Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Blink and You Miss It: The Walking Dead - Season 3: “Bloody” Good Cinematography!



At the end of 2012, I made the decision to take the plunge into AMC’s cable horror series THE WALKING DEAD as a blind (yet, informed by its many good reviews) buy on DVD.  You can read my account of that HERE

As I write this, I am presently in the middle of Season Three of THE WALKING DEAD, which has just been released to DVD and Blu-Ray on August 27, 2013.  And, I am utterly amazed at how much good storytelling and characterization the show CONTINUES to wring out of the basic “flesh-eating zombies come to life and attack the living” idea.


Each season has upped the ante from its predecessor (pre-DECEASE-or?) with compelling conflicts among the LIVING, as well as “life and (…um) death” encounters with the titular “walking dead”. 
 
Another way the ante has apparently been upped is in the volume of spattered blood.  So much of it that, in at least two cases, I noticed it even hits the camera lens! 

First, in Episode SEVEN (“When the Dead Come Knocking”), prison inmate “Oscar” offs a “walker” (Our band of characters’ name for the zombies). 
It’s all over the screen here – but mostly on the left side.  You may Click to Enlarge.


Then, in Episode TEN (“Home”), Carol shields herself with the body of another prisoner (Axel), as the camera catches a Big Red Splat – again at the upper-mid left.   Click to… Aw, you know! 
That's not on the GROUND, folks!  You can see it spatter against the screen!  -- Talk about "Breaking the Fourth Wall"!  


…But, Blink and You (bloody) Miss It! 

A special “PLEASE”, to any WALKING DEAD fans reading this… No spoilers on Season Three, as I am experiencing it for the first time on DVD! 
 
 
I hope to be done with the backlog and ready to begin watching regular broadcasts of THE WALKING DEAD when Season Four begins this coming October 13, 2013.   …We can discuss it THEN, okay? 

2 comments:

Ryan Wynns said...

Joe,

Oh, no ... even you?!!

;)

I don't know if I'll ever get the whole zombie craze ... but if you end up endorsing this show, my disinterest may just give way to curiosity. Unlike with, say, vampires, I don't see the appeal in the archetypal pop culture zombie production, but -- when I actually remember that I've seen it -- I do consider the original Night of the Living Dead to be a good movie; I'm just not fanatical about it. So, I still could end up enjoying Walking Dead ... after all (speaking of shows my familiarity with and trust in your reviewing led me to), I was totally sucked in by Lost, even though I don't like the beach.

-- Ryan

Joe Torcivia said...

Yes, Ryan… Even me!

But, note that I’m neither part of any Vampire nor Zombie Craze, but find the same elements in THE WALKING DEAD that I gravitated to in LOST!

It’s a series that kicks you in the gut, each time it ends – and makes you want more!

There’s a relatively inexpensive DVD of the First Season – only 6 episodes. Get (or otherwise view) that, and tell me you aren’t hooked… or, at the very least, intrigued!

That goes for ALL of you! …Hear?