This kind of an oldie but a goody. It’s Dead Set from 2008 and it’s now available in the US on Netflix! For all you Black Mirror fans, it’s from Charlie Brooker. For all you zombie fans, it’s a 5-episode miniseries with lots of gore and drama.
Basically, the premise is Big Brother, the reality show, during a zombie apocalypse. I know, it sounds dumb, but this is way better than the elevator pitch, and if you’re worried about it all being shot from the in-house cameras like a cheesy Paranormal Activity or something, you can rest easy. It’s a normal production. The fact that it takes place (mostly) in a Big Brother house is the basis for the personal conflicts, not the camera setups.
It features a younger Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, The Night Of) in a good early role.
Fun fact: Dead Set was produced by an arm of the company that also produces the real Big Brother show in the UK and has cameos from past Big Brother contestants.
I think Dead Set can almost be considered a prequel to Black Mirror. You can see the same Brooker deftness with turning the tech in question against the characters and the viewer, while never getting heavy-handed about it. At one point, he even has a character lampshade the theme with a wry callback to Dawn of the Dead’s reasoning for why zombies go to the mall.
I always loved that essay! When my girlfriend and I watch a zombie flick one of the first things we note is whether they’re runners or walkers. And while I’m no purist, I do prefer walkers. We watched Wyrmwood over the weekend and that throws a spanner-- well, a few, actually-- in the works.