I should be sick of zombies after a decade of The Walking Dead, but I’m not, and for good reason!
The majority of zombie media that has come from The Walking Dead‘s extended shadow has been groundbreaking. Anna and the Apocalypse, for example, is a musical about coming of age. One Cut of the Dead is a touching and amusing look at what happens behind the scenes on a film set. Train to Busan adds to the claustrophobia of the zombie apocalypse by leaving the survivors with nowhere to flee. Unlike the series it is based on, Z Nation has carved out space by having a genuine sense of humour.
Overview
So, what makes Black Summer the series to binge watch this summer? Like those in The Walking Dead, the human characters in Black Summer are capable and being deadly in their own right. Unlike The Walking Dead, though, the zombies in Black Summer remain the most dangerous threat. In Black Summer, there is no haven for the survivors. Even in the safest of circumstances, something will go wrong at some point, making the series the king or queen of the zombie world!
Zombies
The zombies in Black Summer are unlike any other. In the same manner that the zombies in 28 Days Later aren’t sluggish dummies with paper skulls, the zombies in Black Summer are people who have gone feral. The zombies in Black Summer aren’t traps or annoyances; they’re hunters who don’t sneak up on you. Instead, the zombies in Black Summer charge onto the screen, taking advantage of the large canvases painted by directors John Hyams and Abram Cox, as well as cinematographers Yaron Levy and Spiro Grant, by charging into view at the back of the frame and charging for a hundred yards or more before characters finally engage in shooting at them or fleeing from them.
Second season
Black Summer is back, and it’s still full of white-knuckle, bare-bones undead terror, much like its horrific, adrenaline-filled first season. Black Summer has kept zombie television ferociously fresh in an era where The Walking Dead is unsteadily going through its tenth season. It’s a no-nonsense, immersive dread and anxiety experience. Minimalist without sacrificing visual appeal. In both its fury and its stillness, it’s awe-inspiring.
Filming techniques
Black Summer‘s deft technique, which combines a small-bites mini-sode structure with some of the most action-packed long takes in the business, immerses you in a mad and brutal world dealing with the early stages of a zombie pandemic. And these zombies are graceful and fearsome. They’re triple-tough, and they frequently go after people who aren’t very good at headshots. These are violent and never get old, and it’s not uncommon on the show for you to get to know a character as a human and then see them as a rampaging ghoul making their former friends’ lives a misery in a bizarre reincarnation.
Why you should watch it
For the most part, audiences should be under-sold Black Summer because the most fantastic way to see it is via the eyes of someone who has never seen it before. That said, it’s a shame that it’s become so buried in Netflix’s intimidatingly extensive repertoire that Season 2 is approaching, and many people have never heard of it. If you enjoy zombie horror films, this is a must-see. Even if you merely love lean, powerful storytelling, this is a very well-crafted saga that employs several clever narrative devices to heighten your awareness of the story’s cutting brutality.
Location and plot
Black Summer Season 2 appears to be further away due to several issues, including the weather. Season 2’s weather is bitterly cold. Everyone is either drenched or shivering from the snow. Even if the survivors are slower, most zombies can still move at breakneck speed in frigid temperatures. People can still turn into zombies in a heartbeat, and the only way to stop them is to shoot them in the head.
This time, the tale is significantly darker and grittier. As the story reveals many subgroups and factions, Black Summer season 2 continues to break down the theme that people are the real monsters. Nobody trusts anyone, and when people do start to trust someone, things get out of hand. People are killing each other over goods dropped by an unknown plane. The supply drops appear to be helpful, but they are causing individuals on the ground to go to battle with one another.
The fatalities are incredibly random, and the fact that anyone could die at any time appeals to many followers. However, the tale is so unrelenting that you lose interest in the characters. There aren’t many memorable characters. While it’s thrilling to see an unpredictable plot unfold, most of the fatalities only move us in a fearful, rather than emotional, sense. There aren’t many characters who you don’t miss once they’ve passed away.
Final thoughts
Overall, the second season of Black Summer is superior to the first. It isn’t perfect because many people will have issues with the story. However, there are many things from Season 2 that viewers will enjoy and want to watch again. With two significant cliffhangers in the finale, let’s hope Netflix decides to renew Black Summer for a third season.