The Walking Dead Season 7

Creator - Frank Darabont
Starring - Andrew Lincoln (Canterbury Tales, Drop the Dead Monkey), Chandler Riggs (Jesus H. Zombie, Mercy), and Norman Reedus (Masters of Horror, Blade II)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Rise up"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The Walking Dead is a comic series that I started reading when I was in high school.  Issue number two just hit the store shelves and a substitute teacher picked it up along with a handful of other comics to give to me.  He was a younger teacher that grew up on 90s Misfits and older horror movies.  When he found out I was a horror fiend he wanted to show me some things that was hard to find in the area I grew up which is known for being the poorest county in the country.  I was hooked on the comic and after six years or so it was announced that the horror drama would be adapted into a television series.  Talking about shitting your pants.  I was so excited and when it aired I invited over some friends and we watched the first episode in my dorm room.  I was hooked.  I never missed an episode for the first 4 seasons but somewhere around the end of season 4 and the beginning of season 5 they lost me.  The show just didn't have what it started with.  I would find myself falling asleep during episodes.  After the season six mid-season finale I decided to quit watching.  I knew Negan was coming, and was one of my favorite characters in the comics, but the show just couldn't hold my attention anymore.  Not long ago I was asked to review season seven.  I was hesitant at first but decided to give the show another chance.   

     Season seven picks up with the cliffhanger from season six where Negan kills one of the gang.  Due to an outburst he takes a second victim before making his demands.  He requires tribute weekly consisting of food, weapons, and anything good they find while scavenging.  Rick tries to follow Negan's demands but his team refuses to bow down resulting in him reaching out to other settlements to band together to take on Negan and his Saviors.

     The Walking Dead started out as an amazing show.  It ha characters you could get behind, gore, and the zombies kept coming.  Sadly, the series became stale near the end of season four and the writing became lazy.  I'm not bitching because they didn't stay true to the comics but I am bitching that they take a story arc that should only last 15 to 20 minutes and stretch it out until a little under an hour.  The acting in this one is still great.  I've always enjoyed seeing Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes.  He is a strong lead and makes his character appear bigger than life.  He was the right choice for the role.  I also liked Norman Reedus as Daryl.  I first noticed him in Blade II, Pandorum, and Boondock Saints so it was cool seeing him take on the undead.  My favorite performance came from The Comedian himself, Jeffery Dean Morgan as Negan.  He fucking killed it.  The show still moves at a snails pace and difficult to watch at times but every scene with Negan was gold.  The story arc for this one was solid but shouldn't have lasted for an entire season.  The "All Out War" angle is an awesome story arc but should have only been a few episodes at the most.  Making it stretch the entire season was painful especially when several episodes were based on secondary characters and their misadventures.  This season needed trimmed down...a lot.  Finally, it wouldn't be The Walking Dead without amazing practical effects and gore.  The show prides itself on their amazing practical effects and this season does not disappoint.  The gore is great and some of the kills were phenomenal.  The show is worth watching for the gore alone if you can stay away.  Overall, The Walking Dead Season 7 has a great cast and gore that can't be beat but the writing needs reeled in.  The episodes need shortened or the writing needs to be completely overhauled by this point.