The BBC has released the first trailer for its upcoming zombie-centric mini-series.
I keep thinking to myself that any day now, people will be done with zombies, and we can, as a global media culture, finally move on to something more interesting, only to be thwarted at each turn. And I’m not just being thwarted by the continual presence of zombies in the zeitgeist, but by their ability to surprise me with new takes and interesting points of view. The art of the zombie story is being continually elevated, and each time it happens I tell myself that it’s a fluke, and that zombies are surely done after this. Maybe it’s time to admit that the shambling mostly-dead are here to stay.
From across the Atlantic comes yet another surprising elevation of the sub-genre. In the mini-series In the Flesh, we’re introduced to a part of the story not often explored, and a point of view that adds dimension to the zombie as an allegory.
The zombie outbreak in this world is ending. Scientists have found a cure for the epidemic that caused the dead and dying to rise up against us, and some zombies – in this story called Partially Deceased Syndrome (PDS) sufferers – have been treated and rehabilitated. Returned to life, and capable of self-aware thought yet again, these former PDS patients remember their time as monsters, and a large part of their recovery is coming to terms with what they were, and that it was not their fault. The story follows Kieren Walker, as he is sent back to his home after recovery and rehab, back to a small town where he terrorized and killed other residents while suffering from PDS.
It will be interesting to see this character and his fellow townsfolk work through the awkward reintroduction, and the visual interpretation of a world in a post-zombie state. What kind of scenery would be prevalent in that world? Half-disassembled make-shift forts? Many abandoned structures? Non-afflicted survivors with PTSD from the short, bloody conflict? There is a lot of potential there for some great set pieces, and the nature of the protagonist will certainly make for some evocative scenes.
In the Flesh, a three-episode series, is slated to air on BBC Three starting on March 17, 2013. A US release date has not yet been announced.
