Black Summer Review: Now THIS Is How A Zombie Series Should Be Done

"Black Summer" begins with an overhead shot of people running. It's appropriate because that's what happens over eight episodes. People run, people fight, people die. And that's what I'm here for. I dont need long, draw out dramas where we might see a zombie a week (if we're lucky). I'm looking at you "The Walking Dead". We'll get enough character development along the way. I watch zombie shows to see people fight for their lives.

For those who don't know, NetFlix's "Black Summer' is the long awaited "Z Nation" prequel. It's not really connected in terms of story BUT "Black Summer" co-creator Karl Schaefer was also behind "Z Nation" and both shows were produced by The Asylum. John Hyams from "Z Nation" also directed several episodes of the new series. The segments are short (ranging from 25 to 45 minutes each). Each is divided by a title card such as "Rose", "Roll Call", "Detention", etc.

The show is set some six weeks after the initial outbreak. Society has disintegrated but the military still has some strong holds. People initially dont know how to stop the zombies. The survivors quickly learn to stay away from the deceased and to "double tap" them in the head. To make matters worse, this walkers turn instantly and are fast runners. There are no slowly-shuffling-along zombies here. My one gripe with the story is that many of the survivor have no weapons for long periods of time. Hello??? You dont have to know what a zombie is to decide you need to arm yourself against one (and the other vicious humans that are out there).

One story line has Rose (Jamie King) searching for her separated daughter. She's desperately trying to get to the evacuation point (which is a stadium). Rose and a solder named Spears (Justin Chu Cary) travel together. There are other groups who will eventually converge. Sun (a Korean speaking woman) is looking for her mother. William (Sal Velez Jr) really is one of the good guys and is trying to get to his family in Texas. They become a team. There's also a hearing impaired man named Ryan (Mustafa Alabssi). Lance (Kelsey Flower) spends most of the series running for his life and hiding on buses, in grocery stores, in schools, etc. He has more close calls than I can count. Barbara (Gwynth Walsh) has a minivan which people keep trying to steal.

This show is exceedingly brutal. People do what they have to to survive. No one is ever safe. If you're sentimental, you're dead. I won't give any of the specifics away. Just watch it. If you love zombie movies (like I do), you'll love "Black Summer'... and then some.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Perfection! "Black Summer" is non stop zombie fighting fun. The "Z Nation" prequel begins with people running through a neighborhood. And then the running continues for eight nail biting episodes. We learn to care about the characters along the way. The show is extremely brutal (as a series about zombies should be).

I really hope "Black Summer" gets a season 2. Even Stephen King tweeted an endorsement this week saying "No long, fraught discussions. No endless flashbacks, because there's no back story. No grouchy teens. Dialogue is spare. Much shot with a single handheld camera, very fluid. Showrunners could learn a lot from this."You cant get much better than that.