I’ve noticed that we here at HorrorBid have been neglecting MTV’s trek into comedic terror, Death Valley. It’s understandable to embrace immediate doubt in regards to horror series broadcast on MTV; their genre track record isn’t exactly sublime. That said, the show is a surprisingly well assembled project that offers up a little bit of everything your typical genre fanatic should adore. Before you question my judgment, you should take a gander at five solid reasons the series is worth eying.
5. Boundaries Beware: The crew behind, Death Valley refuse to pull punches. Every line traditionally drawn by cable networks is erased, as this team of entertainers seem completely oblivious to “the rules”. The show is crude, aggressive, unforgiving and brings a level of hilarity that is rarely seen on television (save for a few AMC and FX series’).
4. Nostalgia, Really?: Oh yes, viewers will certainly pick up on the intentional insertion of thick nostalgia here. While the series content is no doubt contemporary and quite relevant to today’s society, there’s a nice touch of the old school in the form of our numerous antagonists. Not only do the officials of the southern California valley deal with zombies, they’ve got rampant bloodsuckers to chase down and legions of werewolves to subdue.
3. Real Comedy: Yes ladies and gents, Death Valley is really quite humorous. Whether following new protocol in which officers are required to alert the undead that they are “P.U.S.’s” (yes, it’s pronounced exactly as it looks, though it’s an acronym for “Possible Undead Suspect”), or invading the set of a chaotic pornographic film shoot, the laughs are absolutely outrageous! There are heaping handfuls of killer jokes offered by Death Valley, and it’s time you got in on them!
2. Gore Galore: I won’t sit back and try to sell you the idea that Death Valley’s gruesome imagery can pretend to rival that of The Walking Dead: it doesn’t. However, there are indeed some awesome death scenes, and some surprisingly well executed CGI (in part because it’s subtle). To add icing to the cake, the actual monster make-up effects are quite appealing.
1. Characters, Characters, Characters: The series really focuses on about a half dozen characters, and every single one of them is memorable, and every single one of them is memorable for drastically differing reasons. Example, you ask? John John plays our Billy Bad-Ass of the bunch who’s quite attached to his aluminum baseball bat; Billy (speaking of) is the horndog hot-shot who has absolutely no clue as to what the word “tact” means, and Captain Dashell is the task force’s equivalent to The Office’s Michael Scott (Steve Carell). The greatness doesn’t stop there, but if you want to know just how kick ass the rest of the ensemble is, you’re going to need to start tuning in!
If you've been on the fence in regards to this one, pick a side; preferably the proper one, as Death Valley is without question an entertaining addition to the dark side of television. The DV crew shows up to have a good time, and it's quite obvious: just about everyone on board refuses to take this task too seriously. It's fun, bloody and damn funny... and it features vampires, zombies and werewolves? How can you lose?!
