Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inside look at how a zombie movie is made.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Town of the Living Dead
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
For six long years, a determined crew in Jasper, Alabama, has been struggling to make a zombie movie, Thr33 Days Dead, turning their tiny, heavily Christian city into THE TOWN OF THE LIVING DEAD. In this comic docuseries, viewers will follow the tempestuous travails of Thr33's crew, including producer and grandma Tina Teeter (who has sunk $25,000 of her own money into the production and will soon mortgage her house to get more), director John Ware (who holds down a day job at Radio Shack), and the production's leading man, Bryan Boylen (who starts popping St. John's wort to deal with his crippling anxiety). They'll do just about anything to advance their production, up to and including begging ketchup for fake blood from cast members and asking to "borrow" a boat they plan to blow up. The movie these people are making seems, frankly, pretty bad. But watching them make it is priceless.
Is It Any Good?
At first glance, Town of the Living Dead appears to be yet another entry in the "mocking Southern people" reality genre typified by Duck Dynasty. Indeed, the camera seems to relish whenever Tina Teeter lets loose with a countrified turn of speech, and shots linger on Jasper's, shall we say, modest downtown and its citizens in a way that seems sardonic. But Town of the Living Dead transcends its underpinnings by offering a clear-eyed look at the circles of hell endured by those who attempt to make an independent, low-budget film. Shots are sabotaged by dynamite that goes off too soon, extras who want to take smoke breaks, and a declined credit card that won't allow Ware and Teeter to buy dummy heads and ketchup for a special-effects shot.
All that pain, of course, makes for entertaining drama. But, more than that, it's instructive for teens who watch zombie movies or shows or who have their own filmmaking aspirations to see how shots are put together and how effects are accomplished, as well as how many things can go wrong even when everyone is trying his or her best. Town's very best gimmick is that after viewers see a shot go completely awry and the filmmakers make compromises just to get something on film, we're then allowed to see the completed segment in the film. It's a wonderful tool for media literacy and a cool payoff for viewers that makes this show more than a guilty pleasure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why this particular show is airing at this time. Are zombies "hot" on TV and at the movies right now? How do you know?
Town of the Living Dead frequently shows shoots that go awry for various reasons. Name a couple of scenes that went wrong. How would you have changed things so these problems didn't arise?
Does this show make being a director or a producer glamorous? Fun? Having watched the show, would you like to try to make a movie?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 7, 2014
- Cast : Tina Teeter , John Ware , Bryan Boylen
- Network : Syfy
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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