Review

Some dude named Chase wakes up on the roof of a building as the zombie apocalypse breaks out all around him. Judging from the explosions and gunfire we're either in Beirut or the outbreak hasn't quite become the apocalypse yet. Chase is joined by a machete wielding red neck named Harris who sort of seems to be enjoying himself. There's a convoy leaving shortly that Chase wants to join but Harris first wants to do some looting at a local self storage facility.

With zombies pounding at the door the pair flee outside where they run into hungry hungry hippos zombies, Harris goes down while Chase escapes into the storage building, (which was a lot closer than first appeared). Pursued by three zombies Chase finds shelter behind a roller door but the zombies aren't done yet.

Cold Storage is the second webisode release by AMC set in The Walking Dead universe following 2011's Torn Apart. Each of the four episodes that make up Cold Storage are under five minutes in length and provide an entree to season three for those who can't wait for their Rick Grimes fix. I'm a big fan of the franchise so dived onto Cold Storage faster than a walker finding a fat kid under a bus. Short sharp review time folks, I've got more episodes to watch.

I was kind of pleased that Hide and Seek referenced The Walking Dead television show without overly taxing the point. Readers might recognise the roof top setting as similar to the one in season one of the TV show, and for sure Harris could have been spun from the same family tree that delivered Meryl to us. Thankfully the whole thing isn't belaboured and the story moves quickly, which given the running time is a requirement.

AMC are being a bit precious about this one for Non North American viewers, ways and means folks

For those wondering yes there is some gore involved during a zombie attack that gets up close and personal. The makeup effects and splatter visuals are up to the standard of the television show, so regular viewers can be safe in the knowledge that you will be blood splattered during Cold Storage.

Director Greg Nicotero has this one working like a Trojan, the pacing is spot on - slow start to kinetic rampage to cliff hanger at the end, and the visuals are solid without wasting a lot of time on exposition shots that take away from the immediacy of the two characters. Full marks, high production values are clearly in evidence though some of the CGI sort of stands out.

Acting is okay, slightly wooden for mine, though that might be a requirement of the script which is setting an average dude in an extraordinary situation. Probably not helped by what appears to be a small budget, reshoots probably weren't on the agenda. On the bright side of the pump action neither actor looks into the camera or fluffs their lines.

I was happy enough with Hide and Seek, since it's free there's never much to complain about. I am sort of wondering where they can go with a four episode outing but guess there's going to be a twist in the next couple of instalments that might spring a surprise or two. Worth a look and since the running time is less than 5 minutes nothing much to risk. Recommend to fans of The Walking Dead who want some extra side dishes during the wait for the next season to kick off.

I caught up with Hide and Seek on Spoilertv, North American readers can also see the episode on either YouTube or the AMC site.