"The After" Amazon Studios TV pilot, review

A disparate group of characters (French would-be actress, young Hispanic policewoman, Irish yobbo, dodgy lawyer, Revelations-quoting buxom blond, wealthy old lady, black dude with a heart of gold and a BIG shotgun, gay clown/entertainer) have to survive in a post-apocalypse LA. Yes, it's a bit derivative but after 20 minutes, it got me in.
This pilot was written and directed by X-Files' Chris Carter. This will be enough for some people.
In the final scene, the tattooed crab-walking demon/gargoyle/critter will stay with you for quite a while. Some intriguing ideas - the bond of the same birthdays (March 7) and same tattoos as on the critter's body.
Some patchy acting (the yobbo's Irish accent is pretty lame) combined with spectacular crowd scenes (think a scaled-down "World War Z") and tight editing (the tense build up scenes in the elevator and underground carpark) with some witty lines thrown into the mix. No big names. I only recognised Adrian Pasdar (from the spooky "Mysterious Ways" TV series).
The viewer is filled with unanswered questions. What happened? Why these people? How did they skip a day? What was the red-eyed demon spouting (sounds like "Twin Peaks" gibberish) before he scuttled away (think the John Carpenter's "The Thing")?

"Zombieland" Amazon TV pilot 2013 review

When you are not expecting much from a show, it's a nice surprise. I liked the "Zombieland" 2009 movie a lot. The interaction between the two male leads, Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, the cool graphics, the rules of Zombieland. With the same writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, a likable cast (Tyler Ross is quite cute) and a new character, Detroit (the 'eye in the sky', the dulcet tones of Kendra Fountain). There is a lot to like here.
The hilarious first scene in the office, two prats discussing finicky food choices while a zombie apocalypse is raging (chainsaws, incinerated man, crashing jet) behind them through the full length window. The geriatric zombies, Ikea chit chat, running "vagina" count, loads of pop culture references (Ms Pacman and Brady's tiki idol) made it a diverting 28 minutes. Pretty strong production values too. Did Talahassee (Kirk Ward) mention "Eisenberg" in one of his lines?
Favourite bit: "Zombie Kill of the Week" (the Indiana Jones/'76' ball). A big laugh following a gore fest (e.g. Talahassee clubbing the elderly zombies) was occasionally disconcerting.
As far as this 57 year old is concerned, I'd give this a go.  Hell, it was free.