Dead Set (2009)
Madman Entertainment
R4 DVD
My
first reaction to this DVD was “not another bloody zombie film”. Well, yes, it
featured all the stereotype characters – the vacuous blonde, the fat chick, the
socially challenged nerd, the grating little bastard who manages to annoy
everyone. It had one or two things that made it different and promised
something better than average. Then after thirty minutes I realised it was a TV
series. How do you spin out a standard zombie show into a TV series? By fleshing out the characters, so to speak.
We
start in a TV studio running a Big Brother-style reality show. It is eviction
night and there is a huge crowd gathered to see who will be the unlucky one.
The blonde girl gets the eviction and there is a lovely performance as she
tearfully leaves the house, then pulls herself together, puts on a huge smile,
and heads out into the studio to face her new life of fame and fortune as a Big
Brother failure. The sheer insincerity of it all is breathtaking and Kathleen
McDermott does it beautifully. At this point I realised that the acting was a
bit better than average.
Meanwhile
in the control room things are falling apart. It is “Family and Friends” night
for the contestants, but a car carrying one of the guests is held up by traffic
snarls and a road crash. The driver is attacked by a zombie. Back in the studio
the news preview cuts in with reports of people rioting across the country and
it is evident the zombie plague has spread like lightning. Patrick, the
producer, doesn’t care. He is arrogant and overbearing and just wants his show
to succeed. Andy Nyman plays the part so well that after a while I was hoping
the zombies would get him next.
The
zombies invade the studio and start attacking and eating people, as zombies do.
Even the zombies are better than average – they can run, not shamble along, and
this makes them much more dangerous. Fortunately they can’t climb fences or
open gates. One survivor is Kelly (Jaime Winstone).
She is a downtrodden production assistant whose ex-boyfriend is in the missing
car. She is in the thick of the zombie attack.
Of
course, as soon as the first zombie appears the phones, trains, TVs and radios automatically
fail (Why? The power is still on). The survivors trapped in the studio are
completely cut off. The Big Brother contestants have a good night’s sleep,
unaware that the world outside is in chaos, then awake to continue their
bickering. I loved the way that the
“Reality TV” show is completely out of touch with reality. The house is a
pretty good place to avoid the zombies as it has excellent security. Kelly
breaks into the house and the contestants realise that all is not well outside
their unreal little world.
The
survivors gradually come together in the house and each one’s personality
changes as the situation becomes worse. The entire compound is surrounded by
zombies and the situation looks grim. Patrick gets worse, if anything, and
plots a suicidal escape. The others don’t like his plan but can’t come up with
a better one of their own.
By
the end of the series I had completely changed my mind about it. It is well
crafted, has good actors and magnificent effects, and despite the conventional
plot it still manages to scare the pants off you occasionally. Even the extras
are worth watching. The special FX guys are nothing short of amazing.
If could
only have one zombie film on my bookshelf, this would be the one.
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