This year at San Diego’s Comic-Con, fans were treated to a slew of trailers and never-before-seen footage of their favorite films and TV shows. While the comic book titans battled it out, fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead were treated to the highly anticipated first look at season six, which, to be honest, is more of a short film than a trailer.
As arguably the most successful zombie franchise on the planet, The Walking Dead had a lot of hype to live up to going into season six, and boy did they deliver with this video. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has carried the burden of being a leader for so long that it seems he may have finally snapped. But with the sudden reappearance of an old ally on the season five finale, I wonder if Rick will want to share responsibility or begin to do that thing that happens with “Absolute Power.”
Classic horror fans will appreciate the incredible attention to detail on the zombie makeup effects by industry legend Greg Nicotero. This show has raised the standard for blending practical special effects and CGI effects. By using post-production visual effects very sparingly and relying more on the practical effects, it makes those few post effects practically unnoticeable.
There is something for everybody in this trailer. Fans of the graphic novel by Robert Kirkman (which predates the show) were thrilled to see some familiar faces and locations from the books that had not yet made it to the screen. Just from watching this trailer, people get to see the real human stories that The Walking Dead is celebrated for and can relate to at least one character in this roughly four minute-long trailer. The intense relationships between characters only seem to get more so, and a boiling point is bound to be around a dark corner. Ultimately, viewers will be able to continue relishing the ever-present, constantly gnawing fear in the back of their minds that a favorite character will be the next to fall prey to The Walking Dead.
Season 6 of The Walking Dead premieres on Sunday, October 11. Watch the trailer in its harrowing entirety below.