THE Z VIRUS is a series of web episodes in which a small handful of characters struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse. It's done very cheaply indeed, taking place in just a couple of locations, and as such it focuses on character drama over action and zombie mayhem. Sadly, the below-par script makes it uninvolving and there's barely any reason to tune in. The most blatant thing about this is the opening title sequence, which rips off that of THE WALKING DEAD something rotten; I'm surprise they got away with it.
3 Reviews
What's a Three-Mile Wide Meteor?
nammage14 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
There's no such thing as a three-mile wide meteor. Meteors get up to about 330 ft, anything bigger is an asteroid. So, if a three-mile wide asteroid hit, it would wipe out everything within a few hundred miles of it (including bunkers that, in this show, seem only 20ft-50ft deep; though one looked like a basement) and do considerable amount of damage within a thousand mile radius and create natural disasters all over the world. The first episode said "60 days", I believe. The soot etc., in the air would last more than a year. There'd be so much bad weather and earthquakes that it wouldn't be safe almost anywhere. Some people may survive but not a lot, and on that point: if Zombies existed then they'd team up with the living to survive, not kill them. The problem with this show is it's not even minimaly, at its core, accurate; even for a Zombie show/film.
I literally laughed when everything looked so pristine; oh, and the second episode when the basement/bunker in the family home just flickered the lights and shook the house a little. Sorry but, the house/bunker would be gone, and that family would be dead unless they were out of the radius but then they'd still be dead based on the natural disasters (as stated above.) I also found it funny no one shuts doors in this show, or do it so nonchalantly that it's like they still think they're safe, or something.
The opening credits are the best thing about this show. Looks pretty good. The graphics of the Earth with the "meteor" hitting it, was really well done. Too bad they didn't put that money to better research, better screenwriter, actors, etc., or what's the point of this again?
I literally laughed when everything looked so pristine; oh, and the second episode when the basement/bunker in the family home just flickered the lights and shook the house a little. Sorry but, the house/bunker would be gone, and that family would be dead unless they were out of the radius but then they'd still be dead based on the natural disasters (as stated above.) I also found it funny no one shuts doors in this show, or do it so nonchalantly that it's like they still think they're safe, or something.
The opening credits are the best thing about this show. Looks pretty good. The graphics of the Earth with the "meteor" hitting it, was really well done. Too bad they didn't put that money to better research, better screenwriter, actors, etc., or what's the point of this again?
A zombie series that actually lacked zombies...
paul_haakonsen7 July 2017
Not having heard about "The Z Virus" before it had apparently reached episode 6 of season 1, I must admit that my interest was immediately lured in, especially because I am a huge fan of everything zombie.
From the very first image of the intro the whole thing just screams rip off of "The Walking Dead". Same type of imagery, some type of gritty feel to it, same type of construction of presentation and same kind of lighting and switch between focus and being out of focus. And actually, already from that very first moment a seed of concern was planted that this was going to be a stinker. The intro even shows a house with the words "dead inside" written on it, very much like the famous hospital doors from "The Walking Dead". The intro was actually so much similar to "The Walking Dead" that the word plagiarism comes to mind.
"The Z Virus" does start off in a pretty decent pace, and throws the audience right into the action. That was a good thing, so that you don't have to sit through a heap of trivial story arc Building and character development.
It cannot be denied that the budget for "The Z Virus" hasn't been mind boggling high, because the effects when guns were being shot was just questionable. But I will say that the blood and gore was actually satisfactory - sounds morbid, I know, but if you are a zombie aficionado you know what I mean here.
The writer or writers of the show opted for the approach based on a meteor striking Earth and the infection that causes the dead to rise as zombies is based on something from outer space. And while it does serve as a background story and does add some explanation to the infection, it is just a generic option because it has been used so many times before in other zombie settings. So no points for originality.
It should be said that the episodes are short, running at just about 10 minutes, so don't expect this to be a thing that will have you entertained for hours and hours.
The special effects in "The Z Virus" are sparse and quite often the scenes are filmed so that they didn't have to use special effects; such as scenes with people being shot. You know what is going on, for sure, but many of the scenes just weren't accompanied with visual effects, be it CGI or practical effects, to enhance the scenes.
While "The Z Virus" is not a major Hollywood production in terms of budget and acting talents, it is actually still an enjoyable endeavor, especially so if you enjoy the zombie genre. It is quite clear that the commitment and enthusiasm put into this project is done by people with a love and affinity for the zombie genre. So look past the initial concern about the obvious "The Walking Dead" rip off in the intro segment for "The Z Virus", and you will actually have a decent show here.
Now, for an apocalyptic show that revolves around a zombie outbreak or infection, then the episodes were sort of frightfully devoid of zombies. Sure, there were a shambling zombie here and there, but it was nowhere near enough to satisfy the needs of a true zombie aficionado. And when you actually do see a zombie, then it becomes difficult to take it seriously, because it sounds like a predatory feline or something like that.
"The Z Virus" is by no means a contender or competition for series such as "The Walking Dead", "Fear the Walking Dead" or even "Z Nation". If you have no expectations then you might get some kind of enjoyment from "The Z Virus". I can't really claim to be personally much impressed or overly entertained. I managed to sit through 5 episodes, then I had essentially seen enough, and I will not be returning to "The Z Virus" to watch more episodes.
From the very first image of the intro the whole thing just screams rip off of "The Walking Dead". Same type of imagery, some type of gritty feel to it, same type of construction of presentation and same kind of lighting and switch between focus and being out of focus. And actually, already from that very first moment a seed of concern was planted that this was going to be a stinker. The intro even shows a house with the words "dead inside" written on it, very much like the famous hospital doors from "The Walking Dead". The intro was actually so much similar to "The Walking Dead" that the word plagiarism comes to mind.
"The Z Virus" does start off in a pretty decent pace, and throws the audience right into the action. That was a good thing, so that you don't have to sit through a heap of trivial story arc Building and character development.
It cannot be denied that the budget for "The Z Virus" hasn't been mind boggling high, because the effects when guns were being shot was just questionable. But I will say that the blood and gore was actually satisfactory - sounds morbid, I know, but if you are a zombie aficionado you know what I mean here.
The writer or writers of the show opted for the approach based on a meteor striking Earth and the infection that causes the dead to rise as zombies is based on something from outer space. And while it does serve as a background story and does add some explanation to the infection, it is just a generic option because it has been used so many times before in other zombie settings. So no points for originality.
It should be said that the episodes are short, running at just about 10 minutes, so don't expect this to be a thing that will have you entertained for hours and hours.
The special effects in "The Z Virus" are sparse and quite often the scenes are filmed so that they didn't have to use special effects; such as scenes with people being shot. You know what is going on, for sure, but many of the scenes just weren't accompanied with visual effects, be it CGI or practical effects, to enhance the scenes.
While "The Z Virus" is not a major Hollywood production in terms of budget and acting talents, it is actually still an enjoyable endeavor, especially so if you enjoy the zombie genre. It is quite clear that the commitment and enthusiasm put into this project is done by people with a love and affinity for the zombie genre. So look past the initial concern about the obvious "The Walking Dead" rip off in the intro segment for "The Z Virus", and you will actually have a decent show here.
Now, for an apocalyptic show that revolves around a zombie outbreak or infection, then the episodes were sort of frightfully devoid of zombies. Sure, there were a shambling zombie here and there, but it was nowhere near enough to satisfy the needs of a true zombie aficionado. And when you actually do see a zombie, then it becomes difficult to take it seriously, because it sounds like a predatory feline or something like that.
"The Z Virus" is by no means a contender or competition for series such as "The Walking Dead", "Fear the Walking Dead" or even "Z Nation". If you have no expectations then you might get some kind of enjoyment from "The Z Virus". I can't really claim to be personally much impressed or overly entertained. I managed to sit through 5 episodes, then I had essentially seen enough, and I will not be returning to "The Z Virus" to watch more episodes.
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