watch the Walking Dead! It is one of the best televisions shows on today.

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The Walking Dead Season 2 Review

Thoughts: After a strong critically and publicly acclaimed first season would you expect the executives to do? Fire the writers of the series. Yeah, no one expected that, which made fans skeptical for the show's return: did it live up to the hype? Both yes and no. While the series have more than twice as many episodes as the merger six of the first season, which is a plus, several of the episodes and one story arc were noticeably weaker than the previous season. However, that is not to say that season two is bad, in fact, season two has some truly amazing episodes and some truly disappointing ones that makes you wish the old writers were back. In the end, season two is still better than a lot of shows I have seen and certainly worthy of a viewing, even if it does not match the quality that the first season set.

Unlike viewers who watched the series from the beginning on a  week to week basis, my brother and I watched season two is a little less than two weeks, which is important to take into account for this review for several reason. For one, the lack of plot movement between episodes four and seven are not nearly as grueling when you can watch the next episode in less than a day. *Minor Spoiler* However, I can image many losing some interest in the Sophia story arc since even I felt those episodes dragged on unnecessarily. If you were watching them on a weekly basis, the arc lasted more than a month, but the conclusion was satisfying enough in the end even though it lose some impact due to the length of the arc. *End Spoiler* During those episodes, the weakest part of season two is displayed with some overly melodramatic moments. Don't get me wrong, the character interaction and drama is one of the things that makes the show great, but those episodes delved into "soap opera-y" bad. Despite those few weak episodes, the series takes off after episode seven and almost returns to its former glory with an excellent combination of action and character moments.

One thing to note about the accuracy of the setting is that one episode featured a Southern Baptist Church. For whatever reason there is a crucified Jesus statue, being a Southern Baptist myself, I know that Southern Baptist Churches do not have those in churches, or at least very few, if any, do. My thought is that it there to provide imagery for the scene, but it is an inaccurate representation of the region and the religion, however that minor thing will not be held against the show in the final rating.

The Good: More great character development, Epic zombie battle, Same great main theme, Several amazing episodes, Impactful deaths, Better zombie action, Characters struggling to survive, More Glenn, Likable new characters, Daryl Dixon is even more bada** than before, Better production value, Larger scale, More episodes, Epic finale and reveal, Shocking plot twists and moments, Fantastic premiere, Unexpected ending reveal,

The Bad: Sophia arc dragged on too long, A few noticeably weak episode, Some dumb moments, A few overly dramatic "soap opera-y" parts, Inconsistent character motivations,


Plot: 8.4/10- Season two has its ups and downs in terms of its plot. Some episodes have several dumb moments that take you out of an otherwise engrossing experience. Rick in particular goes through fantastic character development as he struggles with his morals in a world without morals. With the exception of T-Dog, all of the main characters receive more development and are fleshed out, along with several new characters that I liked a lot. Despite the generally well thought out character motivations and character actions, a few times a character's action were completely out of character. One of my favorite characters from season one, Glenn, is given a lot more screen time and I really liked his character. Daryl is another character that was fortunately given more screen time because he is a great character. My further analysis of the characters will come in a later post. Aside from a focus on the characters, the show had many utterly shocking moments that makes the show different from others. Additionally, the finale was actually what I wanted to see. *Major Spoilers* While I did know a few spoilers about who lives and dies, which are virtually unavoidable considering the popularity of the series, I was still shocked that Dale died and the way, in which Shaun died was also unexpected. Additionally, the big reveal about what Jenner told Rick at the end of season one was shocking and totally unexpected, but very original. *End Spoiler*

Action: 8.3/10- While the first season gave us a taste of the zombie action the series could deliver, season two took it to another level in a few episodes. Since the group learn different strategies to battle the zombie, the variety of the action is great and the more stealth oriented strategies that are utilized make things more interesting. The risk of the characters being infected by the Walkers makes for many suspenseful scenes, particularly during the close quarters combat scene. In addition to the Walker action scenes, there are some human vs. human shootouts to add more variety to the action. *Minor Spoiler* The battle in the finale is truly epic and equal to that of many movies, except with the added suspense of your favorite character possibly dying. *End Spoiler*

Acting: 9.4/10- Overall, the acting is top notch. While the material given the actors is not always that great, which makes the actors look bad, Andrew Lincoln as Rick was particularly excellent and portrayed his character's struggle perfectly.

Special effects/Productions Value: 9.9/10- Nothing matches The Walking Dead's special effects and production value. The Walkers are gruesome in appearance with believable prosthetics and attention to detail. The lack of CGI is applause worthy here with almost every effect being practical. Many movies are not this good (looking at you World War Z), and the lighting and directing is always spot on; shaky-cam is virtually nonexistent!

Soundtrack: 7.9/10- Although the eerie opening theme returns, the rest of the soundtrack is fitting but never memorable enough for me to listen to it on its own and recognize it.

Comedy: 4.5/10- While there are a few humorous comments like when Daryl hilariously refers to Glenn as "Short Round," Indy's sidekick in Temple of Doom, which is something that I thought of in season one, the series is mostly humorous-less but never dull or lifeless.

Overall: 8.4/10- Season two begins the show's biggest flaw, its overall inconsistency, which continues to plague the series today. However, if I were to take the best six episodes of season two and compare it to season one, season two is better in terms of character development, but when looking at both the strong and weak episodes of season two of The Walking Dead, it is not as good. Despite the dip in overall quality, The Walking Dead is still a very good TV series that I cannot recommend more since season three is far superior.

Closing comments: Even if you are not a zombie fan, The Walking Dead is a must watch show if you can handle the gore.

Note: With the exception of a few corrections and minor comments, this review was written by me directly after finishing season two and before season watching season three. I did this so that I could give an accurate opinion of the season without being influenced by the next season.

You can click on the link to read my review for The Walking Dead Season 1.
Recommended for *Mature*: Zombie fans, Survival fans, Drama fans, Action fans, Apocalypse fans, Fans of TV,

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The Walking Dead Season 1 Review

Thoughts: Does season one of The Walking Dead live up to its undead hype as one of the best and most popular shows on television? Of course the Walking Dead was awesome! Yeah, The Walking Dead sunk its teeth into me and never let go, season one has made me into a fan and now I know why everyone watches this show. Because I know many readers have not seen the series and may be interested to know more about it, this review is basically spoiler free. To be clear, this is a review of season one as a whole, which consists of six episodes.
On the surface, The Walking Dead may appear to be just another horror show about zombies (or Walkers as they are called in the show), but the core of the show are the characters and their struggle to survive in this post-apocalyptic environment. Aside from the great characters, one of the best aspects of the series are the smart decisions the characters make and the accuracy of the Georgia setting. Many of the characters throughout the first season make smart decisions. When I watch television there are often many times during a show that characters make really dumb choices and forget to do things that end up putting them into compromising situations. However, the Walking Dead is often void of those problems. For example, when a character is out of ammo, they check dead bodies for more. The show does a great job of focusing on survival and the gathering of supplies. Something else that the show does right is the setting. As I stated in my review of the first episode, the series takes place and is filmed in my home state of Georgia. Although not many films or TV shows take place in Georgia, the ones that have are not usually accurate with the accents or the setting in general. However, The Walking Dead has the best representation of the state I have seen with the accents sounding right (even though only one actor is from Georgia) and many character seem like real people, not caricatures. If a zombie apocalypse were to happen, Georgia would probably have one of the best shots at surviving because we own guns and we know how to use them.

Since the season only consisted of six episodes, it is a quick watch and I watched over half of it in one day with my friend, who was kind enough to re-watch it with me since I do not have Netflix. However, I was able to find a venue to watch the show afterwards so I watched the final two episodes not long after. That brings me to an important point about the Walking Dead. The show is best when binge watched (viewed in short succession) since it almost feels like an extended movie and the viewer is more easier caught up in the experience and invested in the characters. While I am not saying that you cannot enjoy the series when watching it over time, I do believe that I would not have enjoyed the series as much if I could not watch the next episode immediately after viewing the previous one. Watching the entire season in less than a week also makes a slow or setup episode less noticeable since you just watch the next episode, and therefore judging the show on an episode to episode basis is difficult.

Genre: Zombie, Survival, Drama, Apocalypse, Horror,
Episodes: 6
Rating: TV14-TVMA


The Good: Superb performances across the board, Great character development, Impressive special effects and production value, Character focused, Smart choices by characters, Accurate Georgia setting and accents, Likable characters, A kid that is not annoying, Eerie main theme, Great atmosphere, Unexpected twists, Not much plot armor for most characters,

The Bad: Forgets some background characters,

Plot: 9.5/10- The Walking Dead's plot is a very character focused story of survival. What makes the series great are the characters and the character development as they deal with how the world we used to know is gone. While the pacing can be slow and one episode is all setup, season one is consistent and ends with a satisfying conclusion. My only complaint is that Glenn's character is all but forgotten after the second episode and I really wanted to see more of him (which I did in season 2) and a couple of the other background characters were just kind of there, but the main cast were well developed.

Action: 7.8/10/10- While nothing topped the second episode in terms of zombie action, the action that is present is very good. Often it is suspenseful and intense.

Acting: 9.6/10- The acting is excellent across the board without a single weak performance from the main cast. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes gives a compelling performance as a man struggling to maintain his morals in a lawless world. Jon Bernthal's performance as Shane Walsh is top notch, however his best acting comes in season two. In a future post I will discuss the characters and the actors in greater detail.

Special effects: 9.6/10- The show has, hands down, some of the best practical effects makeup I have seen on television. Each zombie had a unique look and the shear amount of them is staggering in a few scenes. My only complaint in the effects department is an explosion that looked very fake and CGIed.

Soundtrack: 7.9/10- The main theme is one of my new favorites from any American TV series. It sets a creepy and eerie vibe for each episode perfectly. Aside from the stellar main theme, the music is not particularly noticeable, and while I typically hate songs at the end of episodes, the Walking Dead's choice of licensed music is not bad.

Comedy: N/A- Aside from a few occasional remarks by the characters, the series is mostly humorless.

Overall: 9.0/10- Season one of the Walking Dead is an incredibly strong first outing for the series with great characters, a focus on survival, and high productions value, for those who do not mind violence, the series is highly recommended.

Closing comments: Considering that I am neither a fan of the zombie or apocalypse genre, the fact that I am now a fan of The Walking Dead is a testament to the series high quality.

Recommended for *Mature*: Zombie fans, Survival fans, Drama fans, Action fans, Apocalypse fans, Fans of TV,

Also a big thanks to my friends Rebecca and Jamie for convincing me to watch the series!

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