2 out of 5

Director: Various

Although it does build to a startlingly grisly climax, Dead Set doesn’t really offer much new on the zombie front, especially in a post Walking Dead world (accepting that this aired, initially, before that).  The “pitch” is telling, as it sorta grabs as being unique, but further contemplation on how it really changes anything leads to be a big question mark.  SO: a fictional season of Big Brother is coming to a close, a member is ejected, and hey – zombie outbreak.  And the safest place is inside the Big Brother house, where – initially – the rest of the house is unaware of what’s happening outside.  Part of the interest of the setup involves getting a peek behind the scenes of a reality show of Big Brother’s nature and how these relative existences – both sides of the 2-way mirror – combine when poo hits the fan.  And writer Charlie Brooker does work in some worthwhile jabs at how celebrity and opinion shapes our decisions even during times of crisis, but that’s still not far enough away from normal zombie film mechanics to differentiate the show.  The biggest leap the writing takes is in totally tarnishing the “appeal” of reality TV by reminding us that we censor out all the human bits – like going to the bathroom.  But this is worked in via characters we either don’t like or don’t really get the chance to care about, so… there.  Dead Set is perhaps more effective if you were entrenched in UK Big Brother culture, but while it’s written consistently and shot well (if over-reliant on shaky cam), there’s not enough space or characterization to really set it apart from any other zombie-esque production.