As a avid fan of The Walking Dead who has seen every episode to date I was very excited to hear of this series telling how the zombie apocalypse began in the first place before Rick Grimes woke up in a hospital bed and I have to say if it continues to be this superb it could well match TWD in the long run.
It starts in a tension filled style as junkie Nick Clark(a mesmerising Frank Dillane,a Johnny Depp lookalike)wakes up in his abandoned church drug den and after searching for his girlfriend Gloria(Lexi Johnson)he finds her downstairs but she is longer herself as he is stunned to see she is eating a person on the floor leading to Nick fleeing for his life as she comes towards him next but in confusion he is run over.
Nick wakes up in hospital to find his family surrounding him,his teacher mother Madison(Kim Dickins),sister Alicia(Alycia Debnam Carey)and stepdad Travis Manawa(top actor Cliff Curtis).When his mother and sister are gone Nick tells Travis of just what he saw not knowing himself if it happened or it was the drugs talking.Seeing how scared Nick is Travis investigates the church and is amazed to find blood and gore in the spot Gloria was before(no sign of her btw)meaning Nick was telling the truth.
The school Madison works has to close as many are off sick but of course its the walker(zombie)apocalypse beginning to take hold and after a conversation with a strange pupil Madison knows something is very wrong.
Madison and Travis find Nick has discharged himself and are furious with the hospital whilst Nick visits a friend who is a drug dealer to ask for more stuff and breaks down in his arms,his friend Calvin(Keith Powers)agrees to help but is tricking Nick and after he tries to shoot Nick at a underpass Calvin is accidentally shot dead himself.
Finally Madison and Travis find Nick rambling and saying he shot Calvin after Calvin pulled the gun out on him,they investigate but find no sign of Calvin's dead body by his car.They begin to leave in Travis's truck but stop suddenly when the supposed dead Calvin is reanimated and lumbering in front of them,after Nick urges his mother and stepdad to stay away from the now zombie Calvin they nearly get bit before Nick repeatedly runs Calvin over in the truck but all three are stunned to see Calvin turn his head to look at them leaving them terrified.
We can't go on without talking about Frank Dillane's Nick,yes others are excellent(get onto them soon)but this was a truly outstanding performance by someone relatively unknown but will be destined for greatness(and not just because he looks like a young Johnny Depp,its uncanny guys)who convinces greatly as a junkie who's struggle without the drugs are taken over by his fear of what is slowly happening around him and after that blistering opening scene we see straight away of this boys talents.Seeing him cry hard on the shoulders of Calvin,being lost for words at a zombified Gloria(and later Calvin)and best of all trying to tell Travis what he saw will give any viewer goosebumps at this guys acting ability and I had a tear a few times at both his drug urges and his realisation both to himself and others of just what is beginning to happen to the world around them,what a star he could be.
The rest of the cast even Curtis are overshadowed by Dillane,that's not to say they are not excellent(we see them better in episode two)with Dickins teacher helping her students(including one Tobias who tries to warn her about zombies early on)and be a good mother,Carey as stroppy teen Alicia who seems happier around her boyfriend Matt(Maestro Harrell)but cares dearly for her family and of course the excellent Curtis as Travis a caring person who is trying to look after his new family and his own son Chris(Lorenzo James Henrie)whilst struggling to realise the things he is seeing happening before a zombified Calvin convinces him which sees both him and Madison at the end of the episode both look at each other in shock trying to fathom a dead person walking about even after being run over countless times.
Like its bigger brother predecessor FTWD focuses on superb acting and its characters probably more than the zombie carnage but even for a first episode there is enough action/horror to keep you gripped and its the absorbing opening scene that gets it going in style with a spaced out Nick slowly going through the drug den seeing dead bodies in doorways before he comes across his now zombie girlfriend gorging on another body,it really is a supreme way to start a pilot episode and I was truly scared watching it(something TWD never really makes me feel,does at times though).Other moments I loved were the foreshadowing this episode was doing for the future including seeing a keep out sign at the church,Madison seeing a person walk slowly through a park(had to be a zombie)and missing notes plastered about the city plus liked how in one episode the beautiful Los Angeles city went from bright and sparkling to a more creepy place as people disappeared and the first zombies appear and how there is no going back.The ending sequence matched the opening as the family face off with the now zombie Calvin who does not want to die despite being run over again and again and his slow look at them at the end could give you nightmares like them.
What a start to this prequel series that perfectly sets up the events of TWD with a brilliant set of new characters headlined by a star making performance by Dillane,foreshadowing of what's to come,tension that grips like a vice,a for now beautiful LA and the first of the dead who will roam the planet.A job well done again to Robert Kirkman.
It starts in a tension filled style as junkie Nick Clark(a mesmerising Frank Dillane,a Johnny Depp lookalike)wakes up in his abandoned church drug den and after searching for his girlfriend Gloria(Lexi Johnson)he finds her downstairs but she is longer herself as he is stunned to see she is eating a person on the floor leading to Nick fleeing for his life as she comes towards him next but in confusion he is run over.
Nick wakes up in hospital to find his family surrounding him,his teacher mother Madison(Kim Dickins),sister Alicia(Alycia Debnam Carey)and stepdad Travis Manawa(top actor Cliff Curtis).When his mother and sister are gone Nick tells Travis of just what he saw not knowing himself if it happened or it was the drugs talking.Seeing how scared Nick is Travis investigates the church and is amazed to find blood and gore in the spot Gloria was before(no sign of her btw)meaning Nick was telling the truth.
The school Madison works has to close as many are off sick but of course its the walker(zombie)apocalypse beginning to take hold and after a conversation with a strange pupil Madison knows something is very wrong.
Madison and Travis find Nick has discharged himself and are furious with the hospital whilst Nick visits a friend who is a drug dealer to ask for more stuff and breaks down in his arms,his friend Calvin(Keith Powers)agrees to help but is tricking Nick and after he tries to shoot Nick at a underpass Calvin is accidentally shot dead himself.
Finally Madison and Travis find Nick rambling and saying he shot Calvin after Calvin pulled the gun out on him,they investigate but find no sign of Calvin's dead body by his car.They begin to leave in Travis's truck but stop suddenly when the supposed dead Calvin is reanimated and lumbering in front of them,after Nick urges his mother and stepdad to stay away from the now zombie Calvin they nearly get bit before Nick repeatedly runs Calvin over in the truck but all three are stunned to see Calvin turn his head to look at them leaving them terrified.
We can't go on without talking about Frank Dillane's Nick,yes others are excellent(get onto them soon)but this was a truly outstanding performance by someone relatively unknown but will be destined for greatness(and not just because he looks like a young Johnny Depp,its uncanny guys)who convinces greatly as a junkie who's struggle without the drugs are taken over by his fear of what is slowly happening around him and after that blistering opening scene we see straight away of this boys talents.Seeing him cry hard on the shoulders of Calvin,being lost for words at a zombified Gloria(and later Calvin)and best of all trying to tell Travis what he saw will give any viewer goosebumps at this guys acting ability and I had a tear a few times at both his drug urges and his realisation both to himself and others of just what is beginning to happen to the world around them,what a star he could be.
The rest of the cast even Curtis are overshadowed by Dillane,that's not to say they are not excellent(we see them better in episode two)with Dickins teacher helping her students(including one Tobias who tries to warn her about zombies early on)and be a good mother,Carey as stroppy teen Alicia who seems happier around her boyfriend Matt(Maestro Harrell)but cares dearly for her family and of course the excellent Curtis as Travis a caring person who is trying to look after his new family and his own son Chris(Lorenzo James Henrie)whilst struggling to realise the things he is seeing happening before a zombified Calvin convinces him which sees both him and Madison at the end of the episode both look at each other in shock trying to fathom a dead person walking about even after being run over countless times.
Like its bigger brother predecessor FTWD focuses on superb acting and its characters probably more than the zombie carnage but even for a first episode there is enough action/horror to keep you gripped and its the absorbing opening scene that gets it going in style with a spaced out Nick slowly going through the drug den seeing dead bodies in doorways before he comes across his now zombie girlfriend gorging on another body,it really is a supreme way to start a pilot episode and I was truly scared watching it(something TWD never really makes me feel,does at times though).Other moments I loved were the foreshadowing this episode was doing for the future including seeing a keep out sign at the church,Madison seeing a person walk slowly through a park(had to be a zombie)and missing notes plastered about the city plus liked how in one episode the beautiful Los Angeles city went from bright and sparkling to a more creepy place as people disappeared and the first zombies appear and how there is no going back.The ending sequence matched the opening as the family face off with the now zombie Calvin who does not want to die despite being run over again and again and his slow look at them at the end could give you nightmares like them.
What a start to this prequel series that perfectly sets up the events of TWD with a brilliant set of new characters headlined by a star making performance by Dillane,foreshadowing of what's to come,tension that grips like a vice,a for now beautiful LA and the first of the dead who will roam the planet.A job well done again to Robert Kirkman.