Ah, Halloween. Surely the perfect excuse for a movie obsessed TV show to stop referencing and actually become the movie they always wanted to be. And so it is for Community, with their seasonal offering of a night/dawn/Shaun of the dead zombie smorgasbord. Not only do zombies abound, but there’s a b-story involving Troy’s shedding of his nerd affiliations due to the lack of female interest in his homemade Ripley costume. Who knew cardboard robot armour wouldn’t attract the ladies? As Jeff bitchily points out, reminding girls of their devoutly Comi-Con worshipping little brothers never got anyone laid. Ever get the feeling the writers are working out some demons through the medium of TV? You’d be right. Despite a brief foray into sexy Dracula territory, Troy re-embraces his inner nerd, saves the day, and even gets to partake in some classic, and hilarious Star Wars quotage. As a show essentially set around the life lessons necessary to survive at college, it’s unsurprising that being happy with who you are is the lesson at the forefront of this episode, and considering that there’s a good chance most of the show’s team have been accused of nerdery in the past, the TV as therapy angle could be a little grating. Luckily, the show is so well written, and performed with so much warmth, that even a little self-indulgent therapy is easily forgiven. Pierce’s Capt. Kirk, Dr PotteryWood’s banana phallus and Troy’s toilet paper-based sexy Dracula costume are fabulous, as is Jeff and Annie’s insistence on continuing as normal despite their zombification. When have you ever known a zombie to study, or stand around nonchalantly texting other zombies? Being a Halloween episode, it has its disturbing moments as well, namely the scary resemblance Dean Pelton has to Lady Gaga, alongside his obsession with Abba, both of which will stay with you long after the credits roll, but the most disturbing moment comes courtesy of the superbly creepy Senor Chang, and his coupling with Shirley in the bathroom. As you would expect, the episode is shot fantastically well, in the style to which zombie lovers have become accustomed, with low lighting and lots of odd angles. The Abba soundtrack, while disturbing, is also hilariously literal in places, and while this may not be a classic Community homage-fest, it’s definitely one of the better Halloween themed shows you’ll see this year. And, as bizarre as this sounds, they get extra points for even having the slightest notion of who David Beckham is, although, once Jeff loses the football, he’s just Ryan Seacrest at college. Still, it’s nice that they tried. Expect normal classes to be resumed next week, and hopefully some fallout from the Shirley/Chang bunk up, but until then, try not to have nightmares… Read our review of episode 5, Messianic Myths And Ancient People, here. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here.
