📺 Watched The Last Of Us.

I’m not normally a big fan of zombie shows, but this one was getting such exceptional reviews I thought I should give it a go. I’m glad to have done so.

The premise is that 20 years ago increasing global temperatures led to some kind of parasitic fungus (“Cordyceps”) jumping species from insects to humans which results in them turning into something akin to the classic bite-others-to-infect-them zombie. The condition has thus spread far and wide and remains so far incurable, although there is technology to diagnose whether or not one is infected before symptoms appear. But it’s not all about jump-scares and mowing down the undead with lawnmowers, there’s a depth and occasional humour here, along side an exploration of much more human relationships, that makes it quite enthralling to watch.

An interesting dynamic occurs due to much of the show being set 20 years after the fungus began its ravages. Society has changed in many way of course, in some ways fairly predictably so. But additionally there’s a generation of children and young adults that have never lived in any other world, and thus operate from very different reference points to our own.

The post-apocalyptic world is rendered very well in visual terms, with the impact of nature’s re-taking over some of humanity’s former accomplishments that society is no longer able to maintain very visible. The appearance of the zombies themselves I have to admit finding a little comical at times, although the way they move, jerky and fast, is certainly creepy.

It’s based on a computer game, but don’t let historical precedent of game-to-show efforts put you off. It’s now one I’d love to play, it also being very much award-winning, although it looks like I’d need to get a PlayStation to do so.