Posted in: Movies | Tagged: entertainment, outcast, robert kirkman, tv

Now That You Have Seen The Teaser, How Is The Pilot For Robert Kirkman's Outcast?

By Octavio Karbank

Since the first teaser for Robert Kirkman's Outcast debuted this week, now's a good a time as any to discuss the next horror show you'll desperately want to binge watch. The trailer does a nice job setting up the plot, which I'll go into later, and making sure we know this is not going to be a particularly bright or happy show. As teasers go, it's great at letting you know what's coming.

While over at SXSW a couple weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to watch the Outcast pilot in all its gut-wrenching glory. If you've read the comic (and if you haven't, then go out to your nearest comic book store and grab it) you have a reasonable sense about what to anticipate. The key word here is "reasonable". A Kirkman aficionado myself, a fan of The Walking Dead, Invincible, and of course Outcast, I thought I knew what I was getting into when I sat down to watch the hour-long pilot. I couldn't have been more wrong.

What transpires in the pilot episode is a nightmarish romp through a small town, with protagonist Kyle Barnes coming face-to-face with the demons that have haunted him his entire life. Ominous foreboding lingers like a dark cloud amidst each and every moment. In every shot, in every second of every minute, you sense something sinister, something evil, lurking just out of eyeshot, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting.

Frankly put, I think Outcast makes The Walking Dead look like My Little Pony. While zombies might be frightening in their own right, and human drama alongside the apocalypse makes for interesting viewing, Outcast's first scene has a possessed boy rummaging through a bag of potato chips, until the chips run out and all that's left are his little fingers. I'll let your imagination fill in the gaps. I only hope you don't get squeamish at the sound/sight of bones crunching.

The episode is grisly, violent, and singularly one of the most terrifying, fun, and brilliant pieces of television I've seen in a while. If the first episode is indicative of what's to come, we could have something special. Fans of horror movies like The Exorcist should absolutely love Outcast. Those looking for a little something atypical of your usual comic book show should find the characters and the horror that surrounds them nothing short of captivating.

During the Q&A, which Mr. Kirkman attended, we received nifty news. When asked about if, like with The Walking Dead, the comics and the show sometimes diverge, and whether that would happen with Outcast, the answer was a resounding yes. If you've read the comics, don't worry, many of the major plot points will still be there, but new twists and turns will also occur; there will be new storylines and deeper examinations into some characters and their histories.

One of the bigger bits of news was not just that the first season would be ten episodes long, but Outcast has already been picked up for a second season! That's good news (at least for me)! While I'll probably be hiding under my blankets during each episode, I'm hoping the show, just like the comic, goes on forever and ever. It really is that good!

Outcast debuts June 3rd on Cinemax. Get ready, people, 'cause there's a new horror show in town!

Octavio Karbank is a writer and bona fide Whovian. Living in Massachusetts, you can find him on Twitter @TymeHunter and his blog www.cozmicventures.com

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