Days Gone Bye (31 Oct. 2010)

Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes wakes up in the hospital, after being shot, to find his town overrun by flesh-eating zombies. After making friends with survivor Morgan Jones and his son Duane, Rick sets out to find his wife and son.

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers:

Frank Darabont (developer), Robert Kirkman (series of graphic novels),

Stars:

Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Andrew Lincoln	...	Rick Grimes
Jon Bernthal	...	Shane Walsh
Sarah Wayne Callies	...	Lori Grimes
Laurie Holden	...	Andrea (credit only)
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Dale Horvath
Steven Yeun	...	Glenn Rhee (voice)
Chandler Riggs	...	Carl Grimes
Lennie James	...	Morgan Jones
Emma Bell	...	Amy
Jim R. Coleman	...	Lam Kendal (as Jim Coleman)
Linds Edwards	...	Leon Basset
Keisha Tillis	...	Jenny Jones
Adrian Kali Turner	...	Duane Jones

Storyline

Some time after being shot on duty, Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes awakens in hospital to find it deserted with bodies strewn everywhere. He returns to his his home to find it abandoned but believes his wife and son may still be alive. He meets Morgan Jones and his son Duane who explain to him that the world has been overrun with zombies. The disease usually started with an infection and high fever followed by re-animation. The creatures are attracted to sound and eat flesh to survive. Morgan tells him that he thinks there is a refugee center in Atlanta and Rick sets off in the hope of finding his wife and child. Once there, he finds himself surrounded by the undead with little apparent hope of escaping.....until he hears a voice over the radio.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | deputy | radio | horse | abandoned hospital | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

31 October 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Movie Classics (AMC), Circle of Confusion, Valhalla Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min 46 min (international)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rick Grimes' home in fictional King County, Georgia is actually a house located directly across the street from Zoo Atlanta. In fact, when Grimes exits the house, you can just see one of the zoo buildings through the trees on the other side of the street.

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Goofs

When Rick is backing up the Truck at the construction site he turns his body backwards in order to see where he's backing up the truck, but the camera immediately cuts to the back of the truck showing that the tail gate is down, meaning Rick was looking at an empty truck body.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rick Grimes: [to a walker girl, thinking she is alive] Little girl? I'm a policeman. Little girl. Don't be afraid. Okay? Little girl?

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Connections

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

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Soundtracks

"The Walking Dead Main Title"
(uncredited)
Written by Bear McCreary

User Reviews

Masterful acting, empathic protagonist, engaging state of the art production, disturbing and intriguing writing, scary creative direction, mind blowing oppressive ambiance

Hungry ? There's nothing as efficient as a film of zombies to fill up your belly. Yummy ! We just can't get enough of these sleepy walkers, even after 28 Days Later and I Am Legend. However I really didn't know what to expect and was wondering if Frank Darabont, director and writer of the pilot, and his team would be able to disturb us positively.

There're shows that try to introduce as many characters as possible in their pilots and there's The Walking Dead. Similarly to Danny Boyle's masterpiece this first installment covered the journey of a lonely and agonizing protagonist, Rick Grimes. Andrew Lincoln's performance was flawless and greatly contributed to make his character authentic. You should instantly care about his fate and watch his every steps. In fact we didn't have much choice considering the other characters had anecdotic roles. It's a good thing because for example I was driven to the show by Sarah Wayne Callies and as she was only featured for a few seconds I won't miss the upcoming episode. An other important element to consider is the immersion. Indeed I hadn't been so engaged by a production since 28 Days Later. From the first person visuals to the astonishing visual effects I just haven't one single complain to make. Pure perfection ! I never thought they would be able to transpose I Am Legend incredible cityscapes to a simple TV series.

The story itself is edgy, scary and unpredictable. The twists weren't numerous but absolutely exquisite. The lasts were jaw breakers ! You have been warned. All along I couldn't help being frightened by what was happening to the protagonist. An other character portrayed by Lennie James made his creepy adventure even more fearful. He was also used to tell what happened as Rick's miraculous survival is unexplained. It's even more puzzling as we have no idea when the apocalypse began nor how. As a comparison Survivors (2008) was far less intriguing so I hope it's not an other government conspiracy ! Let's now dissect the ambiance silently. Indeed we don't want to draw the walkers attention. An identical process was applied and the pace was brilliantly spread. People interested by psychology and climax should feel right at hell. Some scenes were so calm that I could hear my breath. The background music wasn't intrusive and very rare. But the best part and the most mind blowing one is that most scenes occurred in bright day life. The only night one didn't last more than five minutes ! It's very smart if you compare the concept to I Am Legend. The seams of its digital effects ruined the creatures impact in my opinion. So we aren't ready to give up on the good old make-up craft ! Anyone for a zombification ?

Still we could argue for a more original story and less stereotyped characters. But some of them definitely have potential and their connections could lead to very tensed moments. To sum things up all victorious ingredients were united for once. Even the visuals were able to convey the comics spirit it's based upon. Indeed some scenes were like frozen in time just to have a higher impact on the audience. From the crawling woman to the dark crows walking in the pages of that bestiary was fascinating !