Sunday night was the series premiere of Season 2 The Walking Dead.  A small group of campy citizens has survived Season 1, and is fleeing the area under attack from the zombie apocalypse.  With Emmy Award winning prosthetic make-up, Walking Dead made no disappointments in its premiere.  *spoiler alert*

The episode opened with the group on the move.  Almost instantly there is conflict.  The roadway is bogged down with abandoned vehicles and dead bodies inside.  With the quick decision to scavenge for supplies, everybody files out of their cars and begins searching the road on foot.  Enter zombie mob.

Interestingly enough, the show never refers to the undead as ‘zombies,’ but rather “walkers.”  Minutes onscreen can equate to hours of make-up application for the actors playing the walkers.  Our travelers know a few rules that apply to the undead:

• No loud noises.  Conserve your bullets, they can attract more walkers.
• The smellier the better.  Masking your ‘live’ odor with eau de zombie helps protect you should a mass of undead come stumbling after you.
• Don’t get bitten.

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.

The heroic leader of the ragtag gang is Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln), a Sheriff in normal world, who woke up in the hospital in Season 1 and fought his way to his family and the few other survivors.  One intriguing dynamic is Rick’s relationship with Shane (played by Jon Bernthal), his old partner and another natural leader in the group.  What Rick doesn’t know is that Shane had an affair with Rick’s wife while they thought he was dead (back in Season 1 – Who knew a zombie show could be so melodramatic?!)

So, we have an army of zombies headed straight for our survivor renegades, and their response to such oncoming doom…hide underneath the cars.  Minutes slowly tic by without commercial interception as you see foot after bony, rotting flesh foot pass them.  In fact, I think you can smell their flesh while you’re waiting.

Once they think the coast is clear, they start to crawl out from under the vehicles, but a child is noticed by the walkers and flees into the woods to escape.  Rick runs after and diverts their attention from the child, saving her, and yet losing her at the same time.  So that creates problem number one.

Problem number two is that the group is starting to lose morale.  Especially Andrea (played by Laurie Holden).  She was caught up in the zombie apocalypse while on a road trip with her younger sister Amy, who didn’t survive season 1.  Andrea already tried to kill herself once, but was saved by Dale (played by Jeffrey Demunn), however she as of yet feels no gratitude for that kindness.

And problem number three is that Shane isn’t handling Rick’s reunion with his wife very well.  His plan is now to slip quietly away from the group and face the odds on his own.  Can he abandon his longtime friend, Rick, and leave things unspoken with Lori, Rick’s wife?

I won’t give away the final cliffhanger of the season premiere, but trust me, it was a “C’mon!  You’re seriously ending it here!” kind of moment.  We do know from the season 2 buzz that the group makes contact with more survivors on an abandoned farmhouse, but we have no idea what kind of dynamic these new people will bring.

Sunday’s premiere of Walking Dead also kicked off AMC’s Fear Fest this Halloween season!  Sixteen days of your favorite Halloween movies!  I know I’m pumped!  See the listing of films by clicking the link above.  Much to my surprise, I got a voicemail message from my local video store reminding me I hadn’t been in for awhile and offering me a free rental plus 14 days of 1/2 price movies.  SC”ORE!  Another opportunity for me to stock up on my favorite thrillers and gory flicks.  I’ve already watched such classics as Carrie and The Shining this past week.  And if you’re into the FREE route, you better tune in to AMC’s Fear Fest or visit your local library, which I’ve done and reserved many more spooky films.

For more zombie goodness, check out Sonia Medeiros’ zombielicious post The Zombies are Coming!  Did I mention her post is about zombies?!  Go check it out, there’s games and links and a vote for your favorite and least favorite zombie flick.  She thinks of everything!

Your turn!  Did you tune in for The Walking Dead premiere?  What did you think?  Were you totally on edge or what?  Do you enjoy the zombie craze we’re seeing in the media (even Jane Austen has gone all Zombie Slayer)?  What is your favorite Zombie movie?  Tell me, and then vote on Sonia’s blog!