Still recovering from the painful memories of her brother's death, a young woman (Briana Evigan) is reluctantly dragged to a New Years Eve Party. But her poor mood is soon overshadowed by a chemical spill that leads to a zombie outbreak and survival becomes priority number one.
This film comes from director Darren Bousman (the "Saw" franchise) and the writers of "30 Days of Night", so we're dealing with some big names in horror right now. And they pull all the stops. Plenty of blood, a decent backstory and zombies that are fairly terrorizing. The fact this is on NBC and is only 42 minutes (as opposed to Showtime for 50 minutes, as it should be) put some limits in place, but those limits were clearly tested here.
I had some concerns, all of which have been raised by other reviewers. My biggest problem was the editing. Whoever decided that the zombies should have camera shots that make them appear faster, I really think you need to re-examine your methods. Had those shots been included with a normal pace, I would have found this episode to be the highlight of the series, or at least near the top. Now, I find it simply hackneyed and distracting.
Another reviewer was bothered by the cliché factor (sorry, you didn't use your real name so I can't credit you). Yes, there's a chick depressed that no one understands her or likes her (even though she's played by a hot actress -- making her both attractive and intelligent). There's the zombie outbreak factor, which is starting to run its course in film. These plots and themes have been done. But I want to defend that on two grounds: first, horror in general is always a cliché (think of the thousand Frankenstein-inspired flicks). The trick is to make your version unique. And second, a zombie outbreak is welcome on "Fear Itself". "Masters of Horror" had one (thanks, Joe Dante) but this new show seems to be one serial killer after another (with more coming out yet this season).
As far as pure mindless entertainment goes, "New Years Day" seems to be the best of the series more or less. It's not a thinker film, and if you spend too much time analyzing the background then you're wasting your time because it doesn't really factor into the plot. This is just fast-paced blood-splatter goodness with a little twist at the end (possibly predictable, but not obvious). This episode's worth a view.
This film comes from director Darren Bousman (the "Saw" franchise) and the writers of "30 Days of Night", so we're dealing with some big names in horror right now. And they pull all the stops. Plenty of blood, a decent backstory and zombies that are fairly terrorizing. The fact this is on NBC and is only 42 minutes (as opposed to Showtime for 50 minutes, as it should be) put some limits in place, but those limits were clearly tested here.
I had some concerns, all of which have been raised by other reviewers. My biggest problem was the editing. Whoever decided that the zombies should have camera shots that make them appear faster, I really think you need to re-examine your methods. Had those shots been included with a normal pace, I would have found this episode to be the highlight of the series, or at least near the top. Now, I find it simply hackneyed and distracting.
Another reviewer was bothered by the cliché factor (sorry, you didn't use your real name so I can't credit you). Yes, there's a chick depressed that no one understands her or likes her (even though she's played by a hot actress -- making her both attractive and intelligent). There's the zombie outbreak factor, which is starting to run its course in film. These plots and themes have been done. But I want to defend that on two grounds: first, horror in general is always a cliché (think of the thousand Frankenstein-inspired flicks). The trick is to make your version unique. And second, a zombie outbreak is welcome on "Fear Itself". "Masters of Horror" had one (thanks, Joe Dante) but this new show seems to be one serial killer after another (with more coming out yet this season).
As far as pure mindless entertainment goes, "New Years Day" seems to be the best of the series more or less. It's not a thinker film, and if you spend too much time analyzing the background then you're wasting your time because it doesn't really factor into the plot. This is just fast-paced blood-splatter goodness with a little twist at the end (possibly predictable, but not obvious). This episode's worth a view.