JUDGEMENT!: The Walking Dead

I was finally able to watch The Walking Dead that debuted on AMC Halloween night. I had read the comic book but gave up on it due to the slow developing story, the lateness of the issues, and the art that seemed to become lazy. This is the problem I have with most comics so when I hear that one is being made into a movie, especially one that isn’t done, I worry. In this case my worries were unfounded.

The series starts off with Officer Rick Grimes and his partner Shane Walsh talking about issues in their respective relationships only to be interrupted by a call to assist in a high speed chase. Grimes is shot by one of the assailants and awakens in the hospital after an unknown amount of time. He stumbles through then hospital finding bodies strewn about, a door that contains “The Dead” and body bags littering the parking lot outside of the hospital. Grimes makes his way home to find it empty (his wife Lori and his son Carl either dead or gone) after confronting half a corpse that moans at him.

Outside he is assaulted by a young man and his father. The father and son now occupy Grimes’ neighbors abandoned house and fill him in on what has happened and why the dead now walk. At one point the son sees a woman wandering around amongst the dead and begins to cry. Turns out it is his mother. The father couldn’t bring himself to kill her when she turned and regrets the decision.

Later they all arrive to the police station where Grimes worked and gather weapons and go their separate ways. Grimes is told that Atlanta is where safety is and likely where his wife and child are. The father practices using a sniper rifle in the hopes of attracting his now zombie wife. He does but still cant bring himself to kill her. Grimes heads to Atlanta not knowing that his wife and child are safe, but not in Atlanta since it is overrun with the undead. His wife, Lori, also is messing around with his former partner, Shane, at a location they and other survivors have gathered.

Grimes arrives in Atlanta on horseback and is almost immediately overcome by zombies. Just when he is about to kill himself while hiding under a tank he manages to climb inside. He kills another zombie that is hidden inside which wrecks his ears because of the echo of the gunshot. While sticking his head out of the tank and seeing the horse he traveled with torn to shreds, someone contacts him over the radio.

This looks to be a great series. The acting is great. The zombies look cool and are in various stages of decomposing. And the music is used in such a clever way. Quiet when it needs to be and they don’t use jump scares which I like. And if that weren’t cool enough, AMC has placed the first episode online to watch! Just click HERE to watch it commercial free.