The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has finally premiered tonight on AMC… and it is damn good.

The Walking Dead is an adaptation of the comic by Robert Kirkman of the same name. It is probably the greatest zombie series to be put on paper, ever.

The TV series is an adaptation helmed by Frank Darabont, director of movies such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Mist.

Having actually read the comics here, I’m probably a harsher critic on the TV series, as it has the job of living up to the comics. On the other hand, I’m a zombie lover, so I can’t resist the type of story being told here.

How does it stack up? Exceedingly well. Anyone who knows Darabont knows that he has a real love for this type of story and the first episode shows it. We follow Kentucky sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes as he wakes up in the hospital from a gunshot wound that put him in a coma. Suffice to say, while he’s been snoozing, the world has gone to shit. It sounds very 28 Days Later in the way it starts out, but that’s really the only connection between the two.

I have to say, this series has by far the best zombie makeup and effects that I’ve ever seen. A huge budget went into making this series and it shows at every angle. I’m not going to go on and on about it, because I’m not very good at making long winded reviews. I’ll just say that if you’re a fan of horror and the zombie genre, or even if you just like a well crafted drama, you will find lots to love with The Walking Dead.