Black Summer

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 11, 2019
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 46
  3. Negative: 20 out of 46
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  1. Winteg
    Apr 26, 2019
    0
    This show has infuriatingly poor plot lines. Character motivations make no sense or don't exist at all. Characters don't develop and lack depth. Can't believe I wasted hours of my life watching it and hoping it gets better.
  2. Gospam
    Apr 29, 2019
    0
    I'm going to repeat what has already been said, but wow, this is BAD

    It starts off with a huge potential. The chapters, the different subplots bumping into each others, the zombies running and representing quite a real danger. And we are introduced to a large panel of characters we want to follow and see evolve. That's until you realize everyone in this universe is STUPID. The    I'm going to repeat what has already been said, but wow, this is BAD

    It starts off with a huge potential. The chapters, the different subplots bumping into each others, the zombies running and representing quite a real danger. And we are introduced to a large panel of characters we want to follow and see evolve.

    That's until you realize everyone in this universe is STUPID.

    The military is evacuating the population but bombing the place at the same time.
    They are packing people in a stadium even though ANYONE who dies automatically turns into a zombie.
    The latino man saves some guys he was trying to kill literally 5 minutes before.
    The korean girl keeps speaking in korean, while nobody understands her and while it is shown that she knows some basic english vocabulary.
    While the characters are hiding, some imbecile starts PLAYING THE DRUM.

    But these moments of idiocy pale in comparison to the school episode.

    We are introduced to nothing more than a gang of kids who went rogue and transformed their school in a haunted house.
    There is a kid running in the corridor, who is more than obviously a bait.
    When the doors are locked, the characters go on a quest for a key to be able to get out, even though they're on the first floor and there are huge windows everywhere.
    The kids have an surprising thirst for blood and violence when you consider that they are just, well..., kids from a rather nice neighborhood and a well equipped school.

    Conclusion : I gave this series a chance but I quit when I spent more time pulling my hair at the lack of logic of every single scene rather than enjoying the story.
    Additionally, this does not bring anything new to the genre. It is packed with clichés, the characters are never developed and the story is nothing new.

    Go see 28 days later of the first seasons of TWD, and forget this.    … Expand
  3. Dodger
    Apr 11, 2019
    3
    Black summer feels like it was written by someone who took notes on every cliche zombie trope and then combined them into one series. Avoid unless you really need your zombie fix.

    Edit: was originally a 4/10 and i have brought it down to a 3/10. The show gets worse as it goes on and the last episode is actually dreadful.
  4. Fyil
    Apr 12, 2019
    2
    Can't people simple hire a actual screenwriter do write screenplays? This is horrible. A story starts and ends in less tem 20min, you simple have no time to give a F to any characters.
    If netflix ain't gonna put an effort to making these movies then it should do it at all. 2 for the photography.
  5. Ladyboughner
    Apr 12, 2019
    1
    A classic example of money (and time) well wasted. Poor screenwriting, non-comprehensible decisions of characters an plotholes as far as one can see. I seriously expected more of this.
  6. zangu
    Apr 12, 2019
    2
    This show is ass, scenes dont make any sense, zombies either act mentally retarded or sometimes gain at least 40 iq to act like a basic human being, plot points are generic and pointless and the acting wasnt bad but the camera work was horrible. Felt as if a really high budget Youtube show got onto Netflix.
  7. Gravewax
    Apr 14, 2019
    2
    Wow can't believe I watched all 8 episodes. The first half the season you are waiting for something interesting to happen, the second half you are just enduring this really badly scripted and poorly budgeted C grade zombie series as you are already half way there. It is like the walking dead but they could only afford one or 2 zombie makeups and could not afford a writer. plenty ofWow can't believe I watched all 8 episodes. The first half the season you are waiting for something interesting to happen, the second half you are just enduring this really badly scripted and poorly budgeted C grade zombie series as you are already half way there. It is like the walking dead but they could only afford one or 2 zombie makeups and could not afford a writer. plenty of swearing to make it for adults but can't show any sort of zombie damage or effects.

    The character building is non existent. made especially worse by having most of them doing stuff that suggests they have less intellect than the average zombie, pretty much could not have given a damn for any of them. Avoid this piece of garbage.    … Expand
  8. MetaBoBB
    Apr 16, 2019
    1
    Terrible, very low quality show. The acting is very bad and the way this show is filmed ugh..
  9. truerock
    Apr 18, 2019
    8
    If you like film of the fast-zombie genre I would reasonably assume you will enjoy Black Summer.
    So, there are the slow-zombie genre (e.g. The Walking Dead TV series) and the fast-zombie genre (e.g. 28 Days Later movie). Black Summer falls within the fast-zombie genre.
    I personally favor the fast-zombie genre so perhaps you might take my 8-rating within that context. Regardless of    If you like film of the fast-zombie genre I would reasonably assume you will enjoy Black Summer.
    So, there are the slow-zombie genre (e.g. The Walking Dead TV series) and the fast-zombie genre (e.g. 28 Days Later movie). Black Summer falls within the fast-zombie genre.
    I personally favor the fast-zombie genre so perhaps you might take my 8-rating within that context.
    Regardless of anyone's opinion on the plot-type of Black Summer, technically this is a professional quality series and the acting falls within above average professional quality... and, I would suggest some of the acting is excellent. Editing is extremely important to produce a high-quality fast-zombie series and I would rate the editing of Black Summer as excellent.

    In regard to the overall narrative and plot, I would warn that if you are an individual who requires explicit, detailed context and clearly defined roles and backgrounds then you will not get that in the first series of Black Summers. I personally do not require explicit detail in narratives so I was fine with this - after all, reality is that life does not give us all the facts in detail. A big part of life is dealing with soft data. But, most people want things to be completely explained in detail and that is understandable within the context of escapist entertainment.

    There is one episode that has no dialog in it and I'm sure the average and typical viewer might find that frustrating where as I found it to be the most interesting and intellectually challenging episode involving the most complex characterization.

    I almost require that a film work within the context of moral ambiguity in order for me to enjoy it. I felt Black Summer provided that and perhaps is part of my level-8 rating. The primary character develops within that moral ambiguity - right through the zones of thin red/blue/green/gold/etc lines - in what to me was very satisfying. The very last moral decision at the end completes the character development that I found it to be extremely realistic and one that most people never need to make and exists almost entirely within the realm of fiction.

    Off topic - but, I know many individuals must wonder how discerning, intelligent people like watching zombie movies. That I cannot explain - but, millions of people enjoy them so you just have to accept that is a reality. My wife loves rom-coms and I see nothing wrong with that. If you do not like fast-zombie movies then you obviously will not want to spend your time watching Black Summer.

    There are many zombie genres and if you are interested you can google the subject or go to Wikipedia to get a better understanding.    … Expand
  10. AngryShark92
    Apr 15, 2019
    1
    TLDR: Every single zombie trope ever combined with terrible writing, casting, acting, scripting, storyline, and the unnecessary demonization of white males all wrapped up in a big garbage bag with a half-scraped Netflix label on it. Oh, and its more of a comedy than anything else.

    I always tell myself I can watch through any zombie/infected based shows/movies, but wow, is this one    TLDR: Every single zombie trope ever combined with terrible writing, casting, acting, scripting, storyline, and the unnecessary demonization of white males all wrapped up in a big garbage bag with a half-scraped Netflix label on it. Oh, and its more of a comedy than anything else.

    I always tell myself I can watch through any zombie/infected based shows/movies, but wow, is this one absolutely horrible. Netflix must have allocated minimal funds to this and probably should have just scrapped the whole project entirely because this is like a D-Level zombie show.

    There is zero character development so you do not care about them, their are very few zombies in the actual show in the early episodes, which is surprising and kind of breaks immersion and world-building sometimes, the characters have no arcs or motivations for their actions, they are all stereotypes and bad ones at that, and the story is so incoherent and full of plotholes that I wonder who the hell gave this the green light.

    Also, I find it absolutely hilarious that, even in a zombie survival show, we have managed to inject some kind of weird political aim to make white males look like the worst thing to happen to humanity. I actually died laughing at some of these points. Evil characters - white males, useless and weak character - white male, rapists - white males, dishonest characters - white males, wait for it... evil children taking advantage of survivors - white male children... such a joke in entertainment nowadays.

    If the final episode of this show does not sum up this garbage perfectly, I don't know what will, because I was laughing the whole way through.

    + Excellent comedy for all the wrong reasons

    - Awful acting
    - Awful story
    - Awful characters
    - Terrible writing
    - Terrible casting
    - Terrible effects
    - Plot contrivances everywhere
    - Doesn't feel like an apocalypse at points
    - A billion chapter cuts that are woefully unnecessary
    - You can predict who all the bad people are by seeing if they are white males
    - Subtitles for sun would be nice?
    - No gore in a zombie production...
    - You should consider it an achievement if you make it all the way through.

    Overall, this show was able to make me laugh and had more action than TWD ever could, but there is absolutely no way in hell this should have even made it to production. I am always up for a zombie flick, and I figured Netflix would be able to piece together something decent, but boy was I wrong. A competent writer, bigger budget, and a fresh cast rotation would maybe get this up to a C or B level zombie story, but apparently they were more focused on demonizing white men than they were about putting together a coherent story. Do yourself a favour and skip this garbage, or grab some popcorn, inebriate yourself and try to find it funny like I did.    … Expand
  11. makerofstone
    Apr 23, 2019
    0
    Complete and total politically correct sjw nonsense. I like a diverse cast, but EVERY "white male" character is stupid, incompetent, a rapist, dishonest, useless, or a zombie. God, how can people like this junk? It's boring, predictable, low quality garbage. The PC stuff puts the nail in this coffin. Peace.
  12. jdolan74
    Apr 11, 2019
    9
    I'm not a big Zombie show guy but I blew through the first couple of episodes of this with ease. Jaime King is doing some fine work in this show. I like all the characters, the diversity of the casting, it's not over written. The deaf character is great, sort of an extra terrifying world to have to live in with this handicap. Good scares and the pacing moves. Very well shot, too! Good for a binge!
  13. MeritCoba
    Apr 14, 2019
    6
    Hold on to your bats folks, for is this yet another zombie flick that hits the screen? Will it swing wide or will it hit home? Let's have a look, shall we?

    Black Summer is a zombie flick that picks up just after the outbreak of the epidemic. Interestingly enough, we won't see much of the relentless dead for some time, which is arguably a good thing. The unseen is scarier than the    Hold on to your bats folks, for is this yet another zombie flick that hits the screen? Will it swing wide or will it hit home? Let's have a look, shall we?

    Black Summer is a zombie flick that picks up just after the outbreak of the epidemic. Interestingly enough, we won't see much of the relentless dead for some time, which is arguably a good thing. The unseen is scarier than the seen(and it saves on the makeup). The first two episodes introduces us to the potential cast. Potential, because some won't make it past those first episodes, which is another good thing I suppose. A zombie flick worth its grain should have a profound sense of vulnerability. Nobody is safe.. not even the leading cast members.

    Two hits and it starts to looks good. And here is another good thing: some of the cast are actually interesting. Take Spears for instance. He is a close runner up for being my favorite. We don't know much about him, but he is introduced to us as a detainee of the military. But are these soldiers actually good? We never quite know what is the truth. Spears tells Rose lateron that they are just heavily armed looters, forcing her to make a tough choice with little to go on. He remains ambiguous, saving Rose from a zombie while he could have left her to die, but prepared to leave other people behind.. or so he says. And at some point he even gave me a yes reaction.

    Would you shoot a kid?, asks Rose.

    Yes, Spears replies, aiming his gun at one.

    Do it, I thought. Let me see you do it!

    Of course he doesn't. Kids in are invulnerable. Like dogs. Which makes you wonder why they put them in, except perhaps for the trailer. It feels that cheap. Oh right, a bunch of kids turn out to be nasty, but you'll know they won't get hurt, no matter what. I bet a nuking them from orbit won't kill them.

    And here is that thing: Black Summer is seriously hamstrung. It develops ideas(or actually: steals them from others) and then completely undoes them.

    Possibly the best moment is where five desperate people are chased by two zombies into a diner. At odds with eachother and without any proper weapons they have to work together. Killing two zombies with five people must be easy, right? Yes, I know: you will do it, cause you played the game. But in reality trying to kill someone with a cooking pan is hard, let alone a screaming bloody corpse that flails at you.

    And even though the conversations are at times awkward this episode it actually okay.

    But these moments are rare as everything is marred by ham-fisted writing. Dialogs suffer especially. You see the actors try to do their best and the guy in the diner trying to persuade the others to throw the Korean lady to the zombies gives arguably the best delivery. And at some point there is even an attempt at a Tarentino like conversation. But that is what it is: an attempt.

    Situations often feel awkward. There is a whole episode where one mysterious car chases a group in their car to the point of finally destroying both. The point? Stealing fuel is suggested, but how is that going to work if your car is destroyed? It is like someone thought: let's take this one from Duel. Why? Cause it is Matheson, man. Who? Matheson, the guy who invented zombies! He wrote the script for that movie.

    The whole school episode is Children of the Corn redone! Redone poorly. Someone must have gone through the works of King, Matheson and others and turned them into a poor dervatives.

    It is hubris.

    I liked the few moments, but to be honest, I barely hung on. The creators of these series should take stock of their strenghts and weaknesses. Writing isn't their strong suit, so don't try to pull of a Tarentino. Don't steal from others. Don't make people nasty unless there is a reason to. Movies like Saw and the Purge are nonsense, but can offer a twist. Don't make people do stupid things, like banging on a drum when noise attracts zombies. Be aware that if you give a group of people weapons, that not everyone knows how to handle them. Play on that. Make people worried about their car running out of gas. It is a simple thing, really. And if you grab a car, what car will it be? The big guzzler that can take six, half a ton and go cross-country, or the nimble economical two seater with a suitcase sized booth that can get you far?

    That sort of thing.

    Seems easy enough. It probably isn't. But then you want to make another zombie flick in a world saturated with zombie flicks.

    Merit    … Expand
  14. gmonster320
    Apr 20, 2019
    10
    "Black Summer" begins with an overhead camera shot of people running. It's appropriate because that's what happens over eight episodes. People run, people fight, people die. And that's what I'm here for. I dont need long, draw out dramas where we might see a zombie a week (if we're lucky). I'm looking at you "The Walking Dead". We'll get enough character development along the way. I watch"Black Summer" begins with an overhead camera shot of people running. It's appropriate because that's what happens over eight episodes. People run, people fight, people die. And that's what I'm here for. I dont need long, draw out dramas where we might see a zombie a week (if we're lucky). I'm looking at you "The Walking Dead". We'll get enough character development along the way. I watch zombie shows to see people fight for their lives.

    I really hope "Black Summer" gets a season 2. Even Stephen King tweeted an endorsement this week saying "No long, fraught discussions. No endless flashbacks, because there's no back story. No grouchy teens. Dialogue is spare. Much shot with a single handheld camera, very fluid. Showrunners could learn a lot from this."You cant get much better than that.    … Expand
  15. Antares8001
    Apr 16, 2019
    3
    TLDR: "Random undefined characters doing random things in a seemingly randomly strung together plot that never goes anywhere."

    Contains minor spoilers: I have to say that I am in awe of this show. Unfortunately it is because of how much wasted potential there is. There are some genuinely scary and interesting set-pieces, scenes and premises (school and diner). Unfortunately the show    TLDR: "Random undefined characters doing random things in a seemingly randomly strung together plot that never goes anywhere."

    Contains minor spoilers:

    I have to say that I am in awe of this show. Unfortunately it is because of how much wasted potential there is. There are some genuinely scary and interesting set-pieces, scenes and premises (school and diner). Unfortunately the show never goes anywhere with them, and they are just kinda there.

    The show also does a remarkably bad job at establishing its characters. This is probably best exemplified by the episode "Alone", where we spend the better part of it following around someone who did not have a single line of relevant dialogue up to this point. Alright so you would expect that they are going to use this episode to flesh out his character, however the only thing we learn is that he is somewhat incompetent. That would be bad enough however the show tries to convey this extremely tense atmosphere throughout, while my only question was why in the world I should care about this generic dude man guy, who does not have a single character trait, which created a quite a bit of unintentional comedy. They could have simply cut out this entire part and nothing would have changed. Overall the show seems to be viewing its characters as plot devices rather than relatable individuals. Which is also exemplified by the other character's irrationality and incompetence.
    Weirdly enough the show keeps killing off characters in supposedly tense situations, however because we never really get any time to develop a bond with the characters this never has the desired impact and always feels random and once again unintentionally funny. I actually had to look up if this show wasn't a dark comedy.
    To its credit the show occasionally shows characters having to make morally ambiguous and difficult decisions, and you'd think that they would use that to create some depth, however we never get to see any kind of impact/payoff of those decisions, as the show once again takes next to no time to develop its characters. We sometimes get to see a shocked expression or a throw away comment, and then the characters simply go on as though nothing happened.
    Just as frustrating is that the characters are implied to have a backstory, however they are never really explored. An example would be one of the characters backstories creating potential for intrigue within the group of survivors, however this is discussed briefly and then never mentioned again.

    Also the show has some very weird pacing issues. The showrunners apparently though if "Show don't Tell" is better than "Show and Tell" then "Don't Show and Don't Tell" must be the best option. There is almost never any explanation of why the characters are doing what they are doing. It almost feels like the episodes were originally intended to be at least 1 hour long and then they decided to cut out all the relevant plot information and most of the dialogue to get them to 40 min. It also doesn't help that the show often leaves out the part of the characters moving from one location to another, so it more often than not it simply feels like the characters randomly appear in a location do some random things to then randomly appear in another location.

    Now for the overarching plot and story:
    I can honestly say that I was extremely surprised by this, however not because of some clever twist, but because of the lack thereof. We simply learn the about the main character's goal in the first episode and then we see her achieving it in the final episode. And we don't even see any kind of payoff for that, it just kinda happens and then they decided to roll credits. In the process they also manage to include just about every single zombie cliché there is, however they never play with them in an interesting manner and simply include for the sake of having them.
    A show like this baffles me, especially since it seems that all of its issues could have been solved by hiring a decent screenwriter. As it is it feels like they didn't have screenwriter at all and simply made things up as they went along. At times this felt like a really overbudgeted student project, except that the writing was even worse.    … Expand
  16. Darthly_Happy
    Apr 17, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Best way to describe the show
    "There's zombies and things happen"

    Things you will ask yourself while watching this-

    Why is no one talking?
    Why is nothing ever explained?
    Why do people suddenly show up in places?
    Where even are they?
    Why do people keep trying to communicate with the Korean character long after it is established she doesn't speak English?
    Why are there so many moments of unnecessary and illogical silence?
    How does this show manage to show so much and yet show nothing at the same time?
    Why are many people holding guns yet they are never used?
    Why does the screen cut to black every 4 minutes to show a pretentious chapter title?

    Good things.
    The actors are at least trying.
    Camera work is ok at times.    … Expand
  17. SentinelDaniel
    Apr 20, 2019
    2
    Black Summer is the worst zombie series i've ever seen. don't watch this horrible serie if you're a fan of The Walking Dead, cause your IQ will go DOWN!!!

    People can't even aim at zombies head. they'll just fire 5 bullets into their body or slap them with a frying pan and then hope they're dead. Stupid. At Episode 8 when they're all full geared. they see one fookin zombie running.    Black Summer is the worst zombie series i've ever seen. don't watch this horrible serie if you're a fan of The Walking Dead, cause your IQ will go DOWN!!!

    People can't even aim at zombies head. they'll just fire 5 bullets into their body or slap them with a frying pan and then hope they're dead. Stupid.

    At Episode 8 when they're all full geared. they see one fookin zombie running. What do they do. All of them shoot half of their clips to kill it. IT'S STUPID.

    That Chinese women keeps fookin taking while nobody understands her. StOOPID.
    guy with that **** jacked that goes reads a book for no goddamn reason, and doesn't fookin barricade the doors behind him. STOOOOPPIIDDD.

    2/10 "Get this **** out of Netflix and put it on Youtube"    … Expand
  18. shango266
    Apr 22, 2019
    7
    Starts off very strong with a slightly different take on the typical zombie scenario. It's interesting and tense to follow around the characters and the various challenges they encounter. BUT in the last few episodes the show quickly devolves into pretty standard / boring zombie fare, and I found it very frustrating that the show ceased doing anything interesting or clever with the subjectStarts off very strong with a slightly different take on the typical zombie scenario. It's interesting and tense to follow around the characters and the various challenges they encounter. BUT in the last few episodes the show quickly devolves into pretty standard / boring zombie fare, and I found it very frustrating that the show ceased doing anything interesting or clever with the subject matter. Also, the season is short and ends on a big cliffhanger, so the ending was very unsatisfying.

    Overall, an okay show to binge on a rainy afternoon, lots of "The Last Of Us" vibes.    … Expand
  19. JMaz
    May 2, 2019
    9
    I think folks are missing the point. This show is trying to something different by dropping you into the beginnings of a zombie outbreak with characters who are mostly everyday people. I thought it was tense and fantastic. Not perfect but very enjoyable.
  20. mrmonster
    Apr 26, 2019
    2
    Black Summer is nothing more than a cheap attempt to reach out to Walking Dead fans while they wait for the next season. This show combines so-so acting with a terribly structured/terribly paced story to give us a just plain bland zombie show that's just not worth the watch. It really is that boring.
  21. RLOLIVEIRA
    Jun 21, 2021
    10
    Serie excelente! muita tensão, personagens 'reais' num cenário apocalíptico tentando sobreviver.. vale a pena, até por fugir à regra das séries do gênero
  22. papadrew7
    Apr 24, 2019
    1
    This is just a boring show. I only made it to episode two and even that felt like pulling teeth to get that far. The characters were created by some sjw freak that thinks every single ethnic group and disability has to be represented. There is the Asian that doesn’t speak a word of English, a deaf kid, a Mexican, black man, etc. What makes it worst is that I just did not care about theThis is just a boring show. I only made it to episode two and even that felt like pulling teeth to get that far. The characters were created by some sjw freak that thinks every single ethnic group and disability has to be represented. There is the Asian that doesn’t speak a word of English, a deaf kid, a Mexican, black man, etc. What makes it worst is that I just did not care about the characters at all. In fact by episode 2 I was rooting for the zombies just to make the show stop. This is a hard pass guys. Life is short don’t waste it watching this crap.… Expand
  23. getrwuegyweh
    Apr 13, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There's so much to like yet nit pick as well, lets start with the pros i guess, it's nice to actually see The Asylum actually put some effort into something for a change, and to be honest, its just okay. There's SO many plot holes which ruin the experience, to name a couple, the guy who was running away from the same zombie for ages, the inconsistency with episode lengths, the finale where the zombies on the bridge ignored EVERYONE apart from the people in the shot. The show has some potential, but don't ruin it with stupid mistakes, both creatively and blooperly (if thats a word). Also, theres a Korean woman who doesn't speak English, yet seems to understand everything in English? And focusing on, i believe his name is Vazquez or something, yet killing him off in a tiny 1 second shot in the finale was pretty horrible, for both his character and actor, it honestly looks incredibly disrespectful for one of the more talented actors in the show to be killed off like that.

    This show does have potential and I will give a 2nd season a watch, if we get one, but the writer(s) need to think more carefully when creating something, I don't want to see ANOTHER Asylum production turn to complete trash like everything else they've produced.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Apr 10, 2019
    30
    Nothing is less terrifying than over-familiarity, and that’s only one of the many problems with Netflix’s Black Summer (premiering on April 11), a bleak, dull affair that mistakes camera movement for narrative energy and has about as much life as the walking dead.
    Read full review
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Tim Surette
    Apr 5, 2019
    60
    In a sense, Black Summer is The Walking Dead without all the bloated melodrama, kooky villains, and pretentious blabbering.
    Read full review