A normal day for the town of Mawinhaken takes a horrifying turn when the dead begin to rise.

I was ready to write-off Syfy’s 10-part zombie drama that’s based on George A Romero’s Day of the Dead – it had the word ‘redundant’ written all over it – and yet, despite its derivative nature, I found myself enjoying it.

Romero’s Dead movies are of course the forebears of so much so much modern zombie material, with The Walking Dead (and its multiple spin-offs) proving to be the gold mark of Zombie television. So, what can a new series, produced in 2021, possibly add to the genre, when we’ve already had so many variations on the theme?

Simple answer – there’s nothing new here, but it’s the familiarity of the set-up and lack of pretension that makes this an easy, undemanding watch. The discovery of a body at the Cleargenix fracking site has led to the dead rising from their graves, and we flashback to earlier in the day as we meet the protagonists – cemetery worker on parole, loser, rich kid jock, gun-wielding mayoral candidate, philandering husband – all broadly drawn caricatures, and yet they’re fun to watch.

The corpses start clawing their way out of the ground and the groundskeeper pulps them on his ride-along lawnmower. Parts Return of the Living Dead, Phantasm and Reanimator, and a little Romero, there’s enough goodwill to warrant a look at part two.

Verdict: Reassuringly familiar and determined not to take itself too seriously, this zombie drama isn’t essential viewing but it’s gory fun. 7/10

Nick Joy