THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE, Season 1, Episode 4, WHAT WE

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE - Season 1 - Episode 4 - When We

Making a sharp left turn from the three episodes that have preceded it, What We confronts Michonne and Rick with a different sort of life-or-death challenge: an emotional obstacle course that their characters may find insurmountable and which their failure to conquer would shatter any remaining hopes of a future together.

Blending the fraught with the joyous, the drama is built around a theatrical two-hander, during which Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln seize the opportunity to try to act each other off the screen. While there are several energetic action sequences in the episode, What We is propelled by the intense showdown between this equally stubborn pair. This is an assured scriptwriting debut for Gurira, who here adds writer and showrunner to her Walking Dead credits.

The consequences of the reckless plunge from the CRM helicopter, enforced on Rick by Michonne, is wrapped up quickly through a montage of images that show the pair landing in the water and making for the shore. That’s because What We is not concerned with dramatising their immediate fight for survival in the aftermath of their escape. Instead, its focus is on their struggle to reach the kind of reconciliation that can allow them to decide where their lives will take them next.

The complex of buildings in which the two of them, soaked to the skin and exhausted, find temporary sanctuary provides a welcome contrast with the familiar derelict real estate that the show’s writers default to. Prior to the onset of the zombie contagion, this small estate of flats and linked courtyards is revealed to have been an off-grid settlement, committed to a life of communal self-sufficiency and sustainable technology. It becomes clear that this community successfully avoided the attentions of roaming walker hordes, only later falling victim to starvation as the residents succumbed to the calamity of failed crops and poor harvests. The result is a gaggle of emaciated undead, shuffling through the empty corridors.

Despite the loss of its human inhabitants, their buildings, powered by solar and wind, have persisted. The smart tech of the house, including automated environment controls (complete with robotic audio updates) and endlessly cycling computer screensavers, all add to the sense of abandonment. Although kept tidy and dust-free by cleaner bots, the setting has an atmosphere of melancholy and obsolescence, echoing the sense of impasse that Rick and Michonne have reached. That’s reinforced by the fact that they are the only (non-dessicated) humans to appear in the story (apart from fleeting glimpses in flashback of other absent members of their family).

Gurira has an impressive ear for dialogue and proves that she shares as clear an insight into the inner lives of these two characters as any other writer working on the series. From the moment the pair are pictured in an impressive silhouetted tableaux, framed in the flat’s huge glass frontage as the storm rages outside, she sets them on a collision course. Gurira structures the battle to force Rick to confront his demons to great effect. An atypically intimate bedroom scene is mixed in with arguments in which a frustrated Michonne pushes back against a damaged Rick, who quickly retreats into his admission of defeat. Following Rick’s effort to compel Michonne to escape the clutches of the CRM alone, she has focused all her attention on encouraging him to rediscover the sense of righteous fight and determination that he seems to have lost.

He concedes that the experience of cumulative trauma has left its scars on his psyche. Aware that Jadis has outmanoeuvred them, Rick is convinced that she will exact violent vengeance on their loved ones if the pair of them escape. He insists the only thing that can guarantee safety is if he makes the sacrifice of staying with the CRM – the price of ensuring Michonne’s freedom. But Rick’s lack of reaction to the news that he is the father to Michonne’s child is further confirmation of just how damaged he has become and of how far he has sunk into emotional denial.

There are poignant and affecting moments throughout, the power of which comes from these two characters’ long and tangled backstory. The classic romantic conceit of the lover who storms out, hoping that their partner (left wrestling with a maelstrom of emotions behind a closed door) will follow them, is here given a Walking Dead twist.

Just as affecting is the anguish Rick feels when recalling his inability to keep Carl safe (although it’s notable he makes no reference to the agony of the loss of his wife, Lori). As Rick prevaricates, Michonne finds an inspired way to force him to make a life-changing decision. This is all really well-paced, with welcome interjections by determined walkers to punctuate the existential angst. There is a question mark about whether Rick’s crisis of faith fully convinces, but the bold decision to strip him (albeit temporarily) of his hero status does pay dramatic dividends. It also opens up new and enticing options in the journey towards the first season’s fast-approaching endpoint.

stars

New episodes of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE premiere on AMC and AMC+ in the US each Sunday

Read our previous reviews of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE below:

Season 1, Episode 1, YEARS
Season 1, Episode 2, GONE
Season 1, Episode 3, BYE

DRAGON’S DOGMA 2

PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: MARCH 22ND

The sequel to 2012’s Dragon’s Dogma invites players to step into the shoes of the Arisen once again, chosen by a dragon to protect the land while also having to master your own abilities to reclaim your heart from the very same being that put you in this position in the first place. After being sworn in as the Sovrun of Vermund at the start of the game, you suddenly find yourself in jail for reasons unknown. Put to work with the rest of the slaves, you make your escape during a series of calamitous events, after which the reasons for your predicament become clear and your journey to reclaim your throne – and more – begins.

After customising the look of your character, you’re asked to choose one of four “vocations” which act as the game’s character classes. The fighter, archer, mage and thief are all fairly standard fare in the realms of RPGs – each has their own unique attacks and abilities that they can learn, with new skills becoming available to unlock as your vocation rank increases. There are no skill trees to get lost in – beefing up your abilities is a simple case of heading to a guild and choosing from a list of skills and augments (stat boosts). As you progress through the game, six more vocations become available – again all with their own related skills, these vocations are much more varied and interesting than the starting four, expanding the potential combinations of attacks that can be used by your main character and the party of misfits that follows you around. If you try out a vocation and decide it isn’t working for you, it’s easy to swap vocations at a guild and try out something different, however each vocation levels up independently from the others though, so swapping to a brand new class after levelling up another can sometimes feel like you’re taking a huge step backwards…

As in the original Dragon’s Dogma, keeping you company on your journey is a follower known as a Pawn, who – in an excellent way of getting you to immediately care about them – you get to create yourself. Your pawn will help you in battle, fighting monsters and throwing healing items your way, as well as learning new abilities that again you’re able to customise on their behalf. Additional pawns can join too, summoned via a riftstone from a pool of player / developer-created characters, allowing you to create a party of warriors with vocations that suit your needs. Summoned pawns don’t level up, however, so you’re likely to find yourself swapping them for stronger ones as you level up and take on bigger challenges.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an almost unapologetically old-school game that doesn’t concern itself with modern RPG trappings and instead opts for a noticeable lack of handholding and guidance. Fans of the first instalment won’t have too much trouble figuring out what the game expects you to do, but DDII feels so different to most other modern titles that newcomers might have a bit of an uphill battle to get to grips with things. Dropped into the world and left to fend for yourself, you’re rarely signposted towards anything – sometimes there won’t even be an objective marker on your map, forcing you to wander around and explore to progress through quests and uncover the game’s secrets. For example, during a quest to find a boy who has been kidnapped by wolves, the only clues to his whereabouts comes from finding and speaking to a couple of NPCs who give you a couple of hints that you then have to put together in your own mind in order to decipher where he might have gone. Fantastic for those who like to fully immerse themselves in an unknown land, but others might struggle to figure out what they’re supposed to be doing.

The game’s “loss gauge” reduces your maximum health as you take damage in battle, only allowing you to replenish the overall meter by sleeping, thereby insisting that you carry a fairly heavy camping kit at all times (taking up a sizeable chunk of your weight limit) or spend time travelling backwards and forwards to the various inns found in settlements across the map – it’s possible to use an item to fast travel, but these are in fairly short supply, and other than an ox cart that takes you to a limited number of destinations, there’s no other transport available so you’ll be spending a lot of time retracing your steps just to stay alive. Combat can also take some getting used to, as there’s no lock-on button so your attacks don’t always hit their intended target, which can feel very strange until you get accustomed to how things work.

The previous two paragraphs aren’t intended to sound negative – this is just how the game works. There aren’t too many games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 out there, and while the gameplay itself isn’t especially tricky, the game does seem to cater towards a more hardcore RPG fanbase. If you’re up for a huge high fantasy romp filled with goblins, monsters, mysteries and secrets, where even the shortest of journeys can turn into a lengthy adventure, this will suit you down to the ground.

 

stars

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL

Late Night With the Devil

This is an account of the final broadcast of the ’70s chat show Night Owls, featuring late-night telly sensation Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) – who, in a bid to beat out Carson, unwittingly unleashed Hell on the airwaves. It’s a chilling nightmare in the annals of American TV, sure, but still preferable to Carpool Karaoke.

Chasing flagging ratings, beleaguered Jack Delroy attempts to spice things up with an occult-themed episode of his show, first hosting questionable medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), and then introducing a woman (Laura Gordon) and her creepy young charge (Lilly, played by Ingrid Torelli) – who she claims is possessed by a demonic entity. As an ill-advised demonstration unfolds, Delroy ushers demonic forces far beyond his control… you know, like Jimmy Fallon’s 2016 interview with the Trump, except less gross.

This found-footage film by Cameron and Colin Cairnes does terrific work copying the look and feel of a ’70s-era American talk show, from the in-house band to the chintzy suits, cheesy jokes, and put-upon producer (Rhys Auteri). This was the decade of The Exorcist, Vietnam, and Jimmy Carter, when a shocked nation was still reeling from the murder of Sharon Tate by the cult of Manson, and a time when Johnny Carson ruled late-night TV.

Harnessing this moment in time and pop culture, the writer-directorial duo let Night Owls do its thing, airing as normal aside from a brief introduction by the narrator (a gravelly, well-cast Michael Ironside) and behind-the-scenes footage during ad breaks (think This Time With Alan Partridge). Otherwise, Late Night With the Devil never breaks character, recalling the recent Inside No. 9 episode 3 by 3 or a Documentary Now! entry in its admirable commitment to the bit.

The unique structure lends itself well to the story being told, with the tension gradually building throughout. Dastmalchian makes the most of a rare leading role, a man clearly struggling with deep grief, resentment and a hidden darkness behind the warm and cuddly TV host demeanour. You know, similar to James Corden, except we actually like Jack Delroy.

Meanwhile, young Torelli makes a deliciously unsettling host to the devil inside and is well-antagonised by scenery-chewing sceptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss). While it takes a moment to attune, the uncanny valley fake-it-till-you-make-it performances ultimately work for the characters (in which everyone is faking a smile, for various intents and purposes) and for the chilly tone of Late Night With the Devil.

To the credit of the conceit, both the movie and TV show within the movie are utterly compelling. A great number of demonic possession films have followed The Exorcist, but Late Night With the Devil deviously stomps its own path, forgoing the usual pea soup and pre-teen swearing in favour of its own shocking take on the mythos. Its various plot twists are too good to spoil, but do feature some delightfully Cronenbergian body horror and a series of visual effects quite unlike anything seen in an exorcism/teen possession movie ever before.

A bold, fresh and thoroughly unpredictable take on the demonic possession film, and a bloody good episode of TV too. 

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is out in UK cinemas on March 22nd, 2024.

stars

GREEN ROOM (2015) 4K UHD

Arriving at a bar in rural Portland, hustling Washington punk band Ain’t Right discover they have been booked to play a support slot at a neo-Nazi club. Deciding to go all-out in response, the band open their set with a cover of the classic Dead Kennedy’s anti-Nazi anthem Nazi Punks Fuck Off. Before they can escape the enraged audience, members of the band stumble across a murder in the club’s Green Room and find themselves locked up at gunpoint by the skinhead killers. The four members of Ain’t Right are soon engaged in a hands-on fight for survival as their kidnappers, led by the ruthless Darcy, reveal the full extent of their ruthlessness.

An underground thriller that’s as intense and claustrophobic as it is unpredictable, Green Room became an immediate hit among discerning punk rock cinephiles. Committed performances, sharp dialogue, a gripping blend of the visceral and the heartfelt, and a credible sense of authenticity all add up to deliver an indie-grindcore night out to remember. One that’s deserving of way more plaudits than Green Room secured on its 2015 big-screen release. The much-missed Anton Yelchin is excellent as the impulsive but goodhearted punk stalwart Pat, while Patrick Stewart revels in playing against type as the vicious, nihilistic Darcy.

This newly packaged release from Second Sight gives the plucky members of Ain’t Right an overdue encore. The pristine UHD and Blu-ray versions are accompanied by a strong set of special features, including audio commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, and critical appraisals of the film. The special limited edition adds a 120-page book of analyses and six collector’s art cards. Scuzzy punk rock, even in its cinematic guise, rarely attracts such respectful treatment.

stars

GREEN ROOM Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray is released by SECOND SIGHT on March 18th, 2024

LORE OF THE WILDS

Analeigh Sbrana’s Lore of the Wilds is a twisty, cosy female-fronted fantasy romance with a deliciously rich setting and impressively thorough worldbuilding. These sprawling fantasy landscapes are inhabited by all manner of quintessential fantasy creatures and tightly created characters – Sbrana has created an expansive, immersive world in which to play out the deftly tied strands of her plot and the subtle real-world social commentary that runs through it all. The first part of a duology, the novel expertly weaves a plot rich and complex enough that, by the end, the stakes and setup of the second are already high and dense.

Lore of the Wilds opens in the fantastical Duskmere; at a glance an idyllic woodland setting, yet reveals itself early on to be essentially a prison for the humans of the novel, who are held without any magic or understanding of the world by the controlling and all-powerful fae race. Sbrana alludes to these deep political undertones through her main character, the titular Lore. Lore is a young black woman, well aware of her own mind and worth, who runs a cosy apothecary and helps the running of Duskmere’s orphanage while fighting to change the psyches of those around her with her understanding that Duskmere is sheltered, unreal, and there is more to life than that which the fae have allowed the humans to experience.

Blending the quintessential fantasy tropes of secretive political tensions, ties to family and honour and a sense of duty, Sbrana’s novel opens with its stakes very clear and its protagonist determined. As catastrophes begin to plague Duskmere and Lore is pulled away to work in the castles of the fae, these early-start plot strands begin to slink around each other in a manner pleasantly intriguing. Black female protagonists are typically underrepresented in the fantasy genre, so straight away Sbrana’s novel feels fresher, more powerful for giving an unwavering voice to those who the tropes of fantasy often don’t forefront while comedically drawing attention to the subtle differences and difficulties that Black characters would face in fantasy settings. It is a subtle suggestion, a quiet attention to detail that opens an entirely new dimension of fantasy.

The magical element of Lore of the Wilds comes into play while Lore is cataloguing the fae library; not quite understanding the nature of it or why fae have it and humans don’t, she is tasked with finding the magical tomes and bring them back to the castle authority. The grand, sweeping setting of the library with its stained-glass windows through which Lore watches the seasons slowly pass and dusty misalignment that she progressively cleans and fixes makes the vastness of the castle and her task seem human and small enough to deal with. Sbrana humanises the political tensions, the lack of understanding, and the shimmer of magic through her deliciously three-dimensional protagonist. Lore searches for magic for the fae, while nurturing a realistic and rebellious drive to find answers and power for herself in order to set her people free. Tied to those she has left behind in Duskmere and faced with the promise of understanding, Lore becomes at one with the setting and drive of the novel, often alone for great stretches, and as a protagonist becomes deeply comfortable and enjoyably relatable, with a subtle suggestion of feminism driving Sbrana’s construction of her.

Lore is aware that, as a woman, she faces additional difficulties, even more so as a Black human, and yet, does not particularly seem to let it affect her or her work. It is an interesting suggestion that female protagonists don’t change the fundamental concepts and tropes of fantasy novels, rather just offer a fresh lens to view them through. There is an enjoyably innate femininity to Sbrana’s style as well. Written often in a lyrical style and given to stretches of imagination and dreams, Sbrana’s writing is richly complementary to the subject matter, and means that when strands of hidden magic start to call for Lore by name, it seems realistic and reasonable even when it is left pleasantly intriguing and inexplicable. This first phase of the novel strikes a harmony between the insurmountable and confusing, and the strength of the humanness.

Whilst living at the castle and facing human-fae racial tensions and concern for the ongoing struggles in Duskmere, Lore meets the initial romantic interest, Asher – a fae guard tasked with watching over her and ensuring her own task is completed. Asher, while not necessarily initially very friendly, adds a dimensionality to the novel that balances perfectly with the excessiveness and fear associated with Lore’s task of cataloguing the library for magic. Sbrana sets Asher and Lore up almost straight away on a quintessential ‘enemies-to-lovers’ path; while appearing to dislike each other on the basis of race and station, taut dialogue, comically clashing personalities, charming self-denial and tenuous flirting suggest immediately to a reader that this is not the case. Lore and Asher are continually drawn together almost against their will – Asher is tasked with taking her to the market, watching over her during an autumn festival, and making sure she is comfortable to work. Again, the lyricism of Sbrana’s descriptive authorship and often startling richness of her settings give a sense of high fantasy to even the mundane exchanges between the two, with descriptions of magically-infused festivities beneath the moon and bustling, sensually rich market trips giving depth to their interactions and allowing their romance to blossom in a way that feels ultimately natural despite the initial ridiculousness of them bonding. Sbrana ensures that Lore never falls into the trap of a romanced protagonist and forgets the depth of the strands holding her there – even preoccupied with Asher, Lore remains driven by her work and drive to free her people and retains an impressive three-dimensionality that ensures a reader is never alienated by her behaviour or personal reasonings.

Lore’s personal drive and suspicion of the fey is ultimately the key factor in the eventual escape that she and Asher have to make from the castle, newly armed with magic and a deeper understanding of fey villainy and the need to save her people. Sbrana’s fantasy worldbuilding is showcased as the two travel across perilous mountains, tend to their wounds around campfires in caves, and see off bandits seeking to return them and their magic to the castle. Lore develops the magic she can wield, still not understanding it, while Asher teaches her to fight. Their romance builds as they travel, heating up their tiny sleeping quarters and smouldering over campfire discussions. The magic begins to blossom as well, revealing ties to Lore’s ancestry and the cycles of the moon and stars through the night sky. Lore of the Wilds continues to have an enriching, delicate femininity informing the harsher tropes of the novel; an interesting and powerful balance and unique allure.

Lore and Asher arrive eventually, romance built to a point of possessiveness following a steamy kiss one night and the stakes higher than ever now they are fugitives, to Asher’s home town, where they take refuge in the ‘Exile Inn’, run by an old family friend. They join forces with Asher’s old friends Isla and Finndryl – a pair of fey twins who embody one of the political tensions between light fey and dark fey – Isla is a beautiful, comedic light fey, while Finndryl is brooding, unfriendly, and intimidating with his huge dark wings and ability to use magic. Finndryl is similar to the way Asher was described earlier on in the novel, suggesting that Sbrana’s prioritisation of her female characters has left the male ones slightly one-note, given to the ‘sexy bad-boy’ trope to increase the romantic intrigue, for it seems immediately that Finndryl dislikes Asher and has an interest in Lore and her stolen knowledge. In this sense, the eventual love-triangle seems inevitable.

The Exile Inn forms the setting for the next phase of the novel, where this found-family of humans and fey collectively work out a course of action for saving Duskmere from the tyranny of the fey, and to return the Exile Inn to its former glory. Again, Sbrana has humanised a sweeping, insurmountable task with a smaller, more human one and uses it to develop her characters – their interactions are amusing and charming as they drink together into the night, cook in the Inn’s kitchens, and visit the dense, sprawling markets of the town. Lore and Asher’s romantic tensions and the blossoming friendship she shares with Isla give the harsh realities of the novel a quainter, more exciting human edge, as does the improving fortunes of the Inn itself as a result of Lore’s attempts to restore it to its halcyon days. At the Inn, the plot builds on multiple levels – magically, as Finndryl teaches Lore the source of magic and how to wield it; politically, as Lore uses this magic to scry in the sweeping forests to see her people and learns that they are held captive in the castles of the fey, and romantically; Asher is away holding off bandits, and the attention of Lore switches slowly to the dimly lit evenings in the basement poring over magical documents with the previously aloof Findryll. There is a hint of the earlier enemies-to-lovers trope, with Finndryl softening slowly just as Asher did in the castle.

The pace of the book begins to lose itself somewhat here, becoming slightly swamped in the depth and complexity of its own plot. Where earlier Sbrana’s sweeping fantasy was able to develop under its own natural speed, inching across terrain and deepening between characters, it becomes almost frantic when Lore manages to plot out, break into, break back out of, and return home from the Fey Queen’s castle to rescue her old friend Grey in the space of a single chapter. The Fey Queen had up until this point not been part of the lore, and doesn’t seem to return in a meaningful way once Grey has been rescued. The suddenly rapid pace of the novel, combined with the depth and richness of Sbrana’s worldbuilding clash heavily enough to impact on the reader’s ability to suspend their disbelief in the fantasy of the novel. The Fey Queen element of the story is equally rich in magic – Grey is a human held in alchemical thrall, Lore executes a complex journey and plan to reach the castle and employs her magic to hold herself away from the Queen and rescue Grey, but the almost frenetic pace of it all occurring makes it difficult to properly immerse a reader, and to feel the full weight of these occurrences. It is almost a shame, since the rich background of the Fey Queen keeping human pets is a deeply interesting and spooky element that could have been elevated to the same sweeping high fantasy of the magical library. It seems as though Sbrana has discovered a need to have Grey in the forefront of the plot and has achieved his presence by any means possible. Once they return, it is similarly glossed over by Finndryll and even Grey himself, even though in the timescale of the novel, Lore had been gone for two weeks or more. It adds a sense of urgency and drama to the steadily tightening plot, however, and is interesting when considering the subtly feminist suggestions that Lore represents that she is the one to rescue a man from a castle, rather than the expected other way around.

Grey joining the group at the Inn coincides with Asher’s return, and elevates this cosy, tight-knit found family. Readers become fully immersed in the interpersonal tensions and friendships, in the confused romantic feelings of Lore, and, in the forefront, the now imminent attempt to save the humans of Duskmere from the fey. The plot and occurrences of the novel has been steadily darkening as Lore comes to understand the true reaches of the fey tyranny and the possibilities of a magic that she doesn’t understand – war is building in Lore of the Wilds, but so is the humanity that has propelled this mismatched group into it in the first place. Powerful ideas of freedom and duty swirl around stolen moments of steamy romance and soul-searching questions of origin and purpose.

The culmination of the novel comes with the attempt to break the humans out of the fey castle, and is again in the twisting quintessential fantasy style, all brought together by the greater good. Sbrana leans into the darkness she has been cultivating when the group find a number of human women captive in the fey dungeons, used for fertility research and theories in what is a surprisingly sinister, almost dystopian turn to a novel so imbibed with magic. It is an ingenious and unexpected twist, and as the machinations of the plot come to fruition it is clear that Sbrana has engineered everything to point in the directions that they discover by the end. The women are held by the true villain of the novel, a plot twist that is almost entirely impossible to see coming and perfectly fantastical in its set-up without seeming contrived or unbelievable. Darkly lyrical prose and threatening dialogue twist around sweeping realisations and plot implications as the true malevolence is revealed and blossoms into its full form. The unveiling of a core, seemingly unstoppable villain in all its dark glory from the deepest, most rupturing twist of plot is a stunning end to the novel, a gut-punch of panicked questions and bitter understanding.

The ending of Lore of the Wilds is the ultimate cliffhanger, and a perfect set-up for Sbrana’s planned sequel. By the end, it is clear how every element of the novel has been half of a whole – be it the romantic tussling between Finndryl and Asher, the core and source of magic itself, or the intentionally incomplete knowledge that Lore has of her own people and background. Sbrana has given her audience just enough to understand the immediate, and with the second appears to promise an understanding of the sweeping branches of knowledge and machinery that has been driving it. Lore of the Wilds ends with shattering implications, and reels under the weight of its own twists. Rich, real characters and their deep bonds with each other bridge the chasms that darkness and evil have broken into the fabric of Sbrana’s fantasy world. Lore, despite her difficulties, remains as strong as she was at the beginning, and the found family of friends and lovers remains as tight and determined as they were at their formation.

Ultimately successful despite some very minor issues with pacing and timekeeping, Sbrana’s novel is a cosy entrance to a world that mutates and evolves into a thickness of evil that means a reader, by the time they leave, are just as weathered and worldly as her characters have become. The richly built and established world stands as a reminder that the events of Lore of the Wilds are not over, they are merely – as they have been throughout the entire novel, subtly and quietly – just brewing to fruition.

stars

LORE OF THE WILDS is out now from Harper Collins

Click cover to order from Amazon.co.uk

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE, Season 1, Episode 3, BYE

The Waling Dead: The Ones Who Live, Season 1, Episode 3, Bye

If there’s a theme linking all of the different plot threads of The Ones Who Live as the first (and perhaps only) season reaches its midpoint, it’s mistrust. Suspicion and scepticism are rife in a network of relationships connecting individuals across the civilian and military strata of the Civic Republic. While key leaders in the CRM, including Major General Beale, have identified Rick as a potential future leader, only Jadis is initially aware of the true capabilities of new arrival ‘Dana Bethune’.

In flashback, consignee Rick is intercepted by a civilian-era Jadis in Millenium Park in the walled-in city. She reveals that, as head of the Scavengers, she traded the injured Rick into the CRM’s clutches and that she is now set on a future career in the ranks of their militia. Years later, Jadis remains fixated on the risk that Michonne and Rick now pose to the stability and security of the CRM, but for her own selfish reasons she’s keeping her knowledge about the pair’s relationship hidden from the authorities.

Although under intense scrutiny from all sides, Rick still pulls together an audacious escape plan. When that mission ends with an unexpected twist, he’s forced to rethink. The pressure mounts as Michonne’s evident talents as a fighter and a survivor become increasingly obvious to her handlers. When Rick and Michonne are posted to the Cascadia Forward Operating Base to clear insurgent walkers ahead of a major CRM conference, the frustration that has been mounting between many of the key players finds an explosive outlet.

The initial dynamic between Jadis and Rick was shaped by the bizarre nature of Scavenger culture: the improvised language, the weird social markers, and the freaky rituals. Now that Jadis has reinvented herself, as a military enforcer and power broker in the CRM, the faceoff between these two implacable alphas has acquired more substance. Pollyanna McIntosh and Andrew Lincoln are clearly enjoying this shift in their characters’ relationship, and their scenes together spark with energy as each threatens to derail the other’s plans by exposing their secrets to CRM commanders.

While Jadis and Rick trade threats, the intimate connection between Rick and Michonne develops fresh tensions that are just as hazardous to their survival. Michonne has been struggling to reconcile herself to Rick’s apparent acquiescence to his incarceration, while he’s been preoccupied with the need to keep her safe. The script for Bye, by Gabriel Llanas and Matt Negrete, takes their growing disconnect and finds ways to further corrode their mutual trust. Danai Gurira continues to breathe new emotional texture into her performance as Michonne. Her incredulity at the changes in Rick is matched by Lincoln’s trademark intensity as Rick dismisses her concerns and demands she follow his lead. Naturally enough, neither of these stubborn survivors is prepared to acquiesce to what they see as the other’s foolhardiness.

Bye includes some excellent set-pieces, the best of which are a loyalty-testing showdown between Sergeant Major Thorne and Michonne in the ruins of Lincoln Financial Field and the handling of a walker breach in the fences of that CRM forward command centre. There are more insights too into the evolution of CRM culture, including a little more screen time for Terry Quinn as Major Beale delivers a politically-charged eulogy at the funeral of Lieutenant Colonel Okafor. There are emotionally charged beats, too, most affectingly when Michonne is reminded of the depth of Rick’s commitment to her and his children after meeting the artist whose carvings on the casings of redundant tech played such a critical role in her search for him.

Director Michael Slovis manages the action, the revelations and the personal schisms with equal attention. But this is an episode the success of which relies on the strength of the performances of the plot’s three central characters. And it’s the irreconcilable tensions between them that make the drama crackle. The story wraps up with a shocking turn of events that Lincoln describes as his favourite endpoint in the entire history of The Walking Dead. It’s audacious and thrilling, and, most importantly, it ensures that the second half of this season cannot unfold in the way that the first half suggested it would.

New episodes of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE premiere on AMC and AMC+ in the US each Sunday

stars

Read our previous reviews of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE below:

Season 1, Episode 1, YEARS
Season 1, Episode 2, GONE

SLAVE ZERO X

PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A prequel to 1999’s Slave Zero (PC / Dreamcast), Slave Zero X combines elements of early Devil May Cry and the classic side-scroller Strider to make a 2.5D brawler that’s heavy on action and, with its relatively short runtime of around 3-4 hours, light on fluff. Set in the futuristic Megacity S-19, where a maniacal ruler, Sovereign Khan, plans to use an army of sentient machines as tools of war, you’ll step into the shoes of a vengeful warrior named Shou who intends to use Khan’s own weapons against him…

Each of the game’s levels has a unique look that harks back to the era of the original, with sharp and nicely detailed 3D backgrounds wrapping around corners to follow Shou’s movements as the screen fills with pixilated 2D enemies that explode into satisfying arcade-like showers of blood when defeated. The combo-based brawling works equally well whether you want to mash buttons and hope for the best or take the time to master the more intricate nuances of Shou’s abilities. These unfortunately aren’t explained too well, with nothing more than an onslaught of difficult-to-remember text boxes appearing at the start of the game to run down the basic controls to set you up for the adventure ahead. It can take a fair bit of practise and trial and error to get the hang of things, but everything works excellently when it all finally clicks.

Being a throwback to a simpler time, SZX is quite a straightforward game. Away from the almost non-stop fighting, Shou will acquire a few health boosts as the game progresses, but a few additional upgrades or abilities to work towards might have helped to give the gameplay a bit more depth, as well as some much-needed assistance with some of the trickier sections of the game itself. Beyond the main game there’s the “Bloody Palace” – a procedurally-generated challenge tower, along with an online leaderboard – to extend the game’s longevity. It might be lacking certain ubiquitous features of similar modern titles, but it’s still great fun for those with a fondness for 90s-style beat ’em ups!

 

stars

DOCTOR JEKYLL

The first film to be released under the new Hammer Productions mantle is an update of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story starring comedian Eddie Izzard in the dual role. Those groaning that this will be another gender-flipped take on the story in the vein of the studio’s ‘70s movie Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde will soon have those accusations quashed, however.

Izzard plays Nina Jekyll, head of a big pharma company, who has become a recluse following accusations of abusive behaviour. Rob (Scott Chambers), recently released from prison, takes a job as a helper at Jekyll’s sprawling mansion. He’s desperate to turn his life around to see his sick daughter, who was born while he was inside. Over the course of a few nights, he notices swings in Nina’s temperament. Unfortunately for Rob, his junkie ex has learnt of his wealthy employer and suggests a robbery…

Director Joe Stephenson and writer Dan Kelly-Mulhern take a different approach to Stevenson’s classic tale, with Jekyll’s meds keeping the sinister Rachel Hyde at bay. Izzard manages to infuse the latter with a brooding menace without the need for monstrous makeup, but both sides of the character are compelling viewing. The changes are subtle and very effective. Chambers plays a more comedic, naïve underdog whose heart is in the right place, although he’s been led astray with bad decisions.

Doctor Jekyll works well as a psychological thriller with great characterisations but features a few too many forced jump scares, which jolt from the mood rather than add to it. Interestingly, one of the major changes in the finished film from the version seen at FrightFest brings up a major flaw. In the opening set-up, we’re shown a newspaper headline revealing that Nina is trans, which wasn’t in the preview version. This becomes troublesome when we see a flashback of young Nina with her grandfather, Henry Jekyll. Of course, it could be a projection of how Nina saw herself, but the addition of that bit of information feels forced and unnecessary as Izzard’s portrayal is so mesmerising it’s really redundant.

While the film wasn’t originally made under the Hammer banner, it’s a good picture for the company to make its official comeback under the new management. Doctor Jekyll is lower-key than one would expect but works all the better because of that.

stars

DOCTOR JEKYLL is out now on digital platforms in the UK.

KUNG FU PANDA 4

Kung Fu Panda 4 needs to be this franchise’s swan song. So much of what made the first two entries great – the emotional resonance, the convincing villainy, the Furious Five – is missing from the get-go. The bottom line? Mining the Kung Fu Panda conceit for entertainment value has become increasingly fruitless, further necessitating a shift away from pre-existing IP.

Kung fu prodigy Po (a returning Jack Black) and franchise newcomer Zhen (Awkwafina) form the film’s core dynamic, but their connection feels neither earned nor organic. As far as villains go, the Chameleon (a bored-sounding Viola Davis) is about as one-note as you can get. Her presence rarely, if ever, carries the intended weight, and her motivations (copied and pasted from other, better baddies) start and stop at: I want all of the power. Shallow motivations would have sufficed if her villainy didn’t feel so innocuous, but she isn’t threatening, and she isn’t interesting in how she’s threatening.

An underwritten side quest with main adventure stakes, Kung Fu Panda 4 is far and away the weakest entry in the franchise. The movie is gorgeous – easily one of DreamWorks’ most dazzling animated efforts to date – and there are many moments where its narrative shortcomings are forgotten amidst a These, at least, are somewhat pleasant distractions, but as soon as we’re ripped back into the story, we’re reminded of how just much polish this turd needs to be watchable.

stars

KUNG FU PANDA 4 is released in UK cinemas on March 28th.

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE, Season 1, Episode 2, GONE

THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE, Season 1, Episode 2, GONE

The second episode of The Ones Who Live turns the attention to Michonne, the unstoppable lone warrior, back out on the road on a solo mission to track down Rick, her partner and the father of her adopted family. She now has evidence that Rick survived the devastating explosion on the bridge in which he sacrificed himself to protect his community from a walker swarm. Michonne is unable to rest until she can confirm his fate, even after all of the years of silence that have followed. It’s Michonne’s determination, rather than Rick’s seeming indestructibility, that’s driving the drama at this point.

Gone rolls the clock back to replay the time period seen in Years from Michonne’s perspective. It takes the story up to and beyond the pair’s joyous reunion to explore the complicated consequences of its immediate aftermath. This is a much more emotionally literate episode than Years, as it digs deeper into Michonne’s attempts to deal with loss, her empathy towards others, her resilience and her stoicism. The delve into her psyche builds the anticipation ahead of that pivotal moment in the woods so well that it’s hard not to think that Gone would have worked better as the new show’s opening story.

After Michonne rescues two travellers from encroaching walkers, she is summoned before Elle, the leader of a ramshackle roaming convoy of vehicles, to account for her actions. Michonne, in turn, questions why Elle is prepared to abandon those who leave the caravan to scavenge. She asks to be rewarded with the gift of a horse so that she can continue her journey northwards towards Bridgers Terminal, her best lead on Rick’s whereabouts. Others in the community immediately warm to her, including the pair she saved, Aiden and Bailey, and the community’s inventor, armourer and pyrotechnic expert, Nat.

Sometimes, time pressures result in sketchily drawn guest characters whose fates are difficult to feel invested in. The script for Gone, by Nana Nkweti and Channing Powell, gives these temporary allies of Michonne more substance so that the jeopardy that they then face has a greater impact. Breeda Wool brings a sense of quiet pathos to the role of Aiden, while Matthew Jeffers excels in the much more demonstrative portrayal of the feisty fixer Nat.

The opening episode had a lot of new world-building to get through, establishing the nature of the Civic Republic Military (CRM) enclave, the isolationist philosophy that governs it, and the extent of Rick’s entrapment. Gone does not have to carry the same expository burden, which allows directors Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood (aka “Bert and Bertie”) to really focus on Michonne’s literal and figurative journey. Along the way, there are some interesting revelations about life in this part of North America. Elle’s nomadic cavalcade is a form of community rarely seen in the Walking Dead universe, although it’s clear that her group can be little more than rootless hunter-gatherers who relocate with the seasons. Michonne also learns about “the Wailing”, a mass migration of walkers who seem to pose an insurmountable obstacle on her route.

The gas attack, launched from CRM helicopters to protect the isolation of their city, makes for a horrific set-piece and provides some fantastic visuals. Nat’s missile attack on “the Wailing” had earlier demonstrated his prowess with weaponry, and the murderous CRM attack from the air gives all the justification required for the later retaliatory attack on the chopper piloted by Rick. In the aftermath of the gas bombing, the survivors hunker down in an abandoned shopping mall to give their damaged lungs time to recover. The passing of the months that they need to recuperate is evoked through a downbeat and melancholic montage, something which invests the reunion all viewers now know is imminent with an even stronger sense of emotional release.

Danai Gurira’s return to the role of Michonne impresses immediately. Gurira delivers a masterful and emotionally exposed performance as her character’s belief system is tested almost to the point of destruction. The reunion with Rick is a moment of triumphant personal vindication that’s undercut by the need to agree on a cover story that can deceive approaching CRM reinforcements and buy the pair time. The moment does exonerate Michonne’s refusal to surrender her search for Rick, but this is not presented as a simple, sentimental assertion of the power of belief. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that everyone who broke away from Elle’s convoy hoping for a better life in Michonne’s company is dead by the time that she and Rick return to the CRM citadel. Any hope of escape is quickly compromised by the return of an old adversary who knows the duo’s full backstory. And Michonne’s own relief is quickly tempered by doubts about the ways in which Rick may have changed and what he has been willing to surrender.

Gone lands the emotional payoff of the reunion with fan-pleasing conviction, at the end of what’s an engrossing backstory for Michonne. But what impresses just as much is the fresh jeopardy that the Grimeses are immediately plunged into, as a new high-stakes crisis ensnares them.

stars

New episodes of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE premiere on AMC and AMC+ in the US each Sunday

Read our previous reviews of THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE below:

Season 1, Episode 1, YEARS