The Walking Dead
released 2010
www.ink2quill.com

“The Walking Dead” is an American, horror, drama, post apocalyptic, zombie series produced, written and directed with a cast so large I unfortunately can´t name everyone. Just to name a few we have producers like Frank Darabont, David Alpert, Gale Ann Hurd, Denise M. Huth and Robert Kirkman (to name just a few). For directors we have Greg Nicotero, Michael E. Satrazemis, Dan Liu, Larry Teng, Daisy von Scherler Mayer and Clark Johnson, to randomly name a few. A few of the writers include Charlie Adlard, Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman, Angela Kang, Geraldine Inoa, Vivian Tse, LaToya Morgan, to name but a few. It stars an even large cast of talented people that include Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callis, Jeffrey DeMunn, Michael Rooker, david Morrissey, Michael Cudlitz, Lennie James, Samantha Jane Morton, Ryan Douglas Hurst, Danai Gurira, Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Alanna Masterson, Ross Marquand, Steven Yeun, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lennie James, Khary Payton, Emily Kinney, Katelyn Nacon, Cooper Andrews, TomPayne, Avi Nash, Scott Wilson, Chad L. Coleman and many more. The series is based on a comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman.

The Walking Dead IMDb webpage.

“The Walking Dead” is a story of the zombie apocalypse. The main character, at least in the beginning, is Sheriff´s deputy Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln. He wakes up in his hospital bed to find that it is not only abandoned but a wreck like a tropical storm blew through it. No that is not anything new in terms of beginnings of zombie movies but it works and the way the story develops is just masterful. Rick was out cold, recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered on the job when the whole world went to pot, as the expression goes. Not only is the world missing people and activity, at least in the South, but everything is a mess and what seems to have replaced humanity are undead people who crave the flesh of the living. Yes the survivors of whatever happened were forced into hiding while the undead loiter and wander the country looking for their next meal.

As it turns out, there are survivors and Rick meets more and more of them as them as the story progresses. One of the things I love about zombie flicks is the cast of characters the main character can come across on his or her search for allies in survival. That´s what makes zombie movies funny, terrifying and everything in between. The mood of the series is definitely slanting toward horror as the group of survivors are constantly on the run and defending themselves while trying not to get bitten. Some of the scenes of their adventures are just nail biting.

One of the things that make zombie movies so timeless is because they deal with the idea of what would a person do in an apocalypse or complete breakdown of society. In this day where we´re all so dependent on a system for food, water, energy, safety and the internet. Yes the internet because it´s just that important. The idea of a person or group of people isolated and left to fend for themdselves doesn´t sound terrifying but it really is when you show the reality of it on the screen. Add to that the fact that the characters have to fight off rotting corpses that want to bite them and turn them into undead and that is just too much.

Writing a good zombie story is not any easier than any other genre and it´s also a genre that will never go away. Whether the story takes place in the medieval towns of Europe, The modern cities of America or Asia or some remote planet in the future there will always be a place for a good zombie story in storytelling.

So check out “The Walking Dead” and enjoy it.

John

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