Chronicles of the Dead (Web Series)
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Starring Anastasia Leddick
Directed by Brian Hernandez
Written by Younger Robbins and Brian Hernandez
Chronicles of the Dead is a brand new web series that just launched its first episode. Entitled “Apocalypse,” this premiere offering from Chronicles of the Dead makes use of different filming styles and does a commendable job with limited resources.
“Apocalypse” begins with a claustrophobic scene of a girl trapped in a car while what appears to be the opening moments of a zombie apocalypse cascade around her. The scene contains a particularly haunting zombie that shambles by the car, just missing catching a glimpse of the girl cowering inside. For me, this was the best moment of the entire seven-minute feature. The rest of the effects work in “Apocalypse,” which is surprisingly little for a zombie feature, is just okay. But that first zombie really hit the mark.
The episode lists only one star, Anastasia Leddick, who is the girl trapped by the horde. As the street quiets down and the walking dead meander away, she manages to leave her vehicular prison, and at this point the filmmakers get quite creative with the points of views used in the film. It goes from third person to first person in a kind of found-footage style using her camera phone. “Apocalypse” even uses security camera footage to help illustrate the level of zombie infestation.
Chronicles of the Dead: “Apocalypse” begins and ends with some decent action; however, the middle of the show does lag with a few too many establishing shots of the zombies. As viewers, we understand the damage and destruction that comes with a raging band of undead flooding through a city. We don’t need to be thumped over the head with it. Although, that being said, kudos must be given to the filmmakers, who made some very realistic scenes of abandonment and destruction right out in real city streets. Not sure how they got the permits to pull that off, but congrats on getting it done.
Overall, “Apocalypse” is a pretty good start for Chronicles of the Dead, but to maintain any kind of following, the filmmakers are going to have to raise the bar next time and continue to do so going forward. This episode shows some originality and creativity with style and technique, but it also has some considerable down time, which shouldn’t happen in a seven-minute project. Chronicles of the Dead has potential; we’ll see what the next episode brings. In the meantime watch “Apocalypse” below, and let us know if you agree with our review.
2 1/2 out of 5
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