Generation Z

When first saw add for this thought was going to be really good and fun and so close to Halloween thought hell yeah.

So can imagine my dissapointment (maybe) when saw this, comedy horror.? Nope not at all was no larfs in this horror was OK but the writing the poor poor writing was just that poor and extremely predictable and the DEI in this made me groan and roll eye's thinking yeah of course it is. But on bright side if can call it that the acting is ok and special effects decant but honestly and sadly that's about it.

This could of been great and so good but nope it wasn't what a waist 'sigh' may of been over generous with rating at best was ok.

P.s. Reaching this word count is a pain and 600 odd words dame.

There's a throwaway comment on the movie industry; they sometimes call extras 'moving scenery'. Here, they're the scenery that gets chewed by many of the cast.

This is such a hodge podge. Occasional scenes are ghoulishly funny, riffing on the cliches about 'older people' and the younger crowd; and, of course, the many tropes abounding after 60+ years of mainstream zombie films.

The third agers- Anita Dobson, Sue Johnston leading - have the, erm, 'meatiest' roles here; plenty to get their teeth into! Others, including Robert Lindsay and Michael Smiley, are good but initially peripheral.

There are many scenes that some might prefer to 'unsee'; there is a taste (!) of the 1960s Hammer horror classics that goes way beyond what was possible then.

Where it falls apart is the multiplicity of characters, generations and their stories. It needs three generations; school age, pensioners and that 'squeezed middle'. There ends up being such a muddle of characters, quite diverse, so that by the time you've worked out who is related to whom, they're toast; with lots of extra strawberry jam.

One final problem for the school agers; some decent acting here, but a couple are still in sixth form aged 28 and 26, and there's no acting around that fact.

Went in blind to this show as I saw it on Channel 4s streaming service. Looked like fun and it has a first rate cast of top actors. The first episode sets things up nicely and since it is a short series I decided to give it a watch. I thought, unlike some reviews, the acting was pretty good but that comes with a caveat. The story line is ludicrious which is should be a a zombie series, but its neither serious enough or funny enough to be fully entertaining. By halfway through the series I was getting restless, storylines were unravelling and characters seemed to suddenly change attitudes for no reason. I stuck with it to the end, so you don't have to. It get 4 because of the start, its a 2 by the end.

A truck carrying a chemical load in the village of Dambury spills its load, an accident that transforms the residents of a nursing home into flesh eating zombies.

It just doesn't work overall, there are some really nice, original ideas at play, the trouble is that it's just not very good.

It's not gory enough to be a horror, not funny enough to be a comedy, it tries to make several points about present day politics, but it just ends up being irritating.

On the plus side, I love the ideas of zombies that can reason, flesh eating monsters with a conscience, and I liked the idea of a hierarchy and a power struggle.

Sadly the woes outweigh the positives, sometimes it feels like scooby doo, it's almost adolescent. The special effects could have come from 1997, the editing is horrific, and you're asked to believe that adults are school children. It does also get preachy at times.

It features an awesome cast, one that really appealed to me, Sue Johnston, Robert Lindsay, Anita Dobson and more, all you can say is that a good job was done pitching the idea of this to them.

Channel 4 I have to ask, what on Earth is going on with your drama content, what has gone so badly wrong?

Highly unlikely that series two will follow.

4/10.

With all of the horror writing and production talent in the UK I would think Channel 4 could have come up with something interesting - reasonably interesting at least.

But this is one of the most boring 'horror' TV series I have ever seen. It is the standard 'zombie' story - but tedious - so tedious I was glad when it was over.

The only thing that makes it anywhere near more watchable than a washing machine are the talented actors - who seem to be trying to do the best they can with very little to work with. After all they can only work with the story and direction they are given.

Really - don't waste your time with this nonsense.