Tag: Zombies

Zombies, Vampires, Magical Girls, Necromancers, and Maidens

by Waifusandweeaboos

On this episode of the Waifus and Weeaboos Podcast I bring back one of our originals ideas! I reviewed “Is this a Zombie?!” and “Is this a Zombie of the dead?!” to let you know if you should avoid this anime, just watch it, or watch it and buy the Blu Ray as well.

I also take a look at the currently running manga Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku (The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity)

Follow The Socials!

twitter: waifusnweeaboos

facebook: Waifusandweeaboos

twitch: Sorasensei1

Tiktok: Sorasensei1

tumblr: NJOTAKU

sukawaii.com Promo Code: SoraSensei1 (%5 off)

Geekscape 576: Zombie Cage Fighting With Nate “Rock” Quarry!

by Jonathan

Former UFC fighter Nate “Rock” Quarry has been fighting his entire life. Raised within an abusive cult, movies, video games and comic books were Nate’s first means of escape. Later as an MMA fighter Nate talks about his fights in the octagon and as a single father that led to him creating “Zombie Cage Fighter”, his new zombies meets MMA fighting graphic novel that you can support right now on Kickstarter. Along the way we talk about dealing with depression, classic fights in comic books and the awesomeness of collecting everything from Star Wars figures to Bowen Designs statues! And also dealing with bullies at your daughter’s school!

Visit the Zombie Cage Fighter Kickstarter!

Subscribe to Geekscape on iTunes!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter and Instagram!

Join the Geekscape Forever Facebook Group!

Visit Geekscape.net for more Geekscape goodness!

Geekscape 558: Let’s Talk Zombies With ‘The Living Dead’ Co-Writer Daniel Kraus!

by Jonathan

Daniel Kraus’ ‘The Living Dead’ is an all new fictional zombie story that was started by zombie and horror master George A. Romero! Upon Romero’s death, Kraus was enlisted to help finish the book and bring it to readers! Now it is here and Daniel guests on Geekscape to talk about collaborating with storytelling masters like George A. Romero and Guillermo Del Toro (as he did on The Shape of Water and Trollhunters), his approach to writing and all things zombies! This is going to be a great one! Enjoy!

Subscribe to Geekscape on iTunes!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter and Instagram!

Join the Geekscape Forever Facebook Group!

Visit Geekscape.net for more Geekscape goodness!

LA Comic Con 2018! Everything You Wanted To Know About Zombies!

by Jonathan

Zombies! It seems like just yesterday they were at the top of the roost as pop culture’s favorite horror monster! Now, the popularity of zombies seems in decline! And that’s just what we were thinking as Geekscape gathers a panel of experts at Los Angeles Comic Con to talk about our favorite decaying pursuers! Is there anything new you can do with the monster? What are some of the significant moments in zombie history? What does the next phase in the zombie’s evolution look like? And lots, lots more! We really get into it so I hope you enjoy and shamble along for the ride!

Subscribe to Geekscape on iTunes!

Follow Jonathan on Twitter and Instagram!

Join the Geekscape Forever Facebook Group!

Visit Geekscape.net for more Geekscape goodness!

Geekscape Games Reviews: ‘State Of Decay 2’

by Derek Kraneveldt

I’m not big on open world games.

I’ve said it many, many times on the Geekscape Games Podcast (as well as in my written work over the past six years), but it takes a truly special open world experience to hold my interest and to keep me motivated through the vast quantity of hours required to realize all that these gigantic worlds have to offer.

Very few games in the genre have gripped me over the years; Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto 5, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are the only really memorable titles that come to mind (and it’s a little tough to compare a series like State of Decay to some of the games in that list). Typically I’ll play through the opening missions or until the game really opens up before I get bored or overwhelmed, and simply… never play the game again.

I had a brief affair with the first State of Decay shortly after the Year One Survival Edition released for Xbox One. I played the game for somewhere between seven and ten hours, and thoroughly enjoyed much of my (albeit short) time with it. I quickly became invested in the storyline for Marcus, who returned from a weekend fishing trip to find out that the world had ended and that the undead had taken over. I jumped in and out of State of Decay here and there, and while I enjoyed the aspect of needing to ensure that your small (but growing) community had the resources that it needed to be successful, it absolutely infuriated me that those necessary resources continued to deplete (at a slower rate) while you weren’t even playing. I typically play games in fairly short sessions, and I simply felt like each and every time I tried to jump into State of Decay, I’d have just enough time to stop my settlement from imploding before I’d need to stop again — I rarely felt a sense of progress, and eventually lost my motivation to continue altogether.

Last week I began playing State of Decay 2, and holy hell am I motivated to keep playing in this world (even if I’m not always exactly sure why).

‘State of Decay 2’ has some TENSE interactions.

The basic mechanics in State of Decay 2 are fairly simple. You take control of a group of survivors (a group which will grow or shrink as time goes on, as death is permanent),  simply trying to make the most out of what’s left. You’ll quickly fill your extremely limited inventory as you search the world for weapons, food, home improvements, and other supplies (you’ll need to collect these things to keep your settlement running as efficiently as possible, and to help with the morale of your community), and will meet other groups that may help or hinder you along the way. Each character has their own backstory,  personal journey, and set of missions to keep you motivated (this mostly works, as certain storylines can feel like a bit of a chore to get through) and as it turns out, you’ll also need to switch characters often: play as the same survivor for too long and fatigue will set in, severely limiting your ability to run, fight, or do much of anything until that survivor has had an appropriate amount of rest. The game frequently feels like a balancing act, and in perfect fashion every choice you make will positively affect your life in some way, while being debilitating in another — these tough moments of choice and consequence are the times that State of Decay 2 shines the brightest, and some of the choices I’ve made have stuck with me long after I shut the game off for the day.

Unlike in the first game (which was set near the beginning of the zombie apocalypse), you begin State of Decay 2 by choosing a duo of survivors who are picking for scraps at an abandoned military encampment some eighteen months after the fall of humanity. While scavenging for supplies, you meet a few other like-minded survivors, and with that, your ragtag community is born. Your group chooses to migrate to one of three towns (each map is approximately the size of the first game, and at some point in your journey you may even want to move on to the next map as you strip the world of resources), and here your adventure begins.

Naturally, it doesn’t take long before a member of the community is bitten and infected, and here we’re introduced to one of the coolest (and most stressful) new mechanics in State of Decay 2 – the ‘Blood Plague’. Sure, there are a lot (a lot) of undead in this world, but there are also a myriad of even creepier, bloodier zombies that can wreak absolute havoc on your survivors if you’re not careful. Blood Plague zombies have glowing red eyes and are fittingly drenched in blood, and if they successfully attack you, a meter will begin to fill with each subsequent strike. Once the meter is full, that survivor contracts the Blood Plague, and is pretty much dead meat unless you can quickly find a cure (created from blood samples from numerous Blood Plague zombies).

Screamers will give you nightmares.

Along with Blood Plague zombies, you’ll also encounter a number of ‘Plague Hearts’ while you’re out scavenging the world. These are gross looking, apparently smelly (based on your survivor’s observations), gory, stationary objects that spew poison, and that need to be destroyed in order to keep the Blood Plague at bay. Taking down a Plague Heart marks quite the challenge, as they can take some time to destroy (fire and explosives work better than regular attacks), and a huge quantity of Blood Plague zombies will spawn as you begin to attack it. Somehow, all of the Plague Hearts on the map are connected, and destroying one will make every Plague Heart that still exists even stronger, meaning you’ll need to bring along better skills, stronger weapons, and likely help for each subsequent Heart that you try to destroy.

As for that aforementioned help, State of Decay 2 brings an exciting new option for taking on this tough, tough world. Sure, you can enlist survivors from your group or spend your precious Influence (the game’s currency, which can be used to trade with other survivors you find in the world, to move to a bigger, better home base, or to help find resources in a pinch, for example) to hire help from neighbouring NPC groups, but this time around you’ll also be able to enlist up to three real world friends (or random people that you find on the internet) to join your game. This co-op mode sounds fun as hell (the game hasn’t launched yet, so I haven’t actually been able to give co-op a shot), but is also fairly limited. Join a friend’s game and you’ll be able to progress your survivor’s stats (shoot to get better at shooting, sprint to get better at cardio, etc), earn Influence, and collect consumables, but you won’t be able to interact with NPC’s or collect more substantial resources like rucksacks or modifications for your home base. Still, the ability to drop in and drop out without much consequence should make for some fun evenings, and it encourages you to play together regardless of your current progress in your own game. I’m in.

Surviving is more fun with friends (I hope).

I mentioned earlier that I hated managing community resources (food, medicine, ammo, etc) in the first game, almost exclusively because they continued to deplete even when you weren’t playing, and I was beyond relieved to learn that this wasn’t the case in State of Decay 2. There’s no Animal Crossing shit here – when you’re not playing, neither is the game, and you’ll return to your world in the exact state that you left it, and can get right back to whatever you were doing when you stopped playing, saving you a ton of time, a ton of resources, and a ton of frustration.

Speaking of frustration, State of Decay 2 in its current form may mark one of the most outwardly buggy experiences that I’ve ever had playing a video game. From odd white flickering lines when driving at night, to zombies frequently falling right out of the sky, to  open doors that don’t register that they’re open, to being unable to clear an infestation as a zombie is stuck in a wall, you’ll likely encounter all of these within your first few hours of playing the game. On one instance, my mission was to help another survivor (and potential recruit) clear the zombies from a gas station – those zombies simply never spawned until I quit and reloaded the game. In another instance, I was completing a tougher mission in a far corner of the map, ‘Freaks’ (special, more powerful zombies like Bloaters, Screamers, Juggernauts, and Ferals) were all over the place, and a Plague Heart was just next door. I found the person (a fugitive) that I was looking for, helped him find an item that they needed to find to prove their innocence (all of this being far harder than expected due to my survivor being absolutely exhausted), and all that was left was to help them get back to their community for a fair trial. We snuck back to my vehicle, and when I tried to get in I realized that my character could no longer stand up from his crouching position or interact with anything in the environment. I tried everything that I could (slowly scrambling to a nearby ladder, performing emotes that required standing), but eventually had to quit and reload the game. Once the game loaded again, I was in the same location, but the mission was no longer active and I haven’t seen it since. Super frustrating.

I never did get to kill him (or several others like him that I’ve encountered since).

Yeah… These guys are everywhere.

Aside from these occasional frustrations, I’m having a total blast with State of Decay 2. The game is addicting as hell, and while playing I’ll constantly think to myself “just one more supply run,” over and over and over again – you can pretty much never stop playing until you’re about to pass out from exhaustion (mirroring just how tough things can get in the game if you don’t let your survivors rest).

At times it can be unclear just what you should be focussing on next, but I suppose that’s just in the true open world nature of the game – focus on what you think is important, the supplies you need the most, or the thing that will make the biggest difference in your group. Early on in the game I came across a huge potential home base that would cost quite a bit of influence to obtain, so I spent the next few hours barely getting by, constantly running low on ammo, and breaking a ton of weapons (I didn’t spend the influence to build a workshop, which can help you repair damaged weapons and craft additional ammunition). Eventually I had the resources to make the move, and it was quickly clear that the few hours of struggle was more than worth the wait. I also had an instance early in the game where I’d received word of a group of traders with some powerful weapons who were charging far more for them than was fair. I tried to get them to make their prices more reasonable (because everyone left alive in this world deserves to feel at least somewhat safe), and they simply told me to screw off. Here, I had the choice to leave them be, continuing to gouge prices for their weapons, or to threaten to take matters into my own hands if they weren’t more fair going forward. I began to leave the establishment before thinking “I don’t think that they’ll actually attack me this early on in the game,” and turned around to persist in my demands. The group became hostile and began to open fire, and I was forced to kill the group in order to survive myself. The missions in State of Decay 2 can occasionally feel like they exist simply to give you tasks to fill your day, but there’s also the inverse, where missions like I’ve just described and the choices that you’ve made within them, will stick with you long after they’ve been completed.

The game looks and sounds fine, but it’d be hard to call it very pretty after so recently experiencing titles like Sea of Thieves (read my review here) or God of War. State of Decay 2 is a budget-priced title from a small developer, and while every aspect of its presentation has improved significantly from the first game (and its Xbox One / PC special edition), it’s simply not going to win any awards for its looks. That said, I’ve been playing on an Xbox One X, and have definitely appreciated the game’s 4K resolution and HDR support, The lighting can often be fairly striking, and as the sun sets each day it’s tough not to look at the horizon or up at the gorgeous starscape. Sound wise, the zombies sound gross, the guns sound loud (sometimes teeth-clenchingly so, like when you know you’ve just summoned a nearby horde), and the soundtrack is tense and not overused. Voice acting is another story, and while much of the game is not voice acted due to the procedural generation of many characters, when it is present you… well, pretty much just wish it wasn’t. It’s not good.

Overall, for all of the small (and occasionally larger) issues that I’ve had so far, many of which I’d imagine we’ll see taken care of in patches after launch, I am unbelievably addicted to State of Decay 2. I’m beyond excited to jump into a friend’s world once the game launches next week in order to learn just how much we can help (or hinder) one another, and with so much still to explore in this expansive world, I know there are still a myriad of memories to be made. Undead Labs has crafted a smart action survival game with a lot to love – I just hope that sooner or later the technical issues can be resolved so that the only reason you’re swearing at State of Decay 2 is because of tough zombies or your poor decisions.

State of Decay 2 shambles its way to a 3.75/5.

tl;dr

+Expansive, interesting world
+Massive improvements to the first game’s mechanics, did away with some systems that were poorly received.
+Fatigue system can make things very tense (good tense)
+Your actions (or lack of) actually feel important

-So. Many. Bugs.
-Not very pretty
-Poor voice acting
-Tutorial doesn’t provide enough explanation for some mechanics, leaving you feeling like an idiot when you realize them hours later (here’s looking at you, transferring contents from your vehicle to your supply locker)

Side note: Back in January, Microsoft noted that all future Microsoft Studios published titles would hit their inexpensive Game Pass service on the day they release. This, of course, includes future games in the Halo, Gears of War, and Crackdown series’, and it also included Sea of Thieves (review here) day and date with its launch back in March. As I mentioned above, I’ve (mostly) been having a blast with State of Decay 2 so far, but if you didn’t enjoy the first game, or you’re just not sure if an open world zombie survival title is the game for you, you can simply sign up for a free Game Pass trial and make up your own damned mind!

State of Decay 2 is also an Xbox Play Anywhere title, which means your digital purchase (or Game Pass subscription) lets you play the game across your Xbox One or Windows 10 PC. My fiancé and I have been using this feature to play Sea of Thieves together, and if my computer will run it, we might do the same thing here!

Geekscape 466: A Holiday Bromance With Leo Camacho!

by Jonathan

Leo Camacho should’ve been on Geekscape years ago! A popular Disney and Star Wars cosplayer (and a lot more), Leo comes on the show to talk about how we’ve both heard of each other for years and yet never hung out… until now! We talk about Leo’s journey into cosplay and how that’s changed over the years. We give our non-spoiler thoughts on ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ and we bond over Tolkien and Michael Dudikoff! If that’s not the makings of a strong bromance, what is? PLUS! Jonah Hex himself Johnathon Schaech calls in to talk about his new zombie film ‘Day of the Dead: Bloodline’!

Subscribe to the Geekscape podcast on iTunes!

Subscribe to Geekscape on Soundcloud!

Subscribe to Geekscape TV on YouTube!

Get your own Loot Crate subscription! And use the offer code ‘Geekscape’ for a discount!

Horror Movie Night Episode 94: Return of the Living Dead Part 3

by Saintmort

We here at Horror Movie Night understand that our listeners are a diverse group, so what’s a little innocent neceophilia between friends? In honor of you delightful deviants, we’re talking about arguably the sexiest zombie flick ever – or at least from the 90s – Return of the Living Dead III from 1993! This pick harkens back to our recent commentary track for Bride of Re-Animator, as director Brian Yuzna wanted more screen time for the Bride and wrote this as a sort of spiritual successor. Thanks, Mr. Yuzna, we love ya! Hope you’re hungry again, because racist stereotypes and DIY body mods are on the menu for this week’s episode of Horror Movie Night!

Feel free to join in discussion at on our Facebook Group or in the comments below.

Do you have a movie suggestion for us or just want to tell us stories about your experiences with the movies we’ve watched? Send them to us at HMNPodcast@gmail.com

Also subscribe to our podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes

Konami Announces New ‘Metal Gear’ Game!!. . . . . . . . . .With Zombies

by The_acz

Another hot and ready announcement to come out of Gamescom this morning is the reveal of a brand new Metal Gear game by Konami!

No, it’s not a Pachinko or mobile game either, but a real console Metal Gear game! Let’s check it out shall we? (Wow Golly this sure is exciting. Obviously nothing can go wrong.)

Z………..Zombie game? I-it’s just a zombie game? Oh, ok. I-it’s not like I wanted an actual Metal Gear game with an original story or anything. I mean, obviously this is the right move. Online multiplayer survival games are all the rage right now. Just take a look at the amazing success and critical/user darling that is Resident Evil: Umbrella Corp.

Umbrella Corp

SERVERS ARE BOOMING AND ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH!
SERVERS ARE BOOMING AND ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH!

Anyways, Metal Gear Survive  is expected to launch sometime in 2017 and crush peoples hopes and dreams of ever getting a proper MGS game within the next 10 years. The disappointment is expected to launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Sad Bosman

SDCC 2016: Watch The Trailer For Season 2B Of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: We’re expecting to see the full trailer for The Walking Dead proper’s seventh season any time now, but for now you’ll just have to settle with a good look at season 2B of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead.

The series takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

I’m avoiding the video myself, as I’m not quite up to date with Fear at this point and time. In any case, you can take a look at the trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Fear the Walking Dead returns to AMC on August 21st!

SDCC 2016: ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Gets Some Gorgeous New Key Art, Two New Stills!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: We may still be a week away from the actual convention, but that hasn’t stopped AMC from giving us our very first look at the upcoming episodes of Fear The Walking Dead.

The network has just debuted some slick new key art for the popular series, and two new still images to go along with it.

Now, I’m sure this isn’t all that we’ll see from Fear at this year’s Comic-Con; we’ll certainly see the first trailer for the main series, and I imagine we’ll see some for the spinoff as well. On top of that, convention goers will also have the opportunity to board the Abigail themselves on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9:00am – 9:00pm PT.

Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

Take a look at the key art and images below, and let us know if you’re excited for the return!

FearKey

Walkers - Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
Walkers – Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC

 

Frank Dillane as Nick Clark - Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 - Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC
Frank Dillane as Nick Clark – Fear of the Walking Dead _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Richard Foreman Jr/AMC

Boats Are Bad In The First Trailer For ‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Second Season!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Following that gorgeous key art from earlier today, AMC has officially debuted the first teaser trailer for next month’s return of Fear the Walking Dead.

Yep, even within the 30-second trailer, it’s pretty clear pretty quickly that hopping on a boat was a bad idea.

Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane  as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and  Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

Take a look at the trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you hope to see next season. Fear the Walking Dead returns on April 10th!

‘Fear The Walking Dead’s Second Season Gets Some Gorgeous Key Art!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: With just over a month left until Fear the Walking Dead reunites us with our favourite post-apocalyptic broken family, AMC has just debuted the season’s official, officially gorgeous key art.

You’d think that in this sort of situation, being on a boat would be exactly where you’d want to be. Apparently (based on the image, anyways), this is not going to be the case.

Fear the Walking Dead takes us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse – a time when the world was changing rapidly for reasons unknown, before anyone understood exactly what was happening, when life as everyone knew it was upended and altered in ways no one could have ever imagined. The series also stars Frank Dillane  as Nick, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Alicia, Ruben Blades as Daniel, Mercedes Mason as Ofelia,and  Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris.

Fear the Walking Dead returns on April 10th, and we can’t freaking wait. Take a look at the key art below, and be sure to let us know if you’re excited!

Fear2

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Gets A Batch Of New Character Posters!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: I remember being so excited for the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies adaptation when it was first announced back in 2009 (the same year that the book was first published). Since then, the film has shifted stars, directors, studios, and more. At last year’s New York Comic-Con we saw the film’s first image , late last year we were treated to the bloody awesome first footage, and since we’ve seen some slick TV spots, all of which make this adaptation look like an absolutely blast.

I really enjoyed the novel, turning something that was nearly impossible for me to get through into something funny, original, and incredibly intriguing. I really can’t wait to see how the film adaptation turns out.

A batch of character posters for the film have just hit the web, and they definitely get us hungry to see the full feature (and made us remember that Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith is also in this). You can take a look at the images below, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits (North American) theatres on February 5th!

Pride1

Pride2

Pride3

Pride4

Pride5

Pride6

Pride7

Pride8

Source: Empire

Fight Like A Lady With A New ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ TV Spot!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: I remember being so excited for the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies adaptation when it was first announced back in 2009 (the same year that the book was first published). Since then, the film has shifted stars, directors, studios, and more. At last year’s New York Comic-Con we saw the film’s first image , and late last year we were treated to the bloody awesome first footage.

I really enjoyed the novel, turning something that was nearly impossible for me to get through into something funny, original, and incredibly intriguing. I really can’t wait to see how the film adaptation turns out.

A new TV spot for the film has just hit the web, and it definitely gets me hungry to see the full feature. You can take a look at the video below, and be sure to let us know what you think! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits theatres on February 5th!

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Watch A Bloody Lovely New Trailer For ‘Price And Prejudice And Zombies’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Following our first (overdue) look at the film back at NYCC, and a radical (yes, we still say that in Canada) poster release just a few weeks back, a new trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has just debuted online.

I remember being so excited for the adaptation when it was first announced back in 2009 (the same year that the book was first published). Since then, the film has shifted stars, directors, studios, and more, and after seeing the first image from the actually happening film back in November of last year, it’s fantastic to see the marketing ball finally rolling.

I really enjoyed the novel, turning something that was nearly impossible for me to get through into something funny, original, and incredibly intriguing. I really can’t wait to see how the film adaptation turns out.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is directed by 17 Again and Charlie St. Cloud director Burr Steers, with a script from Steers and David O. Russell. Take a look at the new trailer below, and let us know what you think!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hits theatres on February 5th!

https://youtu.be/83mtTP_biuM

Geekscape Reviews: ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’!

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

Fear not, you primitive screwheads, Ash vs Evil Dead brings back everything you love about Evil Dead in convenient fun-size packages each week on Starz. Be sure to set your DVRs for the premiere, fittingly airing tonight on Halloween. If you’re unfamiliar with the magic that is the Evil Dead, it has been appropriately summarized as “splatstick”—meaning, imagine the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges with shotguns, chainsaws and broken beer bottles fighting demons from hell, then roll all of that into one man, Ashley ‘Ash’ J. Williams (Bruce Campbell) with his boomstick shotgun and a chainsaw for a hand—which he lost after evil got into his hand and it went bad. . . so he lopped it off at the wrist.

Can the show really hold up to its cinematic heritage? Actually, I would argue that not only does it hold up but it enhances the legendary storyline. It’s all the same creators returning to play in the gory sandbox, Sam Raimi and his crew including Bruce Campbell. The main cast for the show, assembled around Campbell, is great—Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Jill Marie Jones and Lucy Lawless—with character perspectives enhancing the lunacy or contrasting it to make it feel all the more real. Guest stars are pleasantly surprising, including Mimi Rogers in the second episode who, believe it or not, does her own stunts—and after witnessing her scenes, you’ll be impressed with what she pulled off. At first I thought, the shots had to be a stunt double but I was wrong.

I must admit—as a testament to the strength of the storytelling and gleefully insane entertainment—that there was a mixup with my screeners and I ended up watching the second episode before the first but I didn’t lose a shred of enjoyment. The characters are so strong that you’re immediately sucked into the story and clinging to the roller coaster of thrills, chills and laughter.

As is Raimi’s style, the camera itself is a character–whipping through scenes and sets with a breakneck speed of pans, crash zooms and ultra extreme dutching that shoves you directly into the middle of the action. The giddily exuberant use of the fake blood budget sprays out of those climactic scenes and will leave your screen soaking in delightful crimson.

AshVsEvilDead_Poster02_600x900Firsthand word from inside the writers’ room was that there were three challenges to overcome to get the show where it is today. The first and probably biggest and most unfortunate, is that Raimi doesn’t have control over all of the rights to the third Evil Dead film, Army of Darkness. Writers had to be careful and clever to make sure the show fit with the storyline without violating the rights that they couldn’t get—which they’ve pulled off very well, making everything feel properly cohesive. The second was that, since the show is filmed in New Zealand, sometimes common American visual references weren’t always available. One example was that the signature car with the steering wheel on the common American left side couldn’t be found locally and had to be shipped over. Their final challenge, that Starz was beginning to have doubts about what they’d gotten into, was quickly abated early in production when they saw the rough cut for the first episode. The executives quickly changed their tune and were on board with any crazy idea the writers could come up with from that point on. Now, the whole room challenges each other to come up with the wackiest setup they can and make sure that it gets on camera. Those scribes must be doing well because Starz has already picked up the show for a second season! After the first two episodes, I can hardly wait to see what’s coming next!

So pull on an old sheet with eyeholes cut out, yank on that mask or slap on that makeup to get out there and have some Halloween fun with your friends trick-or-treating tonight then beat a path home for some excellently cringey chuckles and pillow talk with the very groovy Ash vs Evil Dead! Catch you on the flip flop.

https://youtu.be/0h5NNl48w1M

Horror Movie Night – Episode 15: Lifeforce

by Saintmort

Don’t put your clothes back on yet, you have 7 more minutes of screen time in Tobe Hooper’s expensive flop Life Force! Adam and Scott lose their minds to the space vampires, while Matt pushes up his glasses and focuses on the facts. The robot from Rocky also makes an appearance, because why not? It’s Horror Movie Night!

Feel free to join in discussion at on our Facebook Group or in the comments below.

Also subscribe to our podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes

NYCC 2015: After All These Years, The First ‘Pride And Prejudice And Zombies’ Trailer Is Here!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: I remember being so excited for the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies adaptation when it was first announced back in 2009 (the same year that the book was first published). Since then, the film has shifted stars, directors, studios, and more, and after seeing the first image from the actually happening film back in November of last year, the first footage from the long-awaited adaptation has debuted at New York Comic-Con.

I really enjoyed the novel, turning something that was nearly impossible for me to get through into something funny, original, and incredibly intriguing. I really can’t wait to see how the film adaptation turns out.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is directed by 17 Again and Charlie St. Cloud director Burr Steers, with a script from Steers and David O. Russell. The trailer plays out exactly how I hoped it would, looking simply like another Jane Austen adaptation at the start, and quickly evolving into something more.

Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know what you think!

https://youtu.be/VcTBj7e4k80

Fall TV 2015: Top 10 New & Returning Shows!

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

With shows debuting year-round now and the internet liberating us from the chains of broadcast scheduling, fall’s television premiere season doesn’t quite feel like the mark your calendar affair of yore. Still there’s some great new entertainment coming at us this time of year to gather and enjoy.

There is one trend I’ve noticed in combing through everything—there are a lot of variations on one particular theme. It feels like half the shows on television are an Unusual Genius Helps Authorities Fight Crime (UGHAFC?). It doesn’t mean we should write a show off just for falling into this category—some are doing it very well—only that I’m a little amazed to find the pattern unfolding right under my nose. Some returning UGHAFCs include Sleepy Hollow, iZombie, Castle, The Flash, Scorpion—Grimm mostly fits, although, the authorities are more often tolerated or managed. Some new UGHAFCs are Blindspot, Limitless, Minority Report—Gotham‘s side plot is technically the coming of age for a future UGHAFC. I’m sure you could probably come up with some more examples. I think the strength of UGHAFC shows like Sleepy Hollow, iZombie and Castle is the amount of time we get to spend in the Unusual Genius’ world and how well developed that world is.

I’ve been dutifully consulting my Magic 8 Ball about this fall’s lineup of new and returning shows and thought it only fair to share some results with you. There’s a lot of exciting stuff popping on screens all over and I decided to cut through the noise and find the best possible feasts for the ever dwindling spare eyeball-time. First of all, I’m trying to keep the focus on those shows with some sci-fi/fantasy elements—but there may be some shout-outs and honorable mentions that lie on the fringes. That’s about it, so let me shake this ball and we’ll get started!

Top 5 Harvest of Returning Shows:

№ 5: SLEEPY HOLLOW

(Oct. 1st, 9pm, FOX) Dear Magic 8 Ball (is that how you address these things?), I feel like Sleepy Hollow is poised now to embrace the power of the dark side with wit and and style to become even better. Muah ha ha ha ha! Will the new season mark its entry into the television halls of greatness?! — “Outlook good.”

Watching Sleepy Hollow develop, as it tests its footing on the shaky television landscape, has been enjoyable. Their strongest element is absolutely the man-out-of-time/fish-out-of-water dynamic of Ichabod Crane as he’s forced to face off against magical monsters tied to the American Revolution each week. The handsome Tom Mison, as Ichabod is inspirational casting and he deservedly carries the show alongside the innovative creatures/monsters each week. His back in my day gripes each week, comparing America today to the first days of the nation, are an absolute comedy highlight of the show—and moments like the time he’s handed a gun which he fires once and then tosses because pistols only had one shot during the Revolution—priceless.

As for the rest of the cast—fine actors for the most part—one gets the impression, subconsciously at the very least, that they and the writers are still trying to figure out how exactly they fit into this world. Personally, I was disappointed with the decision to write Ichabod’s wife, Katrina Crane (the lovely Katia Winter), off the show. She felt like the second most solid and interesting character next to Ichabod but it became apparent that the writers didn’t know what to do with her.

The other choice I have reservations about was humanizing the headless horseman. Yes, it’s interesting to find out the monster’s backstory but the resulting manifestation of this personification of doom and destruction feels more effective when its operating out of a removed realm of all but inexplicable evil. I don’t necessarily feel the need to understand the daily emotional motivations of a headless demon (unless they are incredibly fascinating and unexpected). The fact that a decapitated creature from hell wants to kill and destroy works satisfyingly all on its own.

A really great thing to count for the plus column is that, whatever their special effects budget is, they’re using it very well to create some really stunning visuals and excellent creatures.

On the whole, the UGHAFC series had a very good start and it gets stronger and more enjoyable with each episode, even through most of its minor missteps. Considering that they’ve taken a short story by Washington Irving, twisted it with another of his short stories, Rip Van Winkle, and are managing to serve up entertainment that I look forward to each week is quite a feat in itself. I look forward to hoisting a mug of warm mead to the new season of Sleepy Hollow!—(P.S.: Bring back Ichabod’s wife!)

https://youtu.be/fzak6l4w11g

№ 4: iZOMBIE

(Oct. 6th, 9pm, CW) Dear Magic 8 Ball, I had a great time watching the first season of iZombie—will the second season be able to hold up and possibly be even better? — “Most likely.”

iZombie has been adorable fun right out of the gate since starting last season—which is an odd thing to say about anything having to do with zombies (see The Walking Dead below). Versatile Rose McIver is perfectly cast as Olivia “Liv” Moore (get it?!) who became a zombie after getting scratched by one at “the worst boat party ever” on Lake Washington and, after waking a little less than dead, left her budding career as a doctor to become a medical examiner’s assistant at the Seattle PD morgue—which supplies her all the fresh brains her new zombie metabolism craves.

As a viewer, you eagerly follow her through the unfolding plots. Zombies themselves are a conceptually diverse tool in storytelling, allowing for grim commentary on various aspects of modern life. The fresh take that iZombie uses is in identifying with the zombie main character, relating to the isolation and the desire to connect with others—to fit in when you feel like an outsider. Will she let her family get close to her again? Will she get back together with her fiancé? Or will she eat them all as she fears she will? Meantime, Liv is out solving the murders of the victims who come through the morgue as a makeshift UGHAFC “police psychic” because she gets visions from the lives of the brains she eats. Not only that, it’s a delight each week to watch her act in strange new ways because she also takes on the victims’ habits, skills an personalities! (You could almost say she’s the next best thing to Tatiana Maslany’s performance of over ten clones and counting in Orphan Black.)

Her two closest cohorts turn in great performances too. Rahul Kohli as the medical examiner and closest confidant about all things zombie, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, and Aly Michalka as Liv’s befuddled bestie and roommate, Peyton Charles, use the elegance of their natural comedic timing even in dramatic service to the more heartfelt scenes. The effect is laughs and “feels” at all the right moments.

After more developments than I can list here during the first season, I’m really looking forward to everything that’s poised to unfold for season two of iZombie!

https://youtu.be/E4I3BWFJwcg

№ 3: THE WALKING DEAD

(Oct. 11th, 9pm, AMC) Dear Magic 8 Ball. . . astonishment, cringing, canned food, The Walking Dead. . . More excellence? — “Without a doubt.”

The Walking Dead. Holy crap, The Walking Dead. I think we can all agree that this show has pushed television into new territory. I don’t recall seeing or hearing of anything like this on television before. Legit graphic horror as a television show that’s not really pulling any punches—and it’s not just out to shock you, it’s the thinking-person’s horror that’s exploring the nature of life, relationships and defending yourself with anything in reach. Wow. I think this likely helped pave the way for the horrifically gorgeous 3 seasons of Hannibal (til they yanked the plug on that awesome sauce).

This has the most realistic feel of all the entries in this countdown. The reason it comes in at number 3 for me is that it’s just so damn heavy—heavy drama and most times I’m looking for some more levity in my entertainment. If you’re a gloomy Gus, this could be your number one.

The Walking Dead is basically like daily American life with the volume turned all the way up. When hordes of rotting corpses lurk around every corner, hungry to rip you apart and eat you alive, what is it that’s most important to you?—and what are you willing to do to get it and protect it? The Walking Dead reveals the essence of life contrasted against terrifying death on an individual basis that exposes elemental truths of humanity—the good, the bad and the ugly. It questions the true nature of what it means to be strong and to be weak. The surprising and shocking punches these revelations land with sink in like reminders of what we’ve always felt was floating just beneath the surface of our world.

With everything (and everyone!) won, lost, taken and found in Arlington at the end of last season, I cannot wait to see what’s in store for our band of raw threadbare avatars to the richness of the human condition on the next installment of The Walking Dead. (P.S.: Someone please bring back hauntingly beautiful Hannibal!)

№ 2: SUPERNATURAL

(Oct. 7th, 9pm, CW) Dear Magic 8 Ball, I’m addicted to Supernatural. Will my love be returned yet again with a remarkable season 11?! — “It is decidedly so.”

If you were able to take the very best things about the greatest buddy-cop teams, blend that with the cream of campfire ghost stories and then throw open the doors of possibility—you’d have only the jumping off point for the series. It continuously finds ways to keep folding in more—more character dynamics, more storytelling structures, more deep questions tastily sandwiched into monster mayhem. . . If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that they were taking notes from Doctor Who.

The brilliant minds behind Supernatural have successfully built a dynamic that feels comfortable for the returning viewer week to week and at the same time allows for amazing flexibility. Much like The X-Files, one episode may be extremely dramatic followed by one that is practically an hour-long comedy! In fact, I might describe it to a potential viewer as a healthy combo of The X-Files, Ghostbusters and Starsky & Hutch. A sort of on-the-road dude version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, if you will.

The Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean (irreplaceably played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), crisscross the country “saving people, hunting things.” The entire series started as a buddy-cop, road-trip, monster/ghost of the week flavored sort of affair—with the boys chiefly fueled by burgers, unleaded, damsels in distress and the hunt for the demon that killed their mother and Sam’s girlfriend. In those early days, the season-long story arc would take a distant backseat, in their black 1967 Chevy Impala, to each episode’s encounter.

Since then, the Supernatural universe has been massively fleshed out and now each week is most often about another piece in the puzzle for the season’s storyline. The boys have graduated from tackling urban legends come to life each week to taking on hell, purgatory and even a rebellion in heaven over the course of a season.

Every time I think, “Well, that’s it. The end of the series. There’s nowhere to go after that season finale,” they pick up on some unfinished aspect I missed to spin a fresh new season around. It’s a magically delightful sort of 3-Card Monte—”Whoa, I was looking over here while they were setting that up over there!”

They’ve picked up an excellent entourage along the way of reoccurring characters, including my current favorites, Crowley (I can never get enough of Mark Sheppard), the new king of hell, Castiel (Misha Collins is awesome!—he should be cast in everything), a rebel angel who once took over heaven, and now Claire (a very impressive Kathryn Newton) the orphaned teenage daughter of Castiel’s vessel (long story), who brings a fresh new dynamic and energy to the show for each episode she’s in.

One of the remarkable feats that Supernatural has pulled off, quite a few times now, is reaching through the fourth-wall. They’ve done it in several different ways and haven’t fallen on their faces yet—if anything, it has actually enriched the experience of the show each time—extending the definition of “supernatural” in a deeper way that seems to defy the physics of television shows themselves. (Tried a couple different ways of explaining more here—but I don’t think reading about it would give the experiences justice. I would rather not rob you of those first experiences yourself, if you don’t already know what I’m talking about.)

Without giving too much away, the ancient (original?) curse that kept Dean alive in the previous season has consequences that pit the brothers against each other last season. Now, with the setup for The Darkness impending, the new season of Supernatural looks promising indeed.

https://youtu.be/tdIbvJ_RgiA

№ 1: DOCTOR WHO

(Sept. 19th, 9pm, BBC America) Dear Magic 8 Ball, will the new season of Doctor Who be some can’t miss television? — “You may rely on it.”

The idea that Doctor Who isn’t the number one show on everyone’s must-see TV list (or “rather ought to” telly queue?) is a concept I find wholly befuddling. Doctor Who is, quite simply, the culmination of all human storytelling up to now—it is the ongoing saga that has successfully digested all other existing story structures. It’s sci-fi, fantasy, drama, horror, comedy, thriller, western, classical, procedural, ghost, love, family, monster. . . The storytelling lens of Doctor Who is so broadly fine tuned that the lucky and talented writers are able to weave any tale they wish through it. Every episode is a display of magic unfolding. It’s safe to say, if there is any kind of storytelling you like, Doctor Who has episodes for you—and if there are story types you don’t like, Doctor Who may just put them in a new light for you.

To say that Doctor Who is like The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Terminator, Alien, Indiana Jones, and even The Labyrinth and Harry Potter all rolled into one isn’t inaccurate—but it just doesn’t do the show full justice because it’s even more than that.

There are two caveats for American viewers: the first is that it’s a British show—and it becomes far more British the further back in the canon you go. British, meaning that, the pace and construction of characters, themes and interactions can take a moment to adjust to for Yankee brains. It’s just a slightly different perspective on the world that Hollywood rarely shines a light on. The second thing to keep in mind, particularly if you plan to dig into the back catalog, regards the production: producers of the show have always done their best to show all of time and space with whatever limited budget they were allotted. Since the fabric of spacetime is apparently infinite and their budgets weren’t, you can see where they might often fall short—but, if you could forgive some papier-mâché costumes and old cardboard sets you were richly rewarded by the stories. To quote the Doctor himself, “it’s more like a big ball of wibbly–wobbly. . . timey-wimey. . . stuff.” That said, the further decades you go back, the more you can see how it has grown from something akin to filmed children’s theatre into the juggernaut it is today. Additionally—and this is coming from two decades working in digital format conversions—although recent advancements are making it unnecessary, the British have always broadcast television in the PAL format at 25 frames per second, while American eyeballs have been tuned to NTSC at almost 30 frames per second for decades and decades. Even after conversion, what you’re watching can feel “wrong” on a subconscious level to the Yankee brain just because the flicker is different. It took me about six of those earlier episodes to adjust. These days, most entertainment is being shot at standard film speed which is 24 frames per second, a frequency the entire world is accustomed to.

Now that the show has garnered ever stronger international audiences, the “Britishness” has become a bit more universal and the production values have gone way up. You can pinpoint the change to the episode of the first season that Matt Smith took over the reins of the Doctor. The only requirement now is a tolerance for the initially perceived silliness and frequent leaps of faith (fat that comes to life, alien assassins that consume your life’s potential and then leave you to live to death, a police “phone booth” that is a whole world larger on the inside and travels through time and space)—for which you are fully rewarded. After some time as a viewer, the concepts begin to feel much less far fetched—the show succeeds in taking nearly any “wacky” setup and presenting it as honestly valid and valuable.

Last season introduced Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and, while every “regeneration” is traumatic for viewers, this one somehow felt more so. The writers weren’t exactly sure how to write for him yet? It became the Clara Oswald season, which was perfectly fine by me. Jenna Coleman as the Doctor’s current companion is really electric and has delivered some of the most powerful scenes on the show recently.  Now the breaking news of this being her last season on Doctor Who is extremely disappointing after she carried the last season. What the future holds after this season is uncertain but I’m sure it will be great—I’m just devastated that this will be the last of Clara Oswald as the companion. So catch her while you can!

I’ve often been moved to tears, fallen from the couch in peels of laughter, cringed with fright and been held breathless in astonishment—frequently in the same episode (“Blink”, “The Girl in the Fireplace” and “Vincent and the Doctor” just to name a few). I expect all of this (and more!) with the new season of Doctor Who.

Returning Honorable Mentions:

№ yeah!: CASTLE

(Sept. 21st, 10pm, ABC) Dear Magic 8 Ball, should I stay loyal to my not-so-secret crush on Castle this season? — “Yes.”

Strictly speaking, Castle doesn’t belong on this list—but I feel the need to give it a shout-out regardless. The fact that it stars Nathan Fillion is practically a qualifier all on its own. The rest of the cast—including Stana Katic, Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas—are fantastically enjoyable as well.

Honestly, if it wasn’t for Fillion, I never would have checked this show out in the first place—procedurals just aren’t my cup of tea—but Fillion as a bestselling crime fiction writer embedding himself with the NYPD?! Had to give it shot—and I’ve been far from disappointed. (Well, that and—full disclosure—I first met Seamus back when I was performing standup with his lovely, funny and talented wife, Juliana Dever [frequent guest star as Det. Kevin Ryan’s girlfriend/wife], years ago and was excited to cheer on his big break with Fillion when the show premiered.)

Castle continues to plumb the writer playing cop—with actual cops!—UGHAFC premise brilliantly. They feature enough stories that blur the lines between the realities of a police procedural and Rick Castle’s love of sci-fi/fantasy to keep me hooked and invested week after week. Episodes like the one with the man who said he was from the future, the one with the artifact that may have been a portal to a parallel dimension or the one about vampires. . . or Bigfoot—the list goes on—are often left delightfully open ended. Am I looking forward to the new season of Castle? You betcha!

№ hope?: AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

(Sept. 29th, 9pm, ABC) Dear Magic 8 Ball, the special Agents of SHIELD have yet to uncover my devotion. Will they pull it off this season? — “Better not tell you now.”

The fun thing about season premieres (and finales) is that shows typically have bigger budgets to play with. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is a good example of that this season. Fan reaction to the show overall thus far has been lukewarm on average. Scripts are lacking strength with some plots and dialogue that can feel forced. Characters are difficult to connect with. The whole thing has a sort of manufactured aftertaste.

Fresh out of the gate this season, the show is looking pretty dazzling but will they be able to connect with viewers who are dying to love them? Being one such viewer, I’m settling in for this season of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and hoping they finally open up to me.

№ zip-a-dee-doo-dah: THE FLASH

(Oct. 6th, 8pm, CW) Dear Magic 8 Ball, The Flash looks great but I think I’m missing something—should I take another run at it this season? — “Concentrate and ask again.”

There are a lot of folks that are huge fans of The Flash. I am merely a fan. For about the first 10 episodes you watched as the show sort of meandered around, testing its footing to see what tone it wanted, what kind of show it would grow into. It was interesting enough to keep me watching but, even as its direction became more focused in the final few episodes, I still wasn’t finding myself able to really connect with any of the characters. The portrayals all felt a bit too cartoony to me. I want to care, I really do, but I don’t. If I can’t invest in the characters, I can’t invest in the story—and there’s a lot of great story to work with.

To tell the truth, the show is already one of the better options on TV—but, in age of so many series that are able to make significant connections with viewers, The Flash is coming up a bit short. There is so much in the works for the series’ second season, more time travel, parallel dimensions, parallel Flashes. . . It’s all sounding very exciting—I’m just hoping The Flash‘s creators can get me to care.

№ bat: GOTHAM

(Sept. 21st, 8pm, FOX) Dear Magic 8 Ball, Gotham‘s looking good—did they lose some weight? Should we make a date this fall? — “Signs point to yes.”

Very pleased to see that Gotham recognized its shortcomings from last season, corrected course and is off to nice start this fall. Honestly, even after the last Gotham update here on Geekscape, I didn’t think the show was going to make this list. Many times, when a series or franchise attempts to make a course adjustment, creatives’ egos and/or executives’ bottom lines can interfere, making the adjustment not enough or overly extravagant.

So far, it seems Gotham’s refocus is just right—characters are exhibiting a fuller range of emotion and the whole presentation has just the right amount of silliness, inherent in Batman stories from the beginning. The dark whimsy has been blended back in to properly offset and enhance the ol’ Detective Comics‘ native flavor of gloomy dreariness on the palette. Its a balancing act that the comics have been pulling off for decades and you can feel when screen adaptations get wrong. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the season plays out. Bravo, Gotham creators!

№ hmm: GRIMM

(Oct. 30th, 9pm, NBC) Dear Magic 8 Ball, what’s up with Grimm? Should we be watching the new season? — “Reply hazy, try again.”

Honestly, I really like Grimm. I look forward to each next episode. However, there is something I keep trying to put my finger on that keeps me from fully connecting with the show. My current theory is that there is an “underlying apology” to its presentation—maybe? A sort of, “Sorry we’re not a standard cop show—but we’ve got a really nice secret society of creatures mythology thingy we’re working on that we hope you’ll like!”

Just be true to yourself, Grimm!—be proud of the dorky/geeky genre baby that you are! If you double-down and go whole-hog with what you’ve created, your current audience will become solid devotees—and probably start dragging more people to the party!

The two characters that seem to genuinely inhabit the world of Grimm are Monroe and Trubel—with a shout-out to Bree Turner, as Rosalee, and Sasha Roiz, as Capt. Renard. Silas Weir Mitchell as Monroe, the gentle, awkward and reserved big bad wolf was a surprise hit very quickly. This guy is clearly a professional actor who studied the material he was given and created a marvelously rich character out of it that is my main draw to the show each week. Jacqueline Toboni as Trubel, a runaway who discovers she has special abilities to hunt as a grimm, is another example of marvelous acting chops and has been an invigorating addition. Her take on the character is an excellent fit with the mythos in play.

The real trouble is that it seems the writers too often lean on story constructs better suited to soaps and primetime cop dramas. Even when they try and dive deeper into the secret society and the royals it comes off more like something from General Hospital or The Young & the Restless rather than exciting and mysterious, like a Frankenstein, Dracula, Indiana Jones or Goonies type vibe. I mean, Nick’s longtime girlfriend gains powers and suddenly decides to be evil?! I didn’t get that at all.

The show is inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales; I recommend returning to that source material and capturing that magic. Should you watch Grimm? I don’t know—I do—and I wish I could feel stronger about recommending it.

Returning Show Quick Takes!

THE LEFTOVERS — Damon Lindelof, I love you as a human being with excellent taste and a creative soul—but I’ve been burned by your creations too many times to give this fascinating premise a shot.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: [ANYTHING] — More like Eccentric European Fetish Story and I prefer to get my obscure French vampire sex romps from the source—Gérard Depardieu.

ARROW — A lot of people really love this show and it has clearly done well in the ratings. Maybe you’re one of these fans (or potential fans) but for my palette, I got the impression at the start that this might have that neutered and manufactured flavor to its construction and I have yet to see any clips or segments that make me think I might’ve been wrong. (Yes, I just used “neutered” and “flavor” in the same sentence and am now questioning all the life decisions that have led me to this point.)

ONCE UPON A TIME — I feel so strung-along by this show; like it’s always just about to get good—or even interesting. Once again, I’m just going to give it a few more episodes to. . .

SCORPION — This UGHAFC show is actually pretty neat and fun, I enjoy watching it—however, it’s placed pretty much at the end of my queue each week. I don’t feel like I have to watch it. I really do like it though.

Top 5 Crop of New Shows:

№ 5: HEROES REBORN

(Sept. 24th, 8pm, NBC) Dear Magic 8 Ball. . . Uh, Heroes Reborn? — “Ask again later.”

I was really ready to write this off out of hand but the pilot has me sort of pausing to consider. After the fizzle-out of Heroes the first time around, for its self-important meandering storylines that didn’t come to any interesting conclusions, it looks like we may be in for more of the same. The thing with Heroes is that it somehow makes you doubt if you’re really not enjoying it or just not synched up with it properly. Then once the episode’s been over for a few hours, you realize you really didn’t care about it at all and could’ve better spent that time gardening, researching French poetry or stalking your ex.

I have the feeling that Heroes Reborn is going to be more of the same. However, it’s just good enough to bite your lip and try to hang on for a couple episodes to make sure. It has started out addictive, like the first series (best story line; Zachary Levi’s serial mutant/”evo” killer—worst story line; the girl who can enter a video game with a sword), let’s hope that it’s not ultimately disappointing, like the first series. Damn, this is a special kind of hell. Just get it right, Heroes Reborn!—for crying out loud, just get it right.

https://youtu.be/7vs78vS7MFo

№ 4: BLINDSPOT

(Sept. 21st, 10pm, NBC) Dear Magic 8 Ball, the setup ingredients for Blindspot‘s entertainment level seem perfect—maybe too perfect. Is this a safe bet to get into this season? — “Signs point to yes.”

Blindspot sneaks onto this list with a decent sci-fi-adjacent premise and the casting of my favorite part of the Thor movies, Jaimie Alexander, as Jane Doe—a woman who wakes up naked, zipped inside a duffle bag and freshly covered in cryptic tattoos; with no memory of anything. . . except the skills to do everything. . . especially kicking ass. Are you kidding me?!—I’m so entirely in!

Her tattoos seem to point to large scale crimes and attacks that haven’t taken place yet—so, naturally, I’m holding out that she’s actually from the future and her memories were chemically wiped to keep her from playing the lottery, retrofitting a Delorean and starting Skynet or something. So far the show hasn’t backed up my theory yet. Bullocks. Alexander’s performance in the pilot is pretty dead on as, essentially, a newborn in a frightening world, with frightening skills and the frightening realization that she has no idea if she prefers coffee or tea because she doesn’t know what they taste like. The second episode feels a little worrying, like they may allow the super-cool setup to drift into the background as they concentrate on being just another UGHAFC procedural. Let’s hope not. Creators; if that is your intention, take a look at Castle and take notes—they’ve clearly nailed the formula.

I’m already hooked on Blindspot and I’ve got my fingers crossed that they keep me seduced.

https://youtu.be/9FHLBldRdIo

№ 3: LIMITLESS

(Sept. 22nd, 10pm, CBS) Dear Magic 8 Ball, will Limitless live up to its name—with entertainment!? — “Outlook good.”

Limitless returns us to the world of the film it’s based on. Chances are, your feelings about the film is probably how you’ll feel about the pilot—and then a bit more. For example; I thought the film was fine but I’m really liking the show so far. If you didn’t like the movie you may really not like the pilot—however, it’s got some good things going for it: great cast, pretty good (and simple) setup and, somehow, the show feels a touch more relatable than the movie did. I also found it rather inspirational; not in the, “I wanna do drugs,” kinda way but in the, “I’d like to reclaim that mental and physical agility I enjoyed as a youth. Do some Sudoku. Hit the gym. Bust out some parkour. Make sure my health insurance is paid up,” sorta way. The lingering feeling at the end of an episode is one of fun—a peek at what the world might be like if it really was your playground.

Some people like the instigating premise of the plot, some don’t. Either way, the strength of the show is in the casting and the clever writing. Jake McDorman plays the guy who stumbles into the super drug NZT. I last saw McDorman in the enjoyable failure, Manhattan Love Story, and he seems to bring a certain relatable sparkle to anything he does—I’m glad to see him again in the lead role here. Jennifer Carpenter plays the FBI agent who must hunt him down and control him to contain the situation. Of course, Carpenter was previously the delightfully scene-chewing sister in Dexter and she brings her relatably pleasing hidden below the surface cocktail of damaged-goofball.

The dynamic becomes the man-boy slacker, who is suddenly made into a super-genius, being wrangled by a woman who may secretly resent having had to grow up. She seems to sympathize and identify with the chemically induced slacker savant and struggles with the conflict of wanting to follow his lead while still following her orders from the FBI.

The danger here is the show falling into that same UGHAFC mold that’s been done a lot lately. If they manage to continue keeping that in the background and focus on telling the journey of a guy thrust into knowing infinitely more than he ever should, that will make for a really entertaining series. It probably helped a lot that the first two episodes are directed by the brilliant Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man). All things considered, I’m enjoying Limitless a lot more than I thought I would.

№ 2: THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE

(pilot available now, series continues Nov. 20th, Amazon) Dear Magic 8 Ball, can The Man in the High Castle really deliver on the amazing promise shown in the pilot already? — “Outlook good.”

Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle is really rather impressive. I have to admit, while I am a huge fan of the shopping perks that come with Amazon’s Prime membership (anything I want can show up at my door in hours!), I haven’t ever used it to watch anything except for The Addams Family movie and episodes of Hannibal (so good—someone bring it back!) which weren’t available elsewhere. This pilot—which was picked up for series earlier to start this fall—looks like it’ll be the show that finally puts Amazon in my regular rotation.

The show is an engrossingly complex answer to a simple hypothetical question: What if the Allied forces had lost WWII to Axis powers? The story picks up in an alternate 1960s where the US has been split into Nazi and Japanese Empire controlled states. There’s a narrow band of neutral territory between them—and their political scheming against each other—running along the Rockies. It’s within this neutral zone that the mysterious Man in the High Castle is rumored to exist—releasing films of an alternate reality where the Allies won the war. I know, right?!

Adapted from a Philip K. Dick story, I should warn you it’s probably not going to be the feel good show of the fall (take other adaptations of Dick’s works; Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall. . .)—but if they keep working the source material properly, you can bet it’ll continue to be great. That is to say, the pilot is great and very promising already. The success of this initiating episode must be due in large part to the executive producer—who directed that richly visceral adaptation of Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? creating Blade Runner—Ridley Scott.

So it’s already impressive and it’s in excellent hands?—I think it’s a safe bet that adding The Man in the High Castle is going to enrich all our queues with some marvelously engaging entertainment.

№ 1: ASH vs EVIL DEAD

(Oct. 31st, 9pm, STARZ) Dear Magic 8 Ball, I don’t even need you on this one. I couldn’t be more stoked for the arrival of Ash vs Evil Dead! — “Groovy.”

Ash vs Evil Dead?! Are you kidding me? No question—if you can only watch one new show this season Starz’s extension of the Evil Dead franchise is the one. To be fair, the Evil Dead flavor isn’t for everyone but if you’re reading Geekscape this is very likely your cup of tea, even if you don’t know it yet.

That “flavor” is difficult to put into words but here’s a shot: it’s a genuine horror screwball action comedy. It’s what might result if Monty Python teamed up with National Lampoon to produce a Stephen King story. It doesn’t pull punches with the horror or the comedy. You’re knocked out of your seat with frights and laughs.

The key players are back in what they are describing as a natural evolution of the material; prolific producer/writer/director Sam Raimi (Army of Darkness, Spider-Man) and the irreplaceable Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.) as Ashley “Ash” J. Williams. This time out, they’re joined by another regular Raimi player, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Salem) in what sure to be one heck of a badass team up.

I really don’t know what else I can tell you—it’s “you had to be there” entertainment. You could read the excitement of our reaction at the SDCC announcement. It’s the ol’ Evil Dead made fresh and new by the very same hands that made it in the first place—including the one and only Ash, his boomstick and his chainsaw hand! If you want more than that, you’ll have to make it yourself with your own army of deadites! Ash vs Evil Dead, baby! I think it’s going to be like pillow talk for your face.

https://youtu.be/unnLg1TPCYM

New Honorable Mentions:

№ ooh: CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND

(Oct. 12th, 8pm, CW) Dear Magic 8 Ball, I know this is kinda outta left field but—should I spend this fall with the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? — “Most likely.”

This Crazy Ex-Girlfriend stalks her way on here for living in a hilarious world where she can bust out musical numbers wherever she goes. That can technically qualify as fantasy when. . . What? You say you don’t like musical numbers? Ha ha ha, I was once like you. However, I think series creator, star and certified geek herself, Rachel Bloom begs to disagree with your feelings—making her point with her hit, NSFW (without headphones), YouTube sensation: F*** Me, Ray Bradbury. See now how your feelings were wrong? It’s okay—the same thing happened to me. If that video is what she can do with a shoestring indie budget, I’m looking forward to what she’ll might pull off with a Hollywood bankroll—after she has to wash her mouth out with soap! Salacious! Sign me up for a recurring date with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

№ sooner!: JESSICA JONES

(Nov. 20th, Netflix) Dear Magic 8 Ball, Jessica Jones is absolutely can’t miss, right?! — “Signs point to yes.”

Jessica Jones really deserves to be in the top 5 of new shows—Heroes Reborn could easily be bumped to make room for such promise—but, at this point, this really is mostly just promising promise. There aren’t many details out there about what Netflix is doing with Jessica Jones. Marvel fans know it’s the story of an UGHAFC who has mostly hung up her superpowers to become a private eye but exactly where and how this series picks up the story remains to be seen. Netflix has done a fantastic job with Daredevil so the outlook is very good for this new entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m a huge fan of Krysten Ritter since Veronica Mars so I’m super excited to see her in the super title role here. David Tennant as Kilgrave and Carrie-Anne Moss as Harper are just a couple more of the excellent cast. If and when any new shreds of detail emerge you can bet that Geekscape will get the Jessica Jones nuggets to you, just as we have been. I want to put this in my eyes right now!

New Show Quick Takes!

THE MUPPETS — Hell yeah! Already into this all the way. Bit darker than I was expecting—almost like a drama with hilarious frosting. Like a slower paced Aaron Sorkin creation—with puppets.

SUPERGIRL — Man, I hope this is any good! At this time, I have yet to see anything that conclusively tips the scales—and my expectations are low. So, here’s hopin’ you fly, Supergirl.

SCREAM QUEENS — Happened to catch a clip of Scream Queens and found it delightfully amusing. Looking forward to catching up and watching this little gem. Judging by the creators’ former effort, Glee, it should be great for at least a season.

MINORITY REPORT — I’m sorry. I just don’t have any more room—especially for something that appears to have gutted all the fascination out of the original story to make this show just another UGHAFC lightly dusted with sci-fi. What I really wish is that this was another season of Almost Human—damn, that was a good show. . . bad name, good show.

Geekscape Reviews ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Season 1

by jake108

Well, with the season over, we can now reflect on the good and bad of FTWD’s first season. Don’t worry, we’ll also be recapping the season finale too!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

The season finale started off shots of Los Angeles on fire. Granted, there were only a few select parts on fire, but it was nice seeing the city after spending so much time in the safe zone and compound. As far as the episode goes, most of it falls in line with the prediction I wrote last week. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in predicting a breakout coupled with a walker security breach to the compound, but luckily, we were treated with a little more than that.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-106-nick-dillane-935

Things that I didn’t predict were the highest points of interest in this episode. First, the group suffered a sizable loss by leaving the doctor at the compound. It was easy to see that she had given up, but maybe with a little push, she could have been persuaded. Instead, she went out No Country For Old Men style. A doctor in the group would have boosted their survival potential.

Shorty after, Nick and Strand attempt an escape, but eventually get held up by a hallway full of walkers. Our group comes to the rescue, and all make it out of the compound, but not without injury. First, the soldier Daniel tortured last episode got his revenge by shooting Ofelia. I’m still a little unclear as to why he would shoot her instead of Daniel. My only guess was that it would hurt Daniel more by seeing his daughter get hurt. Ofelia’s injury is treatable and will probably be healed by the time season 2 comes around.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-106-madison-dickens-3-935

Second, Liza is bit…or scratched by a walker, which means she has to go. Before dying, she made a point by saying that the bite doesn’t turn people, it’s the infection that comes from the injury. It would seem that to become a walker, it doesn’t matter how you die, so long as the brain is uninjured. We should also note that zombies are able to survive underwater. This was especially evident in a scene in a The Walking Dead Season 3 episode where [Spoilers] Michonne breaks The Governor’s head aquarium, prompting a severed head attempting to bite Michonne. Also let’s not forget the well-walker found on Hershel’s farm [End Spoilers]. So while the group will eventually reach Abigail, which is presumably the name of the giant boat just offshore, they will still be in danger. Strand, the newest addition to the group, seems to be on top of things so far. If he keeps it up, he may have some ideas to repel water-walkers, should it come to that.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-106-alicia-debnam-carey-935

When I first caught wind that AMC would be producing a prequel to The Walking Dead, I had hoped they would delve more into how the outbreak initially begun. What caused the outbreak? Who was patient zero? How did it spread so rapidly? While FTWD attempted to answer some of these questions, I found that most of the plots in the first season fell flat. It worries me that the folks behind The Walking Dead franchise seem to be focused more so on where to place their next walker setting than the story of humanity’s demise. We got our zombies in the south, we got see them in Los Angeles, soon in the ocean, and now we get to see them on a plane!

I get the Midi-chlorian argument. Keeping a mystery going drives the story in a positive way. I know, I watched LOST. But you have to at least acknowledge the mystery at some point. Even Kenobi had an answer to what the Force was in episode IV. Maybe if FTWD had a few more episodes to work with, we could have gotten away from the heavy family drama that hampered the first half of the season.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-106-travis-curtis-935

On a more positive note, the cookie-cutter characters started to develop in the season finale. It’ll be interesting to see them come into their own as the series goes on. Perhaps the most interesting characters on the show are Strand and Chris. Say what you will about Chris, but he has the age and potential to engage in a few power struggles next season. With his mom dead, and his resentment toward his father even stronger, Chris will probably make more than a few hotheaded decisions.

Agree? Disagree? Don’t be afraid to comment! As always, thanks for reading!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘Cobalt’

by jake108

With the penultimate episode of season one out of the way, it’s looking like we’re going to get a heavy dose of action next week. Still, this week we got a new character and a ton of build up for this season’s climax. So let’s get to it!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

The episode opens up with the downtown camp we’ve been hearing about since last episode. The people in the cages are presumably tagged as threats to both the safe zones and downtown camp. The clinic seems to be located inside a high school gym. The clinic is down to three doctors after the two best were sent on an evacuation order. It’ll be interesting learning where this evac center is located since it seems to be reserved for people with a higher role in society – more on this later.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-105-liza-rodriguez-2-935

Meanwhile, back at the safe zone, Daniel and Ofelia decide to take one of the military personal hostage with the hopes of getting some information and eventually using him for a potential trade. I can’t say this is the smartest idea for the Daniel and Ofelia to do, but they’re definitely running out of options. This was evident by the time Daniel decided take the torture route. After the torture, Daniel was able to learn exactly what the military has planned.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-105-daniel-blades-935

Some other interesting military tidbits we should be aware of is how stretched the military is. One sergeant told LT. Moyers that some of his men had been awake for fifty hours. Either Moyers is grossly misusing his soldiers, or there’s just not enough to go around. Honestly, it’s probably both.

We get a further dose of what exactly the military does when they leave the safe zone. Most of the action takes place while Travis takes a ride along with LT. Moyers into Downtown Los Angeles. During these sequences, Travis is exposed what the world has become outside the safe zones. After a brief battle inside a library, Moyers fails to return to the humvee. The real answer as to what exactly happened to Moyers is up for debate. Regardless, the people who had once reported to him have no interest in continuing their duty.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-105-travis-curtis-935

Perhaps the best addition to the series is Victor Strand. Strand seems to have a good understanding of how the world is going to work post-apocalypse. It’ll be interesting to see him and Nick team up for the inevitable escape from the downtown facility. His actions next episode will probably establish Strand as an integral character to the series.

By the end of the episode, we are all familiar with “Cobalt.” In the next episode, we’ll presumably see the start of the extermination of all civilians in the safe zone. I can’t imagine all the soldiers will follow their orders and kill civilians, so we may end up seeing a coup of some sort, which will also be coupled a large force of walkers. Below, you’ll find evacuation orders that coincide with Cobalt:

FTWD-105-SS-22-doc-2e-oug350-

 That’s all for next week! Did I miss something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Check out next week’s promo and a sneak peek!

Tom Payne Is Jesus In ‘The Walking Dead’s Sixth Season!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Does this mean we’ll be seeing Negan too? What will that mean for our beloved Glenn?

TheWrap has learned that Luck and Waterloo Road actor Tom Payne has been cast as a key character in the upcoming season of The Walking Dead.

The actor will portray Jesus, who first appeared in issue 91 of the long-running comic book, became a trusted advisor to Rick in Alexandria, and was pivotal in the struggle against the book’s most extreme villain thus far, Negan.

Based on the casting and the first-look trailer from SDCC, it’s pretty clear that we’re going to be seeing some major changes in this season of the celebrated series. I just hope we end the year with some of our favourite characters making it out alive (and hopefully a few of them don’t to keep things interesting).

What do you think of the casting? Who would you like to see as Negan? Sound out below!

The Physician

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘Not Fade Away’

by jake108

It’s another Sunday and we’re in for another night of FTWD analysis! This episode, we got a run down on the effect the military has the neighborhood and how the rest of the outside world might be coping. Hint: It’s not great.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead! 

We’re nine days into the quarantine and power outage. It seems like the neighborhood and our characters are trying to preserve any sense of normalcy they can, or at least trying to. The most pressing matters seem to be a lack of medicine, telephone lines, and fluctuating electricity. Though, the people are receiving rations, which means some sense of order still exists.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-104-ofelia-mason-2-935

The neighborhood our characters find themselves in seem to be one of twelve safe zones. It would also seem that the military either thinks they do have the upper-hand, or they’re lying to the public about how bad it really is. If you’re interested to see where the other safe zones are in the area, take a look at this map pulled from the second screen experience:

FTWD-104

The public seems to grasping on to anything to prevent losing their minds. A biblical verse, Revelations 21:4 pops up at least twice this episode. I’m honestly not sure if it’s just a really popular verse to recite during the zombie apocalypse, or if the same person is going around posting the same verse around town. It’s probably both. For those of you who would like to know what the verse is, you can find it here:

“And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Revelations 21:4

As the episode goes on, Madison begins to have her second guesses as well. This is fueled further by the case of the mysterious light reflection in the dead zone. I had hoped we’d see some character additions, but, well, the person(s) in that house didn’t seem to make it through the episode.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-104-travis-curtis-2-935

The military was made to be the villain a few times this episode. Their most ominous military action was of course taking Griselda and Nick away via trucks. They also did not honor their commitment of allowing Daniel, her husband, to go with her. It seems reasonable to remove a dying person away from the secured location. After the abduction, Lisa tells the military doc that Nick isn’t a “threat,” but Nick is taken anyway. I assume a “threat” is anyone who is tagged as a high probability of becoming a walker.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-104-liza-rodriguez-935

It’s hard to say what will show up next week. However, it’s easy to think that we’ll get more of the same next week. More military drama, more family drama, and maybe a potential rebellion. I can only hope this military vs. the people thing doesn’t last the rest of the season. We’ve already been there before in other shows. With any luck, we’ll see our characters leave the neighborhood for good next week!

Did I miss something? Have any questions? We’re here to help! Don’t be afraid to comment!

Geekscape Movie Reviews: ‘Cooties’—Hang On To Your Nuggets!

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

What happens when a struggling hack writer collides with the dull necessities of modern society at the very moment when its systemic foundation cracks and unleashes hell on Earth? The answer is Cooties.

From the twisted minds of Leigh Whannell (co-creator of Saw and Insidious) and Ian Brennan (co-creator of Glee), Cooties is a horror comedy with unexpected laughs and unapologetic thrills. When a cafeteria food virus turns elementary school children into killer zombies, a group of misfit teachers must band together to escape the playground carnage. The film stars Elijah Wood (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Alison Pill (The Newsroom) as teachers who fight to survive the mayhem while hilariously bickering in an uncomfortable love triangle on the worst Monday of their lives.

There’s a world that exists between terror and hilarity—Cooties is that world. Additionally, there is a world that exists between the mundane and the deadly—Cooties is also that world. Lest we forget, there is yet another world that lies between the shackles of huge studio budgets and the freedom doing just what you please with cell phone video—Cooties has a very nice summer cottage in that world.

So should you go see Cooties? Yes, it was a real hoot! (However, you might want to watch this safety video first.) I can see it easily connecting with audiences simply as a fun date movie—where your date squirms into your arms during several scenes—and/or, on the other end of the spectrum, as silly commentary on the American diet overall and poultry production specifically (see “Extra Credit” below).

The movie is chock-full of quotable lines and memorable moments—which, refreshingly, aren’t all given away in the trailer!

Admittedly, I can get a little squeamish with gross-out stuff and, while the opening title sequence—over How It’s Made type shots of a poultry processing facility—had me squirming deeper into my seat, it was the perfect setup for the movie. It sets the right tone from the first frame.

The basis for the horror, tainted chicken nuggets, is at once silly and frighteningly realistic. The chills, squirms and laughs are a very natural extension of this premise. The comedy is, at times, surprisingly sharp; hitting more often than it misses—and some asides and “throwaway” lines are so clever you may miss the jokes lurking below the surface joke. To the writers’ credit, many of them are “had to be there” laughs. Only when I was trying, in vain, to explain some nugget of hilarity did I discover the sneaky comedy and/or horror lying just underneath. (For example: When the vice-principal gives an offhand description of the silent office secretary as hilarious and then qualifies it with the explanation that she’s experienced a lot of tragedy some time ago. Funny on its own and then also “inside comedy” funny.) On the other side of the spectrum, there are plenty of sight-gags and fart jokes to go around.

My overall impression of the production was that I felt the limitations of the budget but it wasn’t constantly detracting from my enjoyment of the material—a successful B horror comedy. Hand in hand with this, the sense of this being a feature directing debut was also felt, providing some rough edges and unexpected choices, but again, more interesting than negative. I might describe it positively to my friends as “a sillier twist on the love child of The Faculty and Shaun of the Dead; which would sell me on it.

The cast is a really good ensemble but I think the standouts for me were the characters created by Leigh Whannell (Doug) and Nasim Pedrad (Rebekkah) who struggle with basic human interaction from vastly different perspectives. All of the characters aren’t merely misfit teachers, they’re misfit humans by societal standards, which can make them feel all the more relatable. I’m hoping there will be a bigger budget sequel where we can follow these more hardened characters struggling to survive in this hilariously scary new world.

One thing worth mentioning is that I enjoyed the setup of Jorge Garcia’s character and wish that he would’ve been integrated into the story more. I bring this up just to keep you from sitting there going, “When is that guy going to spring into action?!” He won’t—so don’t worry about it. Content yourself with being amused by him as he is.

As I’ve elluded to, I’m not really a fan of splatter-flicks or gross-out movies but I feel that this did a great job of walking up to that line and reaching across just enough to make its point without turning me off. (Oddly, a shot of a kid eating his booger may have gotten the biggest reaction out of me. Guess I haven’t been desensitised to that yet.) I was a little worried about what I’d gotten into with the entire intro title sequence but, by the end of the titles, I was fully engaged and not too grossed out.

I feel that Cooties successfully lived up to the premise it established—and while it may not have hit it totally out of the park, it rounded the bases in satisfying fashion. Grab your best guy or gal and go catch Cooties—just know that in short order you’ll be grabbing them even tighter with squeals and laughs.

EXTRA CREDIT:

Let John Oliver get you ready to go out and see Cooties tonight with this clip from Last Week Tonight:

Cooties_Poster01_600x890

How To Stop a ‘Cooties’ Outbreak!

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

Quiet down now, class. Settle down. Now, I know that review on Cooties may have you worried—but there are some very simple steps you can take to make sure you stay safe. Lionsgate has been kind enough to send us some tips to keep in mind. So pay attention to this video and be sure to catch Cooties, September 18th in theaters and on-demand. Roger!—I said hush up now and listen to Jack McBrayer!

https://youtu.be/NQgBDwnD3bM

Cooties_Poster02_600x890

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – “The Dog”

by jake108

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last had our dose of FTWD. While the second episode of the series didn’t end on a major cliffhanger, I admit, the fate of Los Angeles has been looming in the back of my mind for a few days now. If you’re like me, then luckily for us, we got to see what’s happened since the riots that broke out at the end of the last episode!

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead

Look, I don’t know about you, but I’d be pissed if I knew cops were shooting zombies. I mean, I’d be flipping cop cars, vandalizing stores, and starting fires. But that’s just me. What we know for sure is that there are walkers present in the riots and people are actively being turned during the violence. It’s because of the violence that Travis and company are forced to escape the barbershop.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-103-christopher-henrie-935

This is where some of the more interesting details were heard on Travis’ radio. Eleven states have declared a state of emergency and the FAA is getting ready to ground all flights – more on this later. This is coming right before we see how the hospital is checking in, and, well, they’re not so great. It would appear that major city hospitals are all comprised by walkers at this point. The state of the hospitals wouldn’t be able to hold up for long with a fluctuating power grid.

FTWD 1.3.3

Aside from the violence, we get a little more into some of the family drama. It’s sprinkled throughout episode, but the most significant part came when Alicia saw a walker up close for the first time. After vehemently denying that her boyfriend ended up becoming a walker, Alicia was forced to reconcile with the current events. However, I must point out that this character was on track to attend California Berkley, yet she’s been treated and made ignorant of what’s been going on. I get that the mother is trying to shield her daughter from some of the more gruesome aspects, but she couldn’t possibly think she could hide it forever. I would think that a lack of information is what’s going to get a lot of people killed.

FTWD-103-FAA-230jp3o4-084

Toward the end of the episode, Nick looks into the air and sees one plane flying erratically. This is possibly linked to the spin-off show that’s set to tie into FTWD. By now, the FAA should have grounded all flights. This plane, however, probably left before the notice to ground all flights was sent out. This also means that the cockpit must be compromised since it’s still in the air.

fear-the-walking-dead-episode-103-madison-dickens-2-935

Now, with the military present, it’s clear the government has some idea as to what’s going on. This also means that California was probably one of the eleven states to declare a state of emergency. It’ll be interesting to see how the military controls the situation. I’m guessing it’s not gonna be great.

For those of you interested, here’s Executive Order S-21 pulled from AMC’s second screen experience:

FTWD-103-GOV-UPDATED-20ug3904834

FTWD2

Comments? Did I miss something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Horror Movie Night – Episode 10: Night of the Creeps

by Saintmort

Close your mouth and open your ears, cuz this week’s discussion is Night of the Creeps! Our guest Don waxes poetic about houseboats and his future robot upgrades, while Adam realizes he has handicap blindness. Zombified douchbags in tuxes, reanimated axe murderers, and the cop from Dr. Giggles make an appearance, so leave your human brains (they’re for a project) in the basement and join us for Horror Movie Night!

Feel free to join in discussion at on our Facebook Group, our Reddit page or in the comments below.

Also subscribe to our podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – ‘So Close, Yet So Far’

by jake108

We’re here for another episode of FTWD, and I have to say that this episode was a little better than last week’s pilot. Luckily for us, the dosage of family drama and angst was toned down, but only a little. The episode title perfectly summed up tonight’s events as our set of characters seemed to be on the brink of getting out of the city the entire time, but were ultimately faced with some overwhelming obstacles.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead! 

This episode picks up just about where we left off last week. The family is again in disarray amidst the impending zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, not a lot happened this episode. The episode was action heavy and we got a glimpse of what Downtown Los Angeles was like just before the full-scale outbreak. Other than that, it’s everything fans of The Walking Dead can expect.

FTWD 1.2.5

One thing that did stand out this week was how prevalent “the virus” was for the second straight episode. This illness was heavily hinted at last week, but it seems to have little to do with the walker-plague we saw in TWD at the prison. By my count, there was maybe one confirmed walker who was turned simply because they died from the virus. That was Mr. Dawson. More on him later.

FTWD 1.2.3

At first, it was looking as if Alicia’s boyfriend, Matt, was succumbing to the virus when it was revealed he had been bitten.  Why he didn’t call 911 or seek medical attention after being bitten is beyond me. My only guess was he was bit at home and passed out or…

Regardless, I have to admit I felt a bit anxious in some of the sequences in downtown Los Angeles. Making viewers anxious is something the folks behind TWD and FTWD seem to be good at. This is supplemented by the lack of knowledge the people seem to have about what’s really going on. This was hit on again by Nick after returning home from killing a walker.

FTWD 1.2.2

It’s a shame that one of the people who was keen on the current events eventually turned. That was Mr. Dawson, who I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of next episode. His eerie cough foreshadowed what became of him. However, he and the police officer can’t be the only ones packing up getting ready to go. By the end of the episode, it would seem like the freeways are hopeless and roads leading in and out of the city are closed. Just take a look at this traffic map posted to AMC’s FTWD second screen experience:

FTWD-102-SS-23-ju980y87giou

With the next episode being two weeks away, I hope the show picks up the pace and shows the family navigating through society’s demise. This episode was a good start and it will be interesting to see just how the military and/or national guard deals with this crisis. If I’m being honest, Jericho did an excellent job of showing the demise of life as we know it and I would love it if FTWD incorporated some of the elements Jericho (spoilers) had when hinting at news of surviving cities, political leaders, and the rise of new nations. We can dream, can’t we?

That’s all for this week! Did I miss something? Having anything to add? Don’t be afraid to comment!

Geekscape Recaps: Fear the Walking Dead – “Pilot”

by jake108

Fear the Walking Dead, the first spin-off series of The Walking Dead premiered last night. If you’re not an avid fan of The Walking Dead, fear not! This new series has a new cast, new setting, and little boundaries as to what direction the showrunners want to take. The city in peril this time is Los Angeles, which should make for some good fun. There are plenty of crazy things happening in East LA to begin with. Adding zombies to the mix, well, I’d probably just hang around El Chucho for safety.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

The pilot starts with Nick Clark waking up in what appears to be a church-turned-drug-nest. Chris wanders around the church looking for his girlfriend Gloria when he stumbles upon her eating someone face. He promptly runs out of the church and is hit by a car. Civilians crowd around him and we now establish that FearTWD takes place shortly before the outbreak encompasses Los Angeles.

AMC promo FearTWD

Early in the episode, not much happens besides establishing our new set of characters. There are some hints here and there as to each character’s personal history and their professions, something we never got right away with most of TWD’s characters. We also get a couple of hints at what’s to come, specifically with principal noticing an increasing number of student absences due to illness. This is interesting considering that we know very little on what caused the initial outbreak. We do know that in TWD, some walkers died of a flu before turning. These walkers were easily identified by their eyes.

Flu Walker TWD

Continuing on this subject, we got our first good look at what a walker looks like during the initial outbreak. Despite the “sickness” that’s spreading throughout the city, it does not appear this situation and the walker flu we saw in TWD are related. The most telling piece of evidence is all in the eyes.

FearTWD 1.1.3

Furthermore, Calvin looked more like Morgan’s wife after she turned. It’s possible that we’ll be seeing lot of walkers like this due to the fact that their flesh isn’t necessarily rotting…yet.

TWD morgan wife

Early in the episode, Madison catches a student bringing a knife to school because he’s afraid of, well, zombies. The student also mentions that there are reports in five states. In fact, the school is a significant host to foreshadowing what’s to come. Everything from the student, the principal who cares about the school’s attendance, to the lesson on man versus nature. Travis, who is teaching a lesson on Jack London, goes on to state that “nature always wins.”

FearTWD 1.1.1

Going to the freeway sequence, I found it interesting that Madison tries to use her cell phone. Is it possible there was something more involved to keep the public from calling out? If so, why was the helicopter able to keep their feed going long enough to get footage to get onto the internet? By the next morning, all of the kids were watching the incident on their phones. The news break even prompted the district to shorten the school day entirely.

FearTWD 1.1.2

In any case, reports have been popping up on the internet. The kid being able to deliver the stat that there have been cases in five states is evidence of this. As more and more cases are seen in Los Angeles, it’ll be interesting to see how people prepare for the city’s doom.

Literary Reference!

FearTWD 1.1.4

When Nick’s mom and Travis visited the shooting gallery (the church), they found a book Nick had been reading. Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of twenty two stories mostly centered around one protagonist, George Willard. It was written between 1915 and 1916. Many of the stories deal with isolation and loneliness, both of which attribute to what Nick is going through. Furthermore, the stories reflect on Willard’s increasing independence, culminating with his departure from the town itself. In FearTWD, it’s clear Nick and his family will have no choice BUT to leave.

That’s all for now! Think I’ve missed something? Don’t be afraid to comment! See you next week!

Plutia and Peashy Will Fight The Undead In ‘Intense Dimension Tag Blanc + Neptune Vs. The Zombie Army’

by Josh Jackson

Good news for Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory fans! Dengeki Magazine is reporting that Plutia and Peashy, two of the characters introduced in Neptune’s third game, will make their return in Intense Dimension Tag Blanc + Neptune Vs. The Zombie Army, (and yes, that’s the full title.) After being largely absent from the series outside of their debut appearance and its recent Vita remake, it’ll be great to see the Ultradimension’s CPU’s in a full fledged action game. I’m just wondering how sadistic Iris Heart will be this time around…

Following Noire’s lead after the release of the Lastation CPU’s own game, Hyperdevotion Noire, the folks at Idea Factory and Tamsoft decided it was Blanc’s turn to get her own game. Based on the hack and slash game play from this Spring’s Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed, (which we showered with praise in our review,) this upcoming title puts the Lowee CPU in the lead role as her and her friends take on a zombie army in a new school setting.

Featuring Blanc, Neptune, Noire, Vert, Nepgear, Uni, Rom, Ram, Dengekiko, and Victory II‘s Uzume in addition to the two new ladies, it’s looking like the upcoming spinoff will increase its roster exponentially. Naturally, this is great considering this game will be the first in the series to allow up to four player cooperative play! With as much fun as we had with U, I’m excited to think how much better Zombie Army will be with all these new additions.

On top of the recent reveal for IF’s own game, how much more Neptune will we get!? We’ve gathered every screenshot released so far, so check out the CPU’s in action below, and let us know which character is your best girl! Intense Dimension Tag Blanc is set for a Vita release by the end of the year in Japan, with a Western release yet to be announced. But come on, we got Producing Perfection, and that game sucked! Surely we’re getting this, right?

Sources: Siliconera, RPGSite.net