Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy is an adaptation of My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s Eisner-winning comic series of the same name and episode 1 opens in pretty much the same way the source material does – with the death of Sir Reginald Hargreeves(played by Colm Feore).
Now Sir Reginald capitalised on a global phenomenon that took place on October 1st 1989, when 43 women gave virgin births to children. Of the 43, Sir Reginald purchased and adopted 7. These children became the first (and only?) class of The Umbrella Academy where they became a superhero team. It is revealed that the Academy disbanded a long time ago, with each kid going their own way following the death of #6, Ben Hargreeves, and the disappearance of #5, The Boy. We rejoin the five remaining members of The Umbrella Academy, who are now 30-something, as they reconnect at their father’s funeral.
As it looks like they will all go their separate ways once more, #5 appears, and reveals an ominous future, hinting that The Umbrella Academy only have a few days to save the world.
The Umbrella Academy introduces us to a world we are very familiar with yet is unique enough to make it stand out from similar themed shows and movies. The vast cast are only going to shine more as we delve into each character and we have a long story to unpick and unravel in a structure similar to that of The Haunting of Hill House which is in no way a bad thing.
Verdict: 7/10 I think the greatest strength of The Umbrella Academy may also be its greatest weakness – its flawed characters. Some will enjoy their exploration whilst others will not enjoy putting time into characters they may deem unpleasant. Either way the show remains honest to itself and will only improve the further down the rabbit hole we go. Anyway, who doesn’t love a multi-character set piece to the sound of Tiffany?
The CW has released a new extended trailer for The Flash, offering up some new footage from several upcoming episodes and teasing the unmasking of Zoom:
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
Zone 414 is an upcoming American science fiction thriller film written by Bryan Edward Hill and directed by Andrew Baird. The film stars Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz, Jonathan Aris, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Olwen Fouéré, Colin Salmon, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Read more
It is the final episode of Season 1, and as expected following the somewhat calmness of last week's episode this week is about to go off the scale. Our crew Read more
Episode 5 of Zomboat! is the penultimate episode of Season 1 and it gave the audience a chance to catch their breath before the grand finale. Instead of the fast Read more
In Zomboat! Episode 4 we discover that even a shopping trip can be hazardous to your health in post-apocalyptic Birmingham. With the boat moored and apparently safe Amar (Ryan McKen) Read more
After our diversion last week our Zomboat crew begin travelling in the right direction and end up back where they first got on the boat. This also happens to be Read more
Zomboat! burst onto our screens last week and while we loved it we noted that it felt "a bit rushed with lots crammed in." As Episode 2 washed over us Read more
Debuting on ITV2 in the UK, Zomboat! is filmed in the 2.35:1 widescreen ratio of most zombie movies and answers the life long question of what would happen if you Read more
Homemade horror-comedy feature Zomblogalypse received its UK premiere at Dead Northern Film Festival - in association with Fangoria and Shudder - at City Screen York on 26th September 2021. The Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6NTQhEqn4 Read more
In Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of Read more
Zombie With A Shotgun is the feature adaptation of the popular web series of the same name. Aaron and Rachel are on the run due to the fact that Aaron is Read more
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Zombie Tidal Wave aims to pick up where the Sharknado franchise left off. More serious in tone, the film plays more like the original Sharknado Read more
It's a Zombie Tsunami! From the same twisted minds behind Sharknado comes an all-new disaster: Zombie Tidal Wave starring Ian Ziering. Watch the world premiere Saturday August 17th at 9/8c Read more
11 years ago, a zombie virus killed many people, while others had their family members turned into zombies. Society is still angry, and so outside the city, a zombie fight Read more
The looming release of ZOMBIE ARMY 4 draws ever closer, but there’s a whole new realm of terror lurking just behind! A new three-part campaign called Hell Cult, comprising three Read more
Zombie Army 4: Dead War is OUT NOW! Get your copy on PlayStation 4 TODAY! A reanimated despot and his ghoulish backup dancers shake a precariously attached leg in this Read more
IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE - YOU’RE DEAD WRONG! The year is 1946. Europe lies in ruins, torn apart by the nefarious “Plan Z.” A brave band of heroes Read more
Brett Summers
Founded Cult Faction in 2014. Some would describe him as a teacher, writer, dream weaver, and visionary... some would not...
More Stories
Why Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future was ahead of its time!
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie “Plumbing Commercial” released