Review: TOWN OF THE LIVING DEAD On SyFy, Deep-Fried Zombie Movie-Making

Deep in the Bible Belt of 'Merica is the small town of Jasper, Alabama. 

As the opening monologue for SyFy's new reality show Town of the Living Dead explains, Jasper is your typical American small town. Everyone supports small businesses. Everyone goes to church on Sunday. Life is simpler in Jasper. Except trouble is lurking in the shadows, the dead are beginning to rise and the tranquility of this small town is about to get upset, not to mention a lot of its 14,000 residents.

Enter Tina Tater and the crew of a homegrown zombie flick called 3 Days Dead. 3 Days Dead is the story of three 'good old boys' come back from a fishing trip to find out there has been a zombie apocalypse. SyFy is following this group as they attempt to get back on that filmmaking horse. They have also agreed to air this movie. If ever gets done.

Because that is the hook. These folk have been working on this film off and on for six years now. The last stoppage was so that one of their leads, Tina's daughter, could have her baby. But they are back on the horse and they are ready to "get'r dun".

Town of the Living Dead has three main characters. Tina is the producer, she has lived in Jasper all her life, and is a stay at home mom. The director, John, works at Radio Shack. Their lead actor, Bryan, suffers from Panic Anxiety Disorder. 

Then you add to this mix a hodge-podge of Southern folk. How do I say this without sounding judgmental and mean? Town of the Living Dead is like plucking the cast from any TLC reality show and getting them to make a zombie movie. That pretty much sums up what you can expect from Town of the Living Dead. These are just some small town and simple folk trying to make their movie. Just some folk are simpler than others. 

They have a small, but devoted, crew. Whenever they are shooting they go out to the community to recruit zombies. It does not always work and one of the places fellow co-star Chase takes Bryan to does draw a guffaw. But folk do agree to get on the makeup and stumble around town. They just keep at it, much to the chagrin of city council and the more conservative members of their community. The police make regular visits to the set, on account of things like dead bodies on the streets or phone calls about 'a sniper' on a roof. 

The show opens Tuesday night with back to back episodes. In the first episode, Jasper Needs Zombies, you get an idea of the calamity that occurs when these folk set down to make this movie. They do not have a budget so they cannot splurge on practical effects. They resort to raiding their fridges at home to make blood. They miss shots and have to work around it. They only have one head for the stunt dummy. 

In the second episode, Premature Explosion, Tina wants to up to ante. She wants to inject some Michael Bay into the mix and set something on fire. Terry, the production's makeup and fx guy, suggests the group blow up a boat. But when Terry suggests something his track record leaves the group hesitant. But Terry calls upon the expertise of his sister's boyfriend Chance. Chance has three loves in his life: women, food, and blowing things up. Yup. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called prioritizing!  

When we watch the show we should praise them for their can-do spirit. They may not know what they are doing most of the time but by golly are they committed to the cause. And let us be honest here. This would not be entertaining television if they knew what they were doing. It would be an extra on the DVD then. This show exists because they may not always be the brightest bulbs in the box. The results of their efforts are not disastrous only because no one seems to be close enough to catch on fire at the time of the explosion. Is 3 Days Dead going to be any good? Oh my, no. But this syndicated version of a 'making of documentary' could be. 

If anything, just stick around long enough to hear them pronounce theater. 

"Thee-Aye-Ter". 

Town of the Living Dead airs on SyFy on Tuesday, October 7, at 10/9c.