Tuesday 2 November 2021

Fight of the Living Dead: Experiment 88 (2016)




When Youtube first launched their premium service, they also produced a number of 'premium only' video series.  To a very small extent, they still do, but these days they seem to rely much more on the value proposition of ad-free access to their massive music and video library.

Fight of the Living Dead: Experiment 88 is one of their early subscriber-only offerings.  It puts ten 'Youtube Stars' into a simulated zombie outbreak.  This takes place in a 'research centre' (actually a non-operational hospital) over a period of 72 days.  The show's producers issue instructions to the participants through both the PA system and recordings that they have planted for the Youtubers to discover, and the outcomes of this are captured on video.

Much of the video is presented as being captured via fixed-place security cameras, but there are plenty of instances where it is clear a camera-person is on site.  I suspect there are at least a few occasions - mostly when participants are 'killed' by zombies - where sequences were staged and filmed after the event.

Of course, no 'reality show' is entirely unscripted, particularly not when you have a zombie infestation scenario as your central premise.  I don't think that 'they re-filmed some bits' is a real strike against the show.  The bigger question is "was I entertained?"

And yes, on the whole I was.  I don't know any of the people on screen from their Youtube work - not a surprise, given that Youtube has so much content it is impossible to keep up with more than tiny part of it - but they are all relatively vibrant personalities and comfortable in front of a camera.  Unsurprising, given the work they do.  They all seem quite willing to engage with the basic scenario, too, which is important.  And the scenario, while hardly innovative, is generally executed quite well.

They also smartly don't pretend this is 'real'.  They intercut 'backstage interview' type segments within the 'experiment', and discuss some of the aspects of how the facility and scenario were developed and executed.

If the basic premise of this appeals to you, and you have Youtube Premium, it's worth a look.



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