The Walking Dead S7 ‘Sneak Peek’

This post will contain opinions that could be considered *SPOILERS*

Season 7 of The Walking Dead is but two weeks away and FOX have released a ‘sneak peek‘.

I have just watched it, and I feel sort of let down. Let me start with the highlights. The Walking Dead is back and that is fantastic. Negan is bad ass. Rick tries to stay bad ass, but is shown to be very weak in comparison, at this moment which will be a very interesting character arc throughout the season.

Here’s where I am let down. This peek hints heavily that Daryl is the one who meets Lucille. Negan says he’d be lost without his “right hand man” and this suggests Daryl as we know his place in the group. Though on the flip side, does Negan know the relationship between Rick and Daryl? Is he referring to Abraham here as they were together when Negan got there? There is a theory online the the young girl Enid is a spy for the Saviours (Negan’s ‘gang’), but I personally don’t see that storyline tying in with the Enid we have already seen in season 5 and 6. However it is entirely possible that someone has spied on our group enough to know who’s who.

Strong hint number two comes in the final shot. Rick is dragged into the RV, showing Negans strength over the situation. It reduces our hero to a petulant child or misbehaving animal bein dragged to the naughty step. If this scene makes season 7, my theory is Rick can kiss a hand goodbye.

I digress, let’s get back to the Daryl hint. With the final wide shot of the RV and the camera panning to the ground to show the deceased’s pool of blood, what we can see is a blanket, and if you recall, Daryl was covered in a blanket due to the injuries he sustained at the end of season 6. Again, if the blanket on the ground makes it to the show it could be from Daryl throwing it to the ground in protest of a friend being murdered. All possibilities will have been considered.

As big shows like this are inclined to do, this sneak peak could be a massive red herring. It could contain dialogue that won’t appear in the show. The creators are definitely smart enough to put false clues in to trip up eagle eyed viewers, and they definitely have thought out every possible angle and potential spoiler before releasing a sneak peek. They will have someone dedicated to monitoring the online buzz and will play into that.

They have also more than likely filmed different versions of who gets the bat. I think all we can conclude for definite is that someone will die. One predicition I will put my name to, it will be a male who doesn’t see season 7, and one thing that is 100% true.

I can’t fucking wait for October 24th!

Wolf Creek

Australia, where no one can hear you scream.

It would take you 40 hours of continuous driving to get from one side to the other, and the majority of the country is nature. A haven for tourists and backpackers and world adventurers. The people have a great sense of humour and enjoy a beer. It sounds like heaven on earth. Unless you run into one of the few more than unhinged inhabitants down under.

By now, you should all be familiar with Mick Taylor, the fictional serial killer based on Australia’s backpack murderer, Ivan Milat, who killed seven people between 1990 and 1996. Mick Taylor, you’ll recognise from Wolf Creek 1 & 2, played outstandingly by John Jarratt and again in the six part mini series of the same name, “Wolf Creek”, and that is what we will be discussing here.

Let’s get the best part of the show for me out of the way first. The theme tune. A creepy and hauntingly brilliant rendition of an old kids rhyme, “Who killed Cock Robin?”, by Lisa Salvo. It’s only 1 minute long but it creates such a lasting memory and I still sing it today. Now, to the show.

Episode one starts with a bang. We are introduced to our family. Mum, dad, son and daughter. The family is headed by two US cops traveling through Aus in an RV, experiencing the outback and taking a well earned break. The youngest child, the boy, is a typical pre adolescent, trying to show his dad he’s a man. The girl, is a stereotypical 17 year old. Moody and in a huff because she’s on vacation and not with her friends back home.

As they are enjoying a beer by the campfire, they are joined by Mick, who just happens to pass by. Just like in the original movie, this exchange begins innocently enough and then boom. The family are all dead. All except our moody teen who was sulking in the RV with the headphones in. She susses out the situation and makes a run for it, is shot in the back and when Mick can’t see her body, is left for dead.

I’ll keep the spoilers to minimum from now on. The teen, Eve, is our protagonist and we follow her transition through these six episodes, physically, literally and emotionally. This seventeen year old spoiled American girl really steps up the 1990s Barbara badass morph very quickly. She drops the headphones and picks up the guns. Cuts her hair and gets a dog. Upsets a lot of dangerous SOA / Crocodile Dundee types and also becomes an underwear waitress. All while looking for Mick.

Like I said, Australia is a big place, so looking for one person is a complete needle in the bush. Exactly how long Eve has spent down under on the hunt, but it is long enough to get a job, a flatmate and create a reputation among the locals.

Throughout the episodes, we follow Eve on a few adventures and some very unrealistic situations involving Australia’s biker gangs. However while far fetched, the outcome does make sense in the universe this series creates.

One thing, every outlaw we meet is a dead ringer for Tom Hardy in Mad Max and this can make it hard to tell them apart if you watch episodes one week at a time. Some of these Tom Hardys leave very quickly and it can feel like rushed or lazy writing.

Let’s head toward the culmination of the series, and the inevitable climax. We’ve been watching Eve stalk and hunt Mick for six hours, and if after all the trouble he gets the better of her, we would walk away disappointed and angry. However, if this young girl manages to over power Mick fahking Taylor, would you believe it?

The creators head somewhere down the middle and allow successful closure for Eve while keeping their eyes on the franchise. While this doesn’t make full sense, it sort of has to happen as there is a somewhat trailer for Wolf Creek 3 out in the Internet for anyone to view.

The acting in this series is fantastic. John Jarratt turns a brilliant performance in the character he has perfected over time. Lucy Fry, the Aussie actress plays a convincing American, and a very convincing girl on a mission. Eve’s transformation into the strong girl she becomes is the true reason for the show. While the movies are horrors, the show is a tense thriller. A character development within Mick’s world.

If you enjoyed the movies, like stunning visuals of vast Australian landscapes and love an accent then binge watch this show right now. I can’t end without saying, “that ain’t a knife….”

Stranger Things

In today’s world of remakes and reboots a video lending company can expand to be one of the giants in media publishing and bring us a brand new fresh TV show that is also dripping with nostalgia without feeling forced right? Hey, Stranger Things have happened.

While reading online that the appearance of this show slipped by a few folks, the trailer seemed to be aimed directly at my peepers. I got it straight away and the artwork for this offering seemed to beckon me in. The font for the title alone making all my brain receptors flash ‘Stephen King’, like a fruit machine hitting the jackpot. The poster put me in mind of great movies such as ‘Star Wars’ and ‘E.T.’, and of course the idea that the story focuses in on young kids on an adventure, well, the ‘Stand By Me’ fanboy inside was going crazy.

15th July 2016, all episodes released at once and binge watching commences. The story centres around two main characters. Will, who disappears in episode one and the subsequent hunt to find him, and Eleven, or ‘Elle’ and the subsequent mission to keep her hidden. Both stories are intertwined beautifully while leading to a joint conclusion with terrific writing seeing the show throughout. The pacing is close to perfect, with each episode not only ending on a cliffhanger, but preceding the fantastic intro sequence, starting on one too.

I had my reservations about Winona Ryder, within the first few episodes, mainly prejudged due to the ‘Family Guy’ skit where they claim she is only good if she’s topless. Jeez, Seth Macfarlane is a bit of a dick. However, she creates a performance worthy of awards. A mother desperately seeking her missing son and prepared to do whatever it takes to find him, even if it entails losing grip on reality.

These kids, have never known a time without Internet, social media and mobile phones, yet they convey early eighties pre teens magnificently, right down to the dungeons and dragons epic quests. David Harbour puts in an excellent turn as the towns troubled Sherrif, a character that we would all want on our side, but I think it goes without saying, the stand out performance in this show is from future Hollywood A-lister, 12 year old Millie Bobby Brown. With little to no dialogue, Millie, as mysterious girl Eleven, conveys a whole host of dramatic and complex emotions all of which are believable to the audience. You can’t teach that.

Written by the Duffer brothers, whom after this gift will be henceforth referred to as the fantastic Duffer brothers who can do no wrong, we have a whole world brought to life. Each character, wether major or minor is well rounded and believable. Clichéd tropes are avoided and others are given a slight twist, mainly in the case of Steve, the jock love interest for Nancy. While we expect him to be a jerk to allow Nancy to fall for Jonathan, with whom a connection is building, Steve turns it round in the third act by showing he really does care. A believable outcome, but different to what we have seen time and time again.

The nostalgia trip is in the soundtrack, on the walls in movie posters, Jaws, Evil Dead, even The Dark Crystal makes an appearance. It’s in the clothes, the set and the theme. It forges memories, brings forth smells. It generates feelings that don’t over saturate the show nor do they ruin your childhood. It’s eating that long forgotten cereal or candy bar. It’s finding old photographs or long lost mix tapes. It’s faultless.

Initially my only complaint for this series was that at eight episodes, it’s too short. However, coming out the sublime end sequence, I didn’t feel cheated. I felt a whole range of emotions, but I felt the show had not let me down, and at that short episode number, a whole season rewatch is definitely on the cards at least once.

Has an immaculate 10/10 piece of art been created?
Stranger Things have happened.