Dead Set review-type thing, and other stuff
What the bloody hell happened to the LJ userinfo pages?!
...Okay, they're going to take some getting used to, but I think I kind of like the changes. *shrug*
Anyway, now for a proper update of sorts.
Last week, specifically Hallowe'en, we didn't get too many Trick or Treaters, which pleased me. It meant that we got to settle down early and watch a couple of movies (The Reaping and Candyman, in that order), before I decided to dick around on Tekken 5: DR Online for a bit. T'was nice.
Also, throughout last week, I decided to watch the five-part zombie horror series Dead Set on E4, after seeing previews of it and thinking it looked interesting. I have to say, it had me utterly hooked. I know a lot of people avoided it because a lot of people are snobby about horror in general, and also because it is set around a fictional Big Brother house, and assumed that they wouldn't like it based on that.
I am definitely not a Big Brother fan, but I gave Dead Set a try, and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of reviews say that people who like BB and people who dislike it will enjoy Dead Set, and I agree. The series, while based around the BB house, is a lot more about a zombie apocalypse devastating Britain, and how the small cast of characters involved deal with it.
A lot of people also wrote off the series as some kind of parody, but it isn't that, either. It does have its moments of satire, but they are very subtle (as is the social commentary on reality TV). The series as a whole is full-blown horror. The vast levels of gore surprised me (to name but a few moments, lots of intestines being torn out, a head being smashed into a bloody pulp with a fire extiguisher and the graphic tearing out of s spine are all present), and the special effects were brilliantly convincing. They gave the impression that the show's budget was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. It also has its fair share of scary moments.
The cast and characters were all great, too, and, for the most part, each character was portrayed very convincingly. There were strong performances all around. The drama in the show was never hammy or overacted, which was another high point.
I was especially surprised with BB host Davina McCall (playing herself) as a zombie. I never would have thought that her, of all people, would be able to pull that kind of performance off, but, although she does kind of get on my nerves, I have to give her credit for her performance. Hats off to her, I say.
I didn't see THAT ending coming, either. Some found it predictable, but I, as well as many others, didn't. The ending certainly is not for everyone, either - some loved it, others hated it. As fo me, I'm not too sure how I feel about it, but, at the same time, I think it was a fitting way to end the story. It was certainly a very powerful ending, in my opinion.
However, I will say that it has got to be one of the most depressing and downright cruellest endings to a TV series I have ever seen. Powerful, but also shocking at the same time.
Overall, I loved the series, and will buy the DVD at some point.
If you're a zombie or horror fan, you'll probably love it. However, zombie purists who dislike fast, running zombies, as opposed to slow, shambling ones may not enjoy it as much as I did. Personally, I don't mind, and I felt that making the zombies of this series sprinters served to make them outright bloody terrifying.
In other news, Euan is really enjoying his new job. ^_^
Laters, you guys.
...Okay, they're going to take some getting used to, but I think I kind of like the changes. *shrug*
Anyway, now for a proper update of sorts.
Last week, specifically Hallowe'en, we didn't get too many Trick or Treaters, which pleased me. It meant that we got to settle down early and watch a couple of movies (The Reaping and Candyman, in that order), before I decided to dick around on Tekken 5: DR Online for a bit. T'was nice.
Also, throughout last week, I decided to watch the five-part zombie horror series Dead Set on E4, after seeing previews of it and thinking it looked interesting. I have to say, it had me utterly hooked. I know a lot of people avoided it because a lot of people are snobby about horror in general, and also because it is set around a fictional Big Brother house, and assumed that they wouldn't like it based on that.
I am definitely not a Big Brother fan, but I gave Dead Set a try, and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of reviews say that people who like BB and people who dislike it will enjoy Dead Set, and I agree. The series, while based around the BB house, is a lot more about a zombie apocalypse devastating Britain, and how the small cast of characters involved deal with it.
A lot of people also wrote off the series as some kind of parody, but it isn't that, either. It does have its moments of satire, but they are very subtle (as is the social commentary on reality TV). The series as a whole is full-blown horror. The vast levels of gore surprised me (to name but a few moments, lots of intestines being torn out, a head being smashed into a bloody pulp with a fire extiguisher and the graphic tearing out of s spine are all present), and the special effects were brilliantly convincing. They gave the impression that the show's budget was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. It also has its fair share of scary moments.
The cast and characters were all great, too, and, for the most part, each character was portrayed very convincingly. There were strong performances all around. The drama in the show was never hammy or overacted, which was another high point.
I was especially surprised with BB host Davina McCall (playing herself) as a zombie. I never would have thought that her, of all people, would be able to pull that kind of performance off, but, although she does kind of get on my nerves, I have to give her credit for her performance. Hats off to her, I say.
I didn't see THAT ending coming, either. Some found it predictable, but I, as well as many others, didn't. The ending certainly is not for everyone, either - some loved it, others hated it. As fo me, I'm not too sure how I feel about it, but, at the same time, I think it was a fitting way to end the story. It was certainly a very powerful ending, in my opinion.
However, I will say that it has got to be one of the most depressing and downright cruellest endings to a TV series I have ever seen. Powerful, but also shocking at the same time.
Overall, I loved the series, and will buy the DVD at some point.
If you're a zombie or horror fan, you'll probably love it. However, zombie purists who dislike fast, running zombies, as opposed to slow, shambling ones may not enjoy it as much as I did. Personally, I don't mind, and I felt that making the zombies of this series sprinters served to make them outright bloody terrifying.
In other news, Euan is really enjoying his new job. ^_^
Laters, you guys.