Script Review of The Walking Dead TV Pilot Reveals Plot Details

AMC just recently greenlit a pilot for the comic book adaptation of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman's ongoing zombie epic and already, Frank Darabont's pilot script for has been discovered! That darn Internet won't keep anything secret!The script review claims that the script reveals a show that contains "moments of extreme gore" to go with "moments of shock value" and "psychological horror scenes." That sounds about right, and for a TV show that will include zombies, it sounds pretty exciting.

There's no doubt that the reason The Walking Dead is even getting a pilot is because vampire movies and TV shows are so prevalent that making a zombie show is similar enough while still being different enough to take a chance on it. However, if the script review is telling the truth, The Walking Dead won't be romantic, with zombies and humans living together, it'll be the brutal post-apocalyptic world of the comic. For those that are familiar with the comic book, the following script breakdown should sound pretty familiar.

Our hero is Officer Rick Grimes, a deputy for a small Georgia town outside of Atlanta. About 15 pages into our story Grimes is involved in a police incident where he receives a near-fatal injury. After being taken to the hospital and falling into a short coma, our law enforcement man awakens to find the hospital empty and the telltale signs that something very bad has gone down while he was out. The way that Darabont chooses to introduce Grimes to the post-zombie world is nearly identical to the opening moments of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later but it's forgivable; the impact of the changed world is that much more heightened with Grimes serving as our introduction to it.

From there Grimes tries to find his family, his wife Lori and their young son Carl. He returns to his home and finds the neighborhood deserted, his wife and son gone. Still not fully comprehending what's happened, Grimes is saved by another father and son who have taken up shelter in a neighbor's house. From these two survivors Grimes learns about the zombie plague and the rules of life: if you're bitten, if a zombie so much as scratches you, you become infected, you die and then you become a zombie yourself. We're also shown some of the rules of the game that the Walking Dead zombies adhere to: there are "walkers", the ones that slowly come up to you. The walkers are slow and a head shot will take them out. That said, there's a lot of walkers out there and if they decide to come at you at once, save that last bullet for yourself, you dig?

From his new neighbors Grimes is told that his family may have decided to head into Atlanta where the government was setting up a safety zone. With that info, Grimes heads off by himself and makes his way into the city. What happens in the next 20-or-so minutes is pretty intense for our hero and I want to leave it for Darabont to show to you.

I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty fucking fantastic to me. Let's just hope it stays as its described.

Source: Corona Coming Attractions