Monday, October 24, 2011

Zombie in a Penguin Suit and Bloodletting



So I'll get to my abbreviated recap of last night's "The Walking Dead" in a bit. I want to talk about a couple of other things first, the least of which is the rather brilliant short film, Zombie in a Penguin Suit. Director Chris Russell's short film is not quite what you might think. 

Posted on YouTube on October 13th, it's already had over 96,000 views and deservedly so. I first saw it today on BoingBoing.

With a title like Zombie in a Penguin Suit, one might expect a comedy. And it starts out amusingly enough. But then it becomes something else. It gets a bit creepy and then... well, it gets a little sad. And you somehow come to identify with the title character. I know that sounds weird, but really, you do. In just under seven and a half minutes, Russell manages to create a sympathetic zombie in a film that is amusing, creepy, gory and touching, all at once. I can't wait to see what he does with a full-length feature. Take a look for yourselves:



There are plenty of short zombie films on YouTube. Some of them are okay. Most of them are downright awful. I doubt you'll find one as good as Zombie in a Penguin Suit.

As for last night's "Walking Dead:"

The episode opened with a flashback to the day Rick was shot, with Lori commiserating with another mom about the fight she had with Rick, admitting she was the one who was at fault. Shane arrives to tell her Rick has been shot and she has to break the news to young Carl. Cut to the present where Rick is racing through a field with Carl clutched to his chest, followed by Shane and the man who shot him, Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince). Otis tells Rick to keep going and ask for Herchel. Rick arrives at the Greene farm where Herchel (Scott Wilson) takes them in and immediately begins to work on Carl's wounds. Finding that Rick is the same blood type, Herchel insists Rick stick around for a transfusion. 

Meanwhile, Lori; Andrea; Glenn; Daryl and Carol continue their search for Sophia. When Andrea is attacked by a walker, she is suddenly saved by the horseback riding Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), who takes Lori back to the farm and instructs the others on how to get there. Back on the highway, a blood-poisoned  T-Dog tries to convince Dale to abandon the others, after a search among the abandoned cars reveals no antibiotics. The group arrives back at the highway and Daryl reveals his brother's stash of drugs, including a painkiller and a powerful antibiotic ("Merle got the clap now and then"). This is the second time Daryl has saved the life of the man who may have cost Merle's life, proving Daryk may not be the redneck creep we thought he might be.

Back at the farm, Herchel has only managed to retrieve one of the six bullet fragments in Carl's belly, but he needs a respirator and other equipment to perform the rest of the surgery. Shane and Otis volunteer to go to the FEMA station set up at the local high school to retrieve what Herchel needs, as the group on the highway debate abandoning Sophia to go to the Greene farm. At the farm Lori discovers that Herchel is a veterinarian while Shane and Otis find themselves trapped inside the school by a horde of walkers, separated by a gate held by a single flimsy pin.  Yikes!



More, anon.
Prospero

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