[DVD Review (R2)] DEAD SET
The dead are returning to life all across the United Kingdom. They return with a thirst for blood that has turned them into savage, unstoppable, relentless attackers that are feasting on the living at a rate that is quickly causing the raging undead to outnumber the living at a startling speed. Curiously there are a few people left in Britain who aren’t worried about any of this – that’s because they’re the remaining contestants in Big Brother. Cocooned in the safety of the Big Brother house, the remaining housemates are blissfully unaware of the horrific events unfolding in the outside world. That is until ‘eviction night’ when all hell breaks loose once one of the undead gets into the studio compound and turns on the audience…
Kelly (Jamie Winstone), a production runner working on this latest series of Big Brother, finds herself surviving the initial wave of attack by taking refuge in the security of the controlled environment of the Big Brother house. Whilst her horribly sociopathic boss and show producer Patrick (Andy Nyman) tries to survive for himself within the corridors of the zombie-infested studio grounds, Kelly’s estranged boyfriend Riq (Riz Ahmed) decides to make a last ditch attempt to get across the infected wastelands that was once Great Britain in order to be with her.
Teamed with the remaining Big Brother housemates over the ensuing days, and in a cruel reflection of the game show they thought they were entering, the contestants and Kelly must do everything they can to stop themselves falling victim to the hungry masses outside. Staying alive requires crucial teamwork – which can be tricky when you’re a group specifically selected by TV producers to wind each other up for the entertainment of the British public!
Long time readers of my reviews will know that I’ve long since grown completely bored of the modern “zombie movie”. My enthusiasm was dying and the recent remake of Day of the Dead (check out my review) killed it once and for all. All hail Dead Set then. Here was a show that I watched recently on TV, and then watched again as the compiled 141 minute movie sent for review on DVD, with no other desire or intent other than to mock for its… well… naff Britishness! It revealed itself to not just be the best thing that has been on British screens since State of Play, but quite possibly one of the best incarnations of the whole “zombie” subgenre outside of Romero’s work.
Dead Set works as a pitch-perfect companion piece to Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake. It presents its speedy, horrendous zombies in very much the same style but, on top of that, if you allow yourself to think of Snyder’s standalone movie depicting the “outbreak” from the point of view of the United States, then Dead Set works as an illustration as to what is going on ‘across the pond’ at the same time here in the United Kingdom.
Charlie Brooker is a respected and sardonic TV critic here in the UK, with a sideline in helping pen the more controversial, satirical comedy shows (Brass Eye) or slightly off kilter sitcoms (Nathan Barley). Scripting his own “zombie horror apocalypse” just made me kind of shudder a little bit. I thought he’d do something really wanky if truth be told. ‘Jimm’ will readily point out that in many of the comments he makes about Romero’s zombie movies, he very rarely seems to “get” what the rest of the populace think and know about them. Brooker instead decides to put away pretentions and deliver just a solid, grand, gratuitous, horrying zombie EPIC. There’s slights about the whole reality TV “boom” all along the way - of course there is, it would be impossible to make this without doing so – but that’s about as “heavy” as Brooker makes it. He doesn’t pontificate or postulate any deeper meaning then what he has written on the page. This was the second biggest surprise in encountering Dead Set.
What was the first? Well, Dead Set benefits enormously from having the complete – and boy do I mean complete – cooperation of the Big Brother production outfit and this helps proceedings enormously. It is already trying to play the entire scenario completely “as real” (and they do a stellar job, let me tell you!) so having the full backing of the very show they are mocking, only serves to enhance the experience: They have access to the studio grounds, they were allowed to rebuild the Series 9 house as a set, film commando style on the night of various Series 9 evictions, cast past housemates and, best of all, get Big Brother host Davina McCall involved. McCall strangely enough, has huge trouble playing herself and doing her Big Brother “duties” in a fictional capacity, but excels as an infected zombie harassing Patrick around the corridors.
On a performance level, there’s a few ropey actors contained within (the ex-lad mag’s favourite Beth Cordingly seems to have a bit of trouble deciding whether she wants to be a bimbo, a fiesty zombie-slayer, a Lady Macbeth tyrant or a clothes-shedding seductress!) but, like the ‘show/movie’ itself there’s a few surprises. I’ve never been a fan of Jamie Winstone, daughter of Ray. I always thought she was just channelling her dad’s cheeky cockney charm to get ahead and I’ve never seen her in anything where she did any good. But that’s all changed now. Winstone does some great work here and deserves full credit for carrying the entire experience on her small shoulders.
Dead Set isn’t perfect. Well, it nearly is! There’s a few clunks here and there (the housemate’s quick excursion to a nearby supermarket and run-in with the armed police is only there as an excuse to arm them for later scenes!) and the sense of pace is so exceptionally well-handled for a solid 85% of the time that it builds to a finale that does not have the strength to carry the whole endevour to its worthy conclusion! The climax is suitably bleak, disturbing and thoroughly depressing which, realistically, is exactly how it should be.
But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t smart a little bit when you’ve been taken on the horrific ride you have been by all that has gone before it, and you just want a little bit of “hope” to offset all the carnage. It may feel totally real, and kudos to all involved for standing their ground and going for it, but it is rushed and could have done with being paced a bit better!
Ever so slightly botched ending aside (although that final Romero-homaging image of a zombie in the shopping mall, watching the ‘live feed’ from the Big Brother house, is absolutely ace!), Dead Set benefits from the full backing of the Big Brother production outlet (all praise to them – they may have ran the concept into the ground but at least they have a sense of fun!) and a solid screenplay, brought to the screen brilliantly by Yann Demange who, prior to this, only had directorial credits on the god-awful Secret Diary of a Call Girl TV show!
This is exceptionally violent and bloody, searingly fast paced, bold, inventive and thoroughly enjoyable. I hugely recommend it and would love to see a follow-up! If you’re in the US and a big horror fan, I urge you to import this. You won’t regret it!
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5 Responses to “[DVD Review (R2)] DEAD SET”
I’ve heard about this, and I’m still pretty burned out with zombie movies. But this I can’t wait to see.
Was wondering if you’d be able to squeeze something about this on the site, what with your penchant for zombies and all. This was surprisingly good – reminded me of 28 days later in many ways and that’s no bad thing. Shame we didn’t get to see any of the former housemates being eaten alive though..
Yeah, this did surprise me quite a bit Nomis! On TV there was something a little bit manipulative about how they decided to conclude each “episode” by trying to create a “cliffhanger” when really they were just leaving you mid-scene and falsifyiing the drama a little.
When you watch it as one whole epic though, it is like firecrackers on November 5th! I was chuffed when I got sent it for review because it means I can spread the word a little – especially to those out in the US who may not get it or may have to decide whether to import it!
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