'Reality Z' Season 1 Review: Netflix's 1st Brazillian zombie comedy-horror is armed with blood, gore and twists
Spoilers for Season 1
Death, devastation, and dominance – just your classic holy trinity for a meaty apocalyptic drama. Add to that the relevance of a worldwide pandemic as more and more people succumb to it, and we have 'Reality Z' – Netflix's first Brazilian zombie horror that mingles the country's love of reality TV and its surrounding pop culture with blood, gore, and partly, Charlie Brooker's recipe. There's snark, sass, and the right tone of dark humor that is suited for thrillers satirizing social dynamics the way Brooker does in his zombie original, as well as sci-fi horror 'Black Mirror'. But this story also gets original with a night-gown clad woman engineering the hell out of control rooms, while 'wet squelching', and an equally authentic Portuguese original audio that is sure to surprise viewers.
Cláudio Torres' direction appears to be a drag for as long as the first five episodes, progressing with Brooker's story for 30 minutes each. The second half of the season is reportedly Torres and Rodrigo Monte's work together, and that's when things get ridiculously interesting as far as the done and dusted genre of both zombies and horror-comedy go. The story sees participants of a show called 'Olympus' – a fictional Brazilian reality show following TV royalty seeking shelter in a 'Big Brother'-esque house. Love triangles, nudity, deceit, and sensational exposes are the norm here – a classic tribute to both the concept of reality television and the soap operas that the country's entertainment industry is so famous for.
The set-up is a classic ode to life imitates art. Not long ago, in March, when the coronavirus outbreak was already plaguing Germany, killing thousands of people worldwide, participants of its 'Big Brother' were nestled inside the giant house the reality show revolves around, completely unaware of the havoc the outside world was under. Here, participants of 'Olympus' stay sheltered with that ignorance for a much lesser time as the vicious zombie outbreak hits Rio, and all the fans cheering outside begin storming the venue. Inside, of course, there's a slew of initial survivors who are locked down knowing the world outside is waiting to kill them, and if that isn't too metaphorical for 'lockdown', what else could possible be.
The narrative and direction capture the festive cheer of Brazil and spins it with a burning, fire and smoke-laden shoreline of Rio de Janeiro after the zombie outbreak causes a nationwide, and soon worldwide, riot.
As far as the acting goes, ironically the undead once again outdo the living, and that's the funny thing about horrors like these. Heavily reliant on blood and violence, with guts, brains and intestines sprawled all over the set, which sticks primarily to the indestructible house of the gods.
People start dying and the individual characters keep intertwining more and more, emotionally, and of course physically, at every chance they get. There's drama at every turn as is familiar in all reality TV territory, but after the initial loss of life, and tribute to Brooker's story, the tale fires up its dark humor, with a politically charged twists. Soon the group of fewer than 10 survivors dabble in playing the politician and a resident congressman against one another, as they start acting like the omniscient narrator, Zeus running the developments of 'Olympus'.
Ample manipulation, lying and signature tropes of female empowerment later, we finally arrive at the end. Survivors succumb to the ever-emerging flock of zombies, who take over the gigantic building. But the series signs off with one final twist that sees the now undead main characters as zombies, thriving in the house, setting up the backdrop for a prospective, yet to be greenlit Season 2. In that, 'Reality Z' isn't necessarily something we needed in the middle of a full-blown pandemic, but somehow misery loves company, and to watch vapid, shallow characters stuck in a worse fate comes as a welcome respite.
All 10 episodes of 'Reality Z' are available for streaming from June 10, only on Netflix.
