Dead Set

I thought that there would never be a zombie epic to beat or even overshadow George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (apart from Shaun of the Dead) and now FINALLY I think we in Britain have finally got a film/TV movie/ mini series that does rival that. Dead set is a horror set around the Big Brother phenomenon and a terrifying real zombie apocalypse. The general public and the house-mates even the crew of Big Brother become unknowingly involved in a vicious fight for survival as the dead start eating the entire British population one chunk at a time. I truly loved this, I love zombie movies (yes even the crap and extremely cheesy ones too) and this was the best millennium zombie based survival horror I have ever seen. As far as I was concerned the remake of Dawn of the Dead, remake of Day of the Dead, the new 3D version of Night of the living dead and every other 'poser' zombie movie out there nowadays that doesn't fulfil the code of the zombie horror movie i.e. intense scenes and graphic gore, Dead set fulfils on all levels. Firstly the acting is great from Andy Nyman (severance) as the totally obnoxious producer of Big Brother Patrick to Jamie Winstone as the poor floor runner Kelly forced to become the heroine in charge of the survival of the house-mates of the Big Brother house. There's even past BB housemates who star in cameos at the start of the series and some even become zombies later but you'll have to watch it to find out who becomes one and who becomes zombie brunch. Next I'll move to the gore. Don't think that just cause this was a made for TV movie that they skimp on the gore because they don't. I was very surprised by the gore and bloody carnage that they were allowed to put on the small screen. E4 have definitely pulled out their balls and had the guts (no pun intended) to show this movie he way we'd expect it to be seen in all its gutsy glory (again no pun intended.) Some of the effects rival that of Tom Savini's groundbreaking and very gruesome special FX on the original George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. I was in awe by what they were allowed to show on the screen and thank god they did. Next the social commentary that George included in Dawn is re-invented and used in Dead Set. How the characters talk about the zombies and how the zombies watch the revealing show via TV sets that they walk around finding their next meal and what society is reduced to. Lastly the zombies in this are genuinely chilling, they look menacing and vicious even at times somewhat evil and very ravenous… and I mean ravenous for human flesh (take note Resident Evil Trilogy) Yes even for the first time I can even pass the fact that these zombies can run and pretty damn fast. Just like the zombies from Dawn of the Dead remake, Day of the dead remake and 28 days/weeks later these will tear after you if you are seen and that is scary but although they can do that the slow style of zombie i.e. Romero's zombies are much more frightening than the fast future style zombies of today. The dark overtone of the story adds an air of dread to the atmospheric tension and terror that Dead Set has deep in the underbelly of Charlie Brooker's well thought out script. Britain proves that what Hollywood can do, with a bit of careful structure and preparation the UK can do it better. We did it with Shaun of the Dead which was a global hit and I believe that we can easily do it again with Dead Set when it finally reaches USA shores soon. The climax genuinely had made both thrilled, chilled and scared and not many horrors can do that with me.

Dead Set is a thrilling gory"shoot me again I ain't dead yet" exciting piece of UK style horror and should be seen to be believed.

Charlie Brooker breaks a number of boundaries in creating this magnificent series - but most importantly, he has written the only zombie television series to date, either in the UK or the US. Although the plot contains more gaping wounds than Davina McCall after a zombie's had a go at her, what it lacks in integrity it makes up for in sheer suspense and terror. The premise is laughable - a zombie outbreak is bringing Britain to its knees, and the only ones unaware of this are locked safely inside the "Big Brother" house - but this little gem turns out to be an extremely frightening experience.

While Big Brother host Davina McCall steals the show, she does not play a particularly challenging role, and finds her initial role of playing a fictional version of herself even more challenging than playing a bloodthirsty zombie. On the other hand, Jaime Winstone and the rest of the cast put in fantastic performances all round. One of the series' only faults is the very shaky and often frustrating camera-work, which can be effective at times in adding to the realistic "documentary feel", but often just makes it difficult to work out what is actually happening on screen.

While making a few jabs at the state of British television and celebrity culture - the world is coming to an end, yet Big Brother is still on - the series also manages to deliver truly terrifying scenes and a great sense of nihilism throughout.

Wow! "Dead Set" is one of the better zombie entertainment installments I have seen in awhile. I bought the DVD from Amazon and I am really glad that I did. I had no idea what it was about, just that it was something with zombies, so of course I had to own it. I had put off watching it for awhile, a big mistake on my account.

The story in "Dead Set" is about an outbreak of zombies on a global scale. We follow the people inside a 'Big Brother' house, as they are shielded from the outside world and have no idea that the entire world outside is dying, literally, and coming back from the dead. But soon enough, the zombies come crashing through the gates...

I found that "Dead Set" was a lovely mixture of both types of zombie genres; the Romero zombies and the "28 Days Later" zombies. And it actually worked out quite well. Personally I am not a fan of agile, running zombies, but it was quite fitting in "Dead Set".

The characters in "Dead Set" were believable and realistic, and I loved the way they portrayed the people in today's society that are blinded by the media and lusting for their 15 minutes of shame in the eye of the public. It was really a great touch to the series that they portrayed some of the people like that, as it is as true to the reality of reality show competitors as it gets. Yeah, you guessed it, I have no love for reality shows, nor for the people participating in them.

"Dead Set" is driven by the great combo of the action, storyline, gore and the characters. The characters were really so greatly detailed and fleshed out, that you got a lot of chance to delve yourself into their situations and grow with them. I liked that about "Dead Set", because the characters (and the actors/actresses portraying them) were really helping along the series so well.

The zombies in "Dead Set" were great, nice details, nice gore, great aggression. However, and this is a personal preference of mine, but I didn't care much for them running around all agile and quick, that is not in my taste. And also the eyes, well it was a good enough attempt, but it would have worked better with some contact lenses that milked over the eyes, instead of making them have eyes like Marilyn Manson.

"Dead Set" is good entertainment and lots of fun. I enjoyed it from the very start up to the very end. It is a great addition to any zombie aficionado's DVD collection. If you enjoy zombie movies, then you definitely have to check out "Dead Set". And it is well worth checking out if you are a fan of the "28 Days Later" series or any of the Romero zombie movies - or both!

An eviction night in the UK's Big Brother TV show is interrupted by worldwide zombie outbreak, the house-mates are left none the wiser locked up, but outside mayhem reigns as the living dead's numbers increase. For a TV production I thought it was very gory and the sfx were also of a very good standard. The script by Charlie Brooker is to the point and very amusing. I wasn't too enamoured early on with the TV producer Patrick, i thought his character was a complete bastard, but as the show went on, i grew to like him somewhat, he had some very funny lines and I guess he turned into an anti hero of sorts.. I did think it started quite slow but the pace and gore factor increased rapidly towards the end so i wasn't disappointed. The Big Brother factor was done quite well, i guess fans of the show will be happy seeing all the familiar faces and those who hate it will love the house-mates getting their comeuppances, so everyone goes home happy. Of course its not without its moments of social comment, the baying mob outside the BB house showing little difference to the real thing.

Considering this is a low budget TV film Charlie Brooker has pulled off a fantastic little gem, based on the premise of a Zombie Outbreak in England and the tale of a eclectic band of survivors (most of whom already hate each others guts) stuck in the Big Brother House, a satirical comment on the vacuousness of Reality TV to rival Romero's commentary of consumerism in the original Dawn of the Dead.

Taken as a gore fest with a huge dollop of black humour it works a treat and even the nihilistic ending fits so well into the message. Some great references throughout for Zombie Film Fans and Big Brother Fans alike. I like fast Zombies, much scarier and more threatening than traditional shufflers and considering the limited time this mini-series had they really were a necessity. Having some of the real ex-house mates and Davina as Zombies was a great touch.

If you enjoyed Dawn of the Dead (2004), 28 Days and Weeks Later, REC and Shaun of the Dead, Dead Set is definitely worth a viewing.