Diksha Sundriyal
When we talk about horror, ghosts, spirits, demons and zombies are the first ones that come to our mind. Out of these, zombies are the ones that seem the most terrifying. To begin with, they are corporeal. Ghosts and demons are supernatural entities and they don’t seem to attack everyone. Their audience is limited to certain sections and their threat doesn’t go beyond a group of teenagers hanging out at a cabin, or a family that the spirits are especially infatuated with. Zombies are more horrifying, and dangerous, because of their impartiality. They can, and will, eat anyone and everyone that comes their way. Also, they are not a supernatural thing. (I mean, logically speaking!) A virus outbreak is all it needs to kickstart a zombie apocalypse. And with the world so screwed up, the possibility doesn’t seem so far off.
So, if you are someone who seriously considers zombies as a threat, or just someone who likes to be scared of them, here is the list of top shows that you must watch:
10. Town of the Living Dead (2014)
This isn’t a typical zombie show. In fact, the only zombies it has are people playing people who want to play zombies. A quite different show from its counterparts, but its enjoyable, nevertheless. A small town in Alabama has its own independent zombie movie project going on. The problem is that it has been going on for six years. The filmmakers are amateurs, their methods aren’t really refined. So, whenever they try to go big or do an exciting scene, it turns into a disaster. Add to that the personal problems of the people involved in filmmaking. In the meantime, the town is being overrun by zombies. Not the real zombies though. It is the actors that are to act as zombies in the film. A certain network decides to back the film if it gets completed. In the meantime, they decide to make a documentary of the filming process.
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9. Z Nation (2014- present)
Alvin Murphy was an inmate in a naval prison when he was subjected to unwilling experiments approved by the government. While the rest of the test subjects died, Murphy was the only one who survived. A few days later, the world fell to pieces when a zombie outbreak turned everyone into a cannibalistic corpse. Even after he was bitten, Murphy wasn’t affected like everyone else. Turns out, those experiments were a boon. Somehow, Murphy is immune to the zombie effect. Though, not completely. His skin begins to turn blue, and he seems to have a control over other zombies. But still, he is in control of his consciousness.
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8. Dead Set (2008)
Production continues on the set of ‘Big Brother’. The contestants and the crew members continue to shoot and air the episodes. And while the world is calm for them, all hell breaks loose on the outside. A zombie outbreak has engulfed the whole of Britain and everyone has been turned into a zombie. Due to its isolated setting and being cut-off from the outside world, the contestants are unaware of this. And then comes eviction night, when the doors of the house open. Things get bloody after that.
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7. Freakish (2016- present)
A group of students get a Saturday detention. While they are inside the school passing their time, a chemical plant in the city explodes. Unaware of what is going on outside, the students decide to stay in and stay safe. Meanwhile, certain chemicals released from the plants result in behavioural changes in humans. As the time passes by, a couple of students become impatient and decide to venture out, to find out exactly what has been happening. But of all that go out, only one comes back. And he reports that everyone outside is dead. Also, something’s wrong with him, as well.
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6. Helix (2014-2015)
Dr Alan Farragut leads a team of scientists to an Arctic bioresearch station where a mysterious virus outbreak has left everyone perplexed. As they begin to study the virus, they discover that things are more out of control than it is being let out. The company that hired them to handle the situation is more interested in the knowledge that they have gained about the virus, and the efforts of completely eradicating the outbreak don’t seem to be on the list. Soon, they find their connection cut off from the outside world as they struggle to stay intact in the life or death situations. Despite getting good reviews, the show couldn’t garner enough audience and was cancelled after the second season.
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5. Santa Clarita Diet (2017- present)
Sheila Hammond had a normal life until she threw up in front of her customers while showing a house that she wanted to sell. As her condition deteriorates, she begins to discover new changes in her personality. Her husband, Joel, tries to find out the root cause of her situation. But, before they can land on a conclusion, things quickly escalate with Sheila eating up a man. Clearly established that she is now a zombie, Sheila and Joel try to find ways to keep her diet satiated while trying to make their normal lives work.
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4. In the Flesh (2013-2014)
It has been several years since the zombie apocalypse was staved off. A strong, armed resistance by the people and relentless hunting of the people who had turned into zombies resulted in turning the world back to normal. Also, the scientists have found a way to turn the consciousness of the zombies around to act as humans again. A lot of medications, injections and a bit touch-up allow the re-animated people to go back to normal. But it isn’t as easy as it looks. While they face prejudice from the society, the re-animated people are also haunted by the things they did while they were zombified.
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3. Fear the Walking Dead (2015- present)
A spin-off of AMC’s hit show ‘The Walking Dead’, this show serves as the prequel to it. ‘The Walking Dead’ had an abrupt beginning. The world had already gone topsy-turvy when Rick Grimes stepped out of the hospital. ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ serves an explanation to the events that led to the zombie apocalypse. It follows the life of a family that has complicated written all over it. When the drug-addict Nick witnesses his girlfriend eating a corpse, he tries to understand if it was a hallucination or was it a reality. Slowly, the rumours of an epidemic begin to spread. Nick and his family have to find a way to survive.
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2. iZombie (2015- present)
Olivia Moore is a medical student with high hopes and dreams about her life. But all that changes when she attends a boat party. Her life crashes down as she discovers that she has turned into a zombie. Severing ties with her fiancé and her family, she tries to preserve her sanity by eating the brains of dead people. To keep the supply coming, she takes up a job at the morgue, where she can stay out of everyone’s attention, without arising suspicions. As she feeds off on the brains of the corpses, she discovers that she can temporarily inherit their memories. With her newfound power, Liv finds a way to help a Police Detective in solving cases.
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1. The Walking Dead (2010 -present)
One of the most popular shows of recent times and garnering critical acclaim on the side, ‘The Walking Dead’ is still going strong after an eight-season run. It all started when Rick Grimes woke up from a coma and found that the whole world had been zombified. As he reunites with his family and finds a group that later becomes family to him, Rick discovers that even in the world overrun by zombies, it is still the humans who pose far greater threats. Exceptional acting by its lead actors and consistently smart storytelling by its writers have resulted in a loyal following of the show. Exploring more of humanity than the nature of zombies, it portrays a picture of the lengths humans can go to in order to save themselves.
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