Santa Clarita Diet
Reviewed by Kelly Anne Blount
Santa Clarita Diet - Advance Preview: "The Walking Dead Meets Desperate Housewives"
Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant star in the new hilarious and slightly disturbing Netflix original, “Santa Clarita Diet,” which premieres on Friday, February 3rd. Think, "The Walking Dead Meets Desperate Housewives."
Just like other married couples living in the suburbs, Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, who play Sheila and Joel, experience the ups and downs of nosey neighbors, competitors at work, and coming down with a killer stomach flu.
The one major difference? Unbeknownst to Sheila, she has turned into a zombie. She struggles with no longer having a heartbeat and her blood has turned to a black sludge.
Joel understandably wants to bring her to the doctor. Sheila doesn’t want to become a lab rat and decides to figure out the whole zombie lifestyle without a medical intervention. A diet of raw meat? No problem. Extra horny? No problem. She’s got it covered.
Unfortunately for Sheila, things turn dicey when she accidentally eats one of her co-workers, played by the super talented, Nathan Fillion. This scene gets a little too graphic for me, but gore isn’t my thing. So, to each their own.
Forced to cover up the murder, Joel and Sheila drive their co-worker’s body out to the desert to bury it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the lid to the plastic tub they have gathered his remaining body parts in. You can guess where this is going… They spill his remains all over the desert.
Panic sets in when a car drives up. Luckily, it’s Joel and Shelia’s daughter and her friend, who happens to be the step-son of their annoying police officer neighbor. Luckily, they are okay with everything and help clean up and bury the body.
After tasting human flesh, Sheila cannot stomach raw meat. This leads her to a simple conclusion; she must continue to kill in order to feed her zombie-fueled hunger.
Over the next several episodes, Sheila and Joel focus on the trials and tribulations of taking human lives in order to keep Sheila fed. This is on top of their regular real-life struggles, which include showing homes, gossiping with the neighbors, and buying a new car.
Drew Barrymore does an excellent job hitting on the everyday struggles of being a professional woman and having a family, all while pairing it with relatable comical relief.
Timothy Olyphant also does an incredible job. He is an understanding and doting husband, with a few common flaws. He occasionally smokes weed before going to work and he struggles to be assertive; however, when his wife turns into a zombie, he’s got her back.
The chemistry between Barrymore and Olyphant is fantastic! After watching the pilot for a few minutes, you get the feeling that you’ve always known this couple. Minus the whole zombie thing, they are the type of couple you would want to get drinks with after work.
Overall, the “Santa Clarita Diet” offers a fresh new take on the zombie apocalypse. The humor is on point and the cast works together brilliantly. The feeding scenes were a bit too much for me, but I am admittedly a big wimp when it comes to gore. I’m still cringing over the scene where she chews on the foot of a cadaver. Eek!
Check out all my SpoilterTV recaps and interviews by clicking here!
